Starting Gate: McCain Gaining?

It's less spectacular than his fall from front-runner to a near has-been but John McCain has slowly been staging something of a comeback in the GOP race and his campaign will get another boost today. CBS News has learned that former presidential candidate Sam Brownback will endorse the Arizona Senator in Iowa this morning.

Brownback, who departed the race last month, could help bolster McCain among social conservatives, many of whom are unhappy with the senator for his position on issues ranging from campaign finance reform to immigration.

Endorsements are of questionable value in most cases and Iowa remains a difficult state for McCain to crack. His maverick image and self-professed "straight talk" is a better fit among the more traditionally independent voters in New Hampshire and McCain skipped the state entirely in his 2000 campaign. Mitt Romney has run a textbook campaign in the state, cultivating support at small town meetings across the state and building the kind of organization that usually pays dividends on caucus night.

Still, Romney has yet to consolidate conservative support throughout the party and a better-than-expected showing in Iowa could help McCain as the race heads to New Hampshire (assuming that the primary there will be after Jan. 3rd, something that's not yet a done deal). McCain has begun recovering his standing in both state and national polls as Fred Thompson has failed to ignite excitement and Rudy Giuliani has ticked up.

The cloudy GOP picture will only become muddier with McCain gains. While the Democratic race might get more attention due to the celebrity-like candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, it's the GOP contest which could be the most competitive and unpredictable. McCain's resurgence almost ensures that.

Obama Says Clinton Flip-Flops On Ethanol: Two days after Clinton unveiled her energy policy, Obama accused the New York Senator of flip-flopping when it comes to her support of Ethanol. Obama's campaign points out that Clinton has voted against ethanol many times in the Senate and, in an interview with the Des Moines Register, Obama said: "It's hard to believe that she is a strong ethanol supporter given her track record, and this is something that represents a major reversal, and what we need is consistency on these issues. If she's willing to shift this quickly on this issue, we don't know whether she will shift back when it gets hard."

Clinton spokesperson Mo Elleithee responded, saying that Clinton has always supported ethanol except in instances where her vote would be detrimental to her home state of New York, adding, "apparently, Senator Obama thinks misleading the voters about his fellow candidates' records is what the politics of hope is all about."

So Many Issues, So Little Time: From CBS News' Aaron Lewis, on the trail with Edwards: Anyone who follows John Edwards's campaign closely knows that the former senator has made the issue of global warming a priority. But one New Hampshire environmental organization is pushing Edwards to speak out even more.

Members of the Carbon Coalition – a NH-based organization advocating a responsible national energy policy – asked pointed questions to Edwards at two separate campaign stops in the Granite State about why he had not addressed global warming in his stump speech.

"I think that it is the most important issue that we face and I don't think you're being honest with all the people in this room by, you know, counting on someone like me to ask the question," said Sam Witherbee, a field organizer for the group, at a campaign stop in Portsmouth, NH.

Edwards took visible exception to Witherbee's charge and used a sharp tone in response.

"I can't tell you how strongly I disagree with what you just said," responded Edwards. "I can spend 30-45 minutes at every town hall meeting giving speeches or I can answer questions. Now if you want me to roll in like other presidential candidates and give a long speech, shake a few hands and leave I can do that. I think I show more respect to voters in NH by standing in front of you and answering your questions."

The crowd gave Edwards a strong round of applause and as Witherbee tried to elaborate his point, Edwards quickly shot him down.

"You're through," said Edwards. "You got a chance to talk. I do not agree with you. It is a huge issue facing this country. I have said it over and over and over. You are looking at the first presidential candidate that laid out an aggressive plan to attack global warming. I know it's a crisis. I believe it's a crisis."

Edwards then went on to explain his plan to stop global warming.

At the next campaign stop in Durham, Edwards was asked similar questions by two more coalition members. This time, the exchanges were much less tense.

Sen. Edwards said after the events that he took exception only to the premise that he was treating the issue of global warming too lightly. And, in fact, he praised the Carbon Coalition for its efforts to speak out for the environment.

"If they're speaking out about an issue that's as important as the crisis of global warming that's not a bad thing, that's a good thing," said Edwards.

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