by Jim Tankersley
NASHUA, N.H. -- Soccer moms and NASCAR dads are so 2004. As Iowa and New Hampshire prepare to start winnowing the most wide-open presidential primary field in a half-century, a new group of swing voters is finally getting the candidate attention they deserve.
We're talking about insomniac undecideds - the people literally lying awake nights trying to figure out whom to vote for.
On the air in New Hampshire and on the ground in Iowa, the presidential campaign has become a late-night affair. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) pushed midnight with a Dubuque rally last night. Former Sen. John Edwards (suggested new campaign motto: "There are Two Americas: one that sleeps and one that doesn't") scheduled rallies for midnight and 2:15 a.m. today, before heading to a 5:15 a.m. pancake breakfast.
Anyone flipping channels around 3 a.m. in New Hampshire earlier this week -- during a commercial break for a "Planet of the Apes" movie marathon, for example -- could have caught Edwards smiling in a campaign ad on a local news station. Republican Mitt Romney's attacks on rival John McCain also appear to be getting late-night play.
If folks still can't make up their minds after all that, we recommend C-SPAN and its replays of campaign events from earlier in the day. If hours of speeches and surrogates can't help you decide, at least they might lull you to sleep.
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Have a question about Iowa? E-mail it to us and we'll answer them during our video chat scheduled for 12:30 pm central time today.
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