Bringing it all Barack home

Yet another poll has chronicled the Barack Obama surge in New Hampshire but in this one, for his backers, the beauty is surely in the details.

Obama has opened up a seven-point lead on Clinton among New Hampshire voters on the eve of that state's primary, according to a new CBS News poll. Among likely primary voters, Obama leads Clinton 35 percent to 28 percent with John Edwards getting 19 percent. The poll re-interviewed the same group of voters surveyed in November. In that poll, Clinton led Obama 39 percent to 19 percent.

Now here's what revealing, says CBS: "Forty-two percent in the latest poll said they believe Obama has the best chance of winning the general election -- up from just 11 percent in November. In the earlier poll, 72 percent gave Clinton the best chance of winning but 41 percent of those same voters now say so."

Another surprising finding: "Both Obama and Clinton are seen as agents of change, a driving theme of the campaign. While 63 percent of respondents said Obama can bring 'real change' to Washington, 60 percent said the same for Clinton. But Obama has made headway among New Hampshire voters on the question of experience. Fifty-one percent said Obama is prepared for the presidency, up from 37 percent in the November poll. Eighty-one percent agreed that Clinton is prepared to take over the Oval Office, a number statistically unchanged since the previous survey."

But let's not forget the real (movie) star of the campaign, as reported by the L.A. Times today: "Actor Chuck Norris, whose early endorsement helped catapult the former Arkansas governor to national status, is with Huckabee on the campaign trail today. Bristling at attacks on Huckabee for being a minister, Norris said on 'Fox & Friends' this morning: 'Why can't they give him credit where credit's due as the governor of Arkansas, who took over the governorship with a deficit of $200 million and when he left the governorship it was $850 million in the black? Give him a break. I mean, you know, Mitt Romney's a bishop, so why don't they call him Bishop Romney?'"