MICHELE NORRIS, host:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Michele Norris.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
I'm Robert Siegel.
And with us in the studio, fresh from the airport, is NPR national political correspondent, Mara Liasson. Hi yah.
MARA LIASSON: Hi. How are you doing?
SIEGEL: And we should say, Mara is part of the massive exodus of reporters -some of them sleepwalking - out of New Hampshire along with the pollsters, politicians and others. The presidential candidates have dispersed to the states with primaries and caucuses up next. Some of the candidates who are savoring the sweetness of unanticipated success, others tasting the bitter opposite. But all were counting the dollars and the delegates of a protracted nomination fight.
Mara, I guess at this stage it's pretty clear there's no frontrunner in either party.
LIASSON: Absolutely not.
SIEGEL: But in New Hampshire, among the big losers were a lot of the polls.
LIASSON: Yes, well, at least the polls regarding the democratic race. The polls and conventional wisdom took a beating. And I think we'd probably all do well to throw the polls out the window and just pay attention to the candidates. It probably won't happen.
SIEGEL: Okay, well, we will do that for now, at least. Let's pay attention to the candidates and the choices that face them. First, the Democrats. Hillary Clinton, what does she have to do between now and, as we call it, Tsunami Tuesday in February?
LIASSON: Well, I think what she has to do is really retool her message. Instead of complaining about falls hopes and being - making the unusual argument of attacking idealism of Barack Obama, she needs to generate some of her own. She really has to show her vision of the future. That's what her folks say that she's got to do, not just stress her experience and her resume and her tough toughness. Make it not just about her. She did stop Barack Obama's momentum for now, for the moment. But she has to win sometime soon, either in Nevada or South Carolina, to generate some of her own momentum.
SIEGEL: And Barack Obama, what does he have to do?
LIASSON: I think he has to pass the Oval Office test. I think he have to make some policy speeches. His advisors say he will be doing that. And he has to keep winning. He's won one now, he has to win somewhere else, either Nevada or South Carolina. He did get the endorsement of the Culinary Workers Union in Nevada, that's very important.
SIEGEL: Very powerful.
LIASSON: Also, I think he has to show that he is tough enough to withstand the onslaught that's going to come from the Clinton campaign and the increased press scrutiny.
SIEGEL: Is it now a two-way race? Or if not, how long does John Edwards stay in it?
LIASSON: Well, that's hard to say. Unless he pulls off some kind of a miracle and wins in South Carolina, which I can't imagine, there's going to be pressure on him to pull out. I don't see him pulling out, certainly not until after South Carolina; it's the state where he was born. And he really is on a personal mission now. But I do think it has become a two-way race.
SIEGEL: Now, let's switch over to the Republicans where the field is bigger. We agreed there are no frontrunners, could you make a case that John McCain is now the Republican frontrunner?
LIASSON: For the moment. But I think the task for John McCain is to win Michigan, win Michigan and win Michigan. I just — it's hard to see how he goes on without doing that. He has to show that he can do what he couldn't do in 2000, which is come out of New Hampshire, and he actually did win Michigan in 2000, but then he has to go on and win more. The problem for McCain is that he's in a position that's too similar to the position that he was in in 2000 with not a lot of money, little organization after his New Hampshire win.
In Michigan, it's going to tough for him. He's facing Romney, of course his father was governor there. And Huckabee's competing there, too. And even though he and Huckabee have been real partners in the race, so far, against Romney, Huckabee will give John McCain competition for blue-collar votes in Michigan.
SIEGEL: What does Mitt Romney do? Where does he go after Michigan, let's say?
LIASSON: Well, he goes to Michigan and he really has to win there. And then, of course, he goes on to South Carolina or Florida. I think that if he loses Michigan, he certainly can go on because he has the resources. But I think he'll face some pressure to drop out if he doesn't win Michigan. There is a report today that he's pulling his television spots in South Carolina and Florida to concentrate on Michigan. It shows you how important that state is to him and how he's husbanding his resources. He's not running out of them, but he is concentrating them.
SIEGEL: Mike Huckabee, does he need a mass conversion to evangelical Christianity to carry him?
LIASSON: Well, one of his task is to show that he can broaden his appeal, that he's more than a one-note candidate. He has big support in South Carolina, where there are lots of evangelicals. But then if he wins there, he has to go on and win somewhere else, maybe Florida, states where the electorate is more diverse.
SIEGEL: Where Giuliani expects to win.
LIASSON: Yeah, and Giuliani absolutely has to win Florida. He has to show that he can win somewhere. He has to show that his unconventional strategy is going to work. And, of course, his strategy depends on the Republican race staying muddled. And so far, it is.
SIEGEL: Fred Thompson hasn't much to show for his campaign so far.
LIASSON: I think he has to win South Carolina. I just don't see how he stays in without a win in the south very, very soon.
SIEGEL: Okay, Mara. Well done. Thank you very much.
LIASSON: Thank you, Robert.
SIEGEL: NPR national political correspondent, Mara Liasson. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
