MINNEAPOLIS -- Halfway through the trip to Des Moines, and with just minutes before flight number two, some quick hits this morning:

-- Today On The Trail: Hillary Clinton continues her Pick A President tour in Lawton, Denison, Carroll and Guthrie Center, Iowa. Barack Obama hits events in Des Moines, Nevada, Marshalltown, Toledo and Vinton. John Edwards hits Waukon, Decorah, Waverly and Waterloo. Joe Biden is in Corydon, Creston and Council Bluffs, while Chris Dodd hits Waukon, West Union and Des Moines. Bill Richardson holds his presidential job interviews in Denison, Carroll, Jefferson, Boone and Story City.

-- On the GOP side, Mike Huckabee is in Winter Park and Windermere, Florida, raising money, while Rudy Giuliani has events in Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach and Miami. John McCain is in Des Moines, Clear Lake, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Cedar Falls, while Fred Thompson's bus tour has him stumping in Urbandale, Osceola, Chariton and Knoxville. Mitt Romney has New Hampshire to himself, with events in Nashua, Manchester and Bedford. Ron Paul is in Des Moines all day.

-- The big news today: Obama launches his closing argument at a morning event in Des Moines, The Page reports, and it's back to the change theme. Halperin's key quote: "If they've been secretive in the past, they'll be secretive as president. If they haven't been all that strong on lobbyists in the past, [it] doesn't matter what they say in the campaign, they won't be that strong about it when they are president."

-- Obama's close to if not ahead in Iowa. Why is he staying on the attack? Do internal polls tell him something the public polls don't reflect yet? Mixing it up with John Edwards over the weekend and on Christmas Eve, and now refocusing on Clinton, Obama gives us the impression that the already fluid race has shifted yet again, and in Clinton's favor.

-- Did Rudy Giuliani's health scare make some voters question whether he's in good enough health to be president? His campaign finally released a statement from the doctor, OnCall reports. Doctor Valentin Fuster said Giuliani's "significant headache and fatigue" necessitated a CT-MRI and other tests, including spinal fluid evaluation, but that at the end Giuliani remains healthy. Also in the statement: Backing up the campaign staff, Fuster said the symptoms can be accurately described as flu-like. Some had questioned whether Giuliani's staff hadn't misstated the health scare.

-- More from Des Moines later today.