Good Friday morning. Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning summed up yesterday best in a statement: "As a fan and former player this is the saddest day in my life for baseball. ... The selfish acts of those individuals who tried to cheat the system have brought the integrity of the game to its knees." Click at the bottom of this post for Bunning's complete statement. Here's what else Washington is looking at today:

-- No votes are expected in the House, which meets in pro forma session this morning. The Senate will meet early and hopes to complete work on the farm bill before beginning work on overhaul of the federal housing administration and the defense department authorization. President Bush holds a cabinet meeting before signing a free trade agreement with Peruvian President Alan Garcia. Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on Iran with Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence.

-- Say what you will, yesterday's Democratic debate was nothing if not fair. While PBS legends Jim Lehrer and Gwen Ifill have nothing to fear, as Des Moines Register editor Carolyn Washburn will not likely beat them to the presidential debate stage in September and October, at least Washburn gave everyone just about to talk yesterday. NBC's timed it -- all the candidates are within a few minutes of each other, with Hillary Clinton near the bottom and Obama just two minutes ahead, with the same number of questions. Bottom line: Everyone got more than 10 minutes to talk, and Bill Richardson did the best at hogging the mic.

-- The debate yesterday was much like the GOP gathering a day before: Everyone played, for the most part, nice. It even seemed like Washburn got her stride a bit: At least no one was asked to raise his or her hand. And like yesterday, everyone had their moments. Clinton got in the most attention-grabbing zinger, with a double shot at Edwards and Obama. Edwards was good enough to win Fox News and CNN focus groups. Obama got in the best joke, a line about Clinton advising him in office, made all the better by a genuine Clinton cackle. Biden was the big thinker. And, we suppose, Richardson didn't fall off the stage. The biggest winner has to be Obama: He's got the momentum and no one robbed him of that, much as Clinton won every early debate simply by not losing.

-- And if you just haven't had enough debates, Jonathan Martin reports that Iowa Republicans are considering giving it one more shot, thanks to Ms. Washburn's subpar performance on Wednesday. Watch us dance with glee.

-- That's a fundamental shift in the Democratic race: While national polls don't show it yet, it's almost as if everyone suddenly suspects that Obama is actually leading the race. As this reporter found out today with a piece on Clinton's slipping support among women, people get irritated when someone questions their candidate. But something is changing in the presidential race, and it's sure to generate as much inbox hate-mail as I got this morning. Check out The Fix's Friday Line, where Obama is suddenly tied with Clinton after trailing all year.

-- Speaking of a fundamental shift in the race, we've seen it coming on the GOP side for a while longer now. Still, it's striking when the once-vaunted Mitt Romney, he of the PowerPoint presentations and perfect hair, admits to the New York Times that he is, in fact, the underdog in Iowa. Romney signaled a new avenue of attack against Huckabee yesterday, going after his record of pardons and commutations. There's a pretty stark distinction there: Huckabee gave out more than 1,000 pardons or commutations in 10 years as governor. Romney gave out none. Do Iowans care, or is that compassionate conservatism at work?

-- It seems like everything is revolving around Huckabee in the Republican field. First, prominent GOP strategist Ed Rollins agreed to serve as Huckabee's national campaign chairman, The Hill reports. The former Reagan campaign manager brings insider creds to the outsider's campaign. Second, Rep. Ron Paul, he of the massive crowds and floating blimp, is paying two Arkansas State Representatives about $5,000 each to head to Iowa for a series of interviews attacking Huckabee. Third, AP's Andrew DeMillo (who Jonathan Martin rightly points out is getting a serious load of work now that Huckabee's at the top) reports a new bombshell: Huckabee backs the Southern Baptist Convention's position that women should "submit graciously" to their men. Huckabee has some other problems on womens' issues, including opposing equal pay. Those stands likely wouldn't go over well in important swing states.

-- What a perfect argument: Republicans blast out a release as the Democratic Presidential nominee chooses a running mate, calling the pick the most liberal person ever born, et cetera. If Democrats pick someone who looks like he's hoping for a tap on the shoulder, they'll be able to respond by saying the guy's clearly a moderate: He sued the DNC. That would be the case if Florida Sen. Bill Nelson is the Veep selection. Nelson is cohosting a fundraiser, Mary Ann Akers reports, with DNC chair Howard Dean, the man he lost a lawsuit to last week over the primary calendar, in Miami next week. Nelson won't actually be there, though; the Senate is in session. Too bad, that would have been a fun photo op.

-- In a blow to Democrats, and certainly likely to change things up on Politics Nation's Exchange, former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore has decided against making a run for Senate, the Jackson Clarion Ledger reports. Moore said polls showed he could win, and that he would have the money necessary to win the race, but that he would rather spend the time with his family. Democratic hopes now turn to former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, while Congressman Roger Wicker still looks like the GOP front-runner.

-- Spicy Meatball Of The Day: AdAge reports that on December 10, campaigns topped the $1 million in ad spending in one day mark. Clinton is spending $275,000 in New Hampshire, while Obama is up with about $150,000 in ads in three early primary states. Edwards is spending less than Obama, and only in Iowa and South Carolina. Romney is burning through $250,000 a day in the three early states plus Florida, while McCain and Giuliani are spending $150,000 a day in New Hampshire. Mike Huckabee is spending just $10,000 a day in Iowa. When's the first $2 million day? Evan Tracey guesses January 2.

-- Today On The Trail: Clinton fundraises at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. John Edwards has meetings in Elkader and Manchester, Iowa. Obama is still bus touring through Monticello, Cedar Rapids, Manchester and Guttenberg, Iowa. Hope they run into each other for an awkward handshake. Chris Dodd is in Cedar Rapids and Davenport and Joe Biden is in Keokuk, Fort Madison, Burlington and Davenport. Bill Richardson gets New Hampshire all to himself, holding an AARP forum in Concord followed by town halls in Keene, Claremont, Hanover and Lebanon.

-- On the GOP side, Fred Thompson has a press conference scheduled at the Louisville Slugger factory in Kentucky (bring us one of those mini-bats). John McCain meets residents at an American Legion post in James Island, South Carolina, while Mitt Romney holds town hall meetings in Carroll, Early and Storm Lake, Iowa. Ron Paul meets supporters in Elko, Nevada, while Mike Huckabee and Chuck Norris visit Boscawen and Tilton, New Hampshire.