If anybody noticed, November is only a week old and has already had a tremendous impact on both the Democratic and Republican primaries for president. Some Republicans netted key endorsements, two have made great strides in state and national polls and one had a record-setting fundraising day. On the Democratic side, the impervious one finally showed some vulnerability, which breathed new life into the lagging campaigns of two lesser contenders. With less than two months remaining before the Iowa Caucus, here’s the most significant news of the early month.


10. Stephen Colbert fails to get on S.C. ballot, calls it quits — The South Carolina Democratic Committee voted last week to bar Colbert from the state’s primary ballot. This should have been nothing more than a joke, except the fact that in a national survey matching him up as an independent against Rudy and Hillary, he got 13 percent of the vote.

9. Thompson blunders, twice, but steps up efforts in New Hampshire — He made a pro-choice statement, and was caught saying off-air he doesn’t think he will be president. Neither is a good move as he tries to woo New Hampshire Republicans. His campaign finally seems to be taking off, though.

8. Brownback endorses McCain — The “Straight Talk Express” needed big news to keep its resurgence continuing, and a big endorsement John McCain got. Just a month removed from withdrawing from the race, Sen. Sam Brownback, a favorite of social conservatives, said he now supports McCain as the party’s nominee. Maybe his campaign isn’t dead after all.

7. Ron Paul raises $4.2 million in one day — Dr. Paul continued his insurgent campaign by setting a new GOP record for single day fundraising … on a British holiday (Guy Fawkes Day). He is up to 5 percent nationally in the primary for the first time, and could shake things up in New Hampshire, a state that historically favors the unconventional.

6. Chris Dodd says Dems need an “electable” candidate — As if Hillary didn’t have a bad enough debate, Sen. Chris Dodd, a long shot of all long shots, accused her of being unelectable in the general election. It doesn’t help that she polls significantly worse than Barack Obama and John Edwards when matched up against Republican front-runners.

5. National Parties punish rogue states —The Republican National Committee voted overwhelmingly yesterday to cut the delegates awarded to five early states in half. These states violated party rules in moving their primaries to earlier dates, although it shouldn’t dramatically affect the dynamic of the race. Considering the Democratic Committee did likewise, we could be seeing some big changes in primary rules for 2012.

4. Huckabee establishes self as national force — It’s official, Mike Huckabee is in the ever-crowded top tier of Republican candidates. He is now polling solidly within the margin of error of second place nationally, with Romney, Thompson and McCain. Although his entire campaign relies on a win in Iowa, nobody is ignoring him anymore.

3. Polls show Romney dominating early states — New polls in recent days show Gov. Romney with significant leads in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote. He is also making significant strides in South Carolina, moving from afterthought to within the margin of error in just months. He got a couple of important social conservative endorsements as well, and after a rough October, looks to be in good shape again.

2. Rudy picks up Robertson endorsement — This is definitely the biggest development on the Republican side of the contest, as Pat Robertson is a very influential televangelist. Nobody expected Rudy to get any support from the religious right, but the fear of Queen Hillary might have been enough to scare Robertson into endorsing him. The big question is whether this helps Rudy or destroys Robertson, who isn’t as popular as he has been in the past. Just wait to hear from James Dobson — he will be the biggest catch.

1. Hillary Clinton’s debate blunder — The well-oiled machine finally showed signs of weakness in the last Democratic debate. Hillary balked on a couple of issues, playing both sides and winning neither. This breathes new life into the Obama and Edwards campaigns, who now see a slight chance of beating what looked to be once unbeatable. It was only one mistake, but that suggests she could be prone to make more. Stay tuned…