Barack Obama and Al Capone

We have under a year till next year's election. Why am I fatigued already? From AP-

GRINNELL, Iowa - Despite criticism from a few rivals, Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday kept pressing out-of-state students attending college in Iowa to return over their holiday break and vote in the Democratic caucus on Jan. 3.

"Don't listen to them, don't listen to them," he said of the critics. "Don't let somebody tell you that you are not part of this process — because your future is at stake, and America's future is at stake."

Speaking at a concert hall packed with students at Grinnell College, he said students who attend school in the state have established residency by doing so and are able to take part in the caucuses. The Illinois senator is polling strongly among young people in Iowa and could have much to gain in the close presidential nomination race from coeds willing to cut short their holiday and take part in the caucus.

Democratic rivals are divided over whether Obama is playing by the spirit of the rules. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chris Dodd have criticized the effort, with Dodd saying, "That may be the way politics is played in Chicago, but not in Iowa." Clinton said she's encouraging people who live and pay taxes in Iowa to show up. But John Edwards said the rules are "fairly liberal" when it comes to out-of-state students caucusing.

Obama apparently believes in what one famous former Illinois resident said. 'Vote early, vote often.' If these students are registered in other states, they could be committing felonies or misdemeanors by voting in their home state in addition to taking part in the Iowa caucus. Is it good presidential campaign strategy to encourage crime?

All snark aside, I'm betting all the major candidates are using similar tactics. The junior Senator from Illinois may be best served in the future by not so brazenly announcing legal but unsavory campaign tactics.

Linked to- Leaning Straight Up, Morewhat, Pirate's Cove, Right Wing Nation,