The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Des Moines

After a brief Christmas truce, US presidential contenders hit the campaign trail full tilt Wednesday, just eight days before midwestern Iowa kicks off 2008 nominating contests. Top contenders could afford no more than a two-day holiday before getting out to again court voters, just eight days before the Iowa caucuses, and 13 before New Hampshire's crucial primary vote. Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, locked in a gruelling fight for the Democratic nomination, launched dueling tours of snow-covered Iowa, the central farm state that kicks off this year's election with party caucuses on January 3. Clinton's campaign raised the stakes for its post-Christmas events, dubbing her push "Time to Pick a President." She appeared with her husband, former president Bill Clinton -- still highly popular among Democratic voters -- and daughter Chelsea.