Between Labor Day and Halloween, it looked as if Hillary Clinton was pulling away, and for good, from Barack Obama and John Edwards in the Democratic race. But now, with Veterans Day upon us, it seems her leads are shrinking in both Iowa and New Hampshire. (Double h/t to Todd Beeton over at MyDD.) As Garance points out, Hillary now has a fact-checking site, which seems mostly dedicated to correcting Obama's statements about her. The Clinton campaign has also changed its slogan, too. Perhaps all of this is just a normal correction to her late-summer, early-autumn breakout period. Or perhaps the Clinton-as-evader theme is gaining traction. And perhaps the Obama field operation, which will not be his fatal flaw like it was Howard Dean's four years ago, is slowly making progress in the early states. Perhaps it is some combination of all three. In any case, the real question is whether this movement is all a bit too little, too late. Soon it will be holiday season.* Political news will fade somewhat into the background and the attentions of Americans -- yes, even those in Iowa and New Hampshire -- will be redirected toward turkey, shopping, wrapping and eggnog. The rest of this month and early parts of December are therefore really critical, especially for Obama, who continues to suffer because he is unable consolidate the non-Hillary vote. I suspect that if there are big poll changes in the weeks ahead, it probably won't be because Hillary dips any further, but because Edwards and Richardson supporters abandon their first choices and jump to Obama. Failing that, this late-autumn Clinton stumble will be a meaningless moment long forgotten by the time the New Hampshire returns are in. --Tom Schaller (*Yes, I know, we have already reached the seemingly interminable holiday season, if the hearing of my first Christmas tune is an indication of its arrival; I heard my first tune this past weekend.)