Tom Tancredo is expected to announce that he's dropping out of the race today in Des Moines. December 20 seems an odd time to drop out; unless of course Tancredo's campaign was never about actually running for president, and simply about bringing his rabidly anti-immigrant agenda some national attention. That's why he says he's isn't seeking reelection to the House next year -- his lone issue is getting enough attention. As he himself said at one of the debates, the candidates have been "trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo" in the primaries -- upping the ante on who's the toughest tough guy on immigration. It remains, or course, an important question as to whether the party's focus on immigration to the exclusion of many other issues will be at all successful in the general election.
--Kate Sheppard
