THE winter is raw but the race to the Oval Office is warming up already, although there are another 22 months before Americans decide on their 44th president.
Last week, the biggest name so far threw her hat in the battle, to nobody's surprise.
Just two days before Hillary Clinton announced her bid for the White House, Frank M. Newport, editor-in-chief of The Gallup Polls, spoke to a group of foreign journalists in New York.
“It's inevitable,” he said of the former first lady's intention to join the race for the Democratic presidential nomination next year.
She constantly topped the opinion polls, and as Newport puts it, Hillary is one of the best-known politicians in the United States today.
“She already has a strongly chiselled image,” he said, unlike newbie Barack Obama, the Illinois senator, who is a blank slate to Americans.
It will be a long-distance race as the primary elections, where voters pick the candidate to represent their party, are still another year away.
And one year in politics is like 1,001 Arabian Nights, only 10 times over.
It's a fact that the Gallup organisation, which studies human nature, most readily acknowledged.
Newport looked to history; around this time 16 years ago, Bill Clinton ranked low in a Gallup poll for the Democratic nomination with just 2% support.
Gradually, his profile rose and by January the following year, he had emerged the frontrunner.
Meanwhile, the entertainment begins for the observers as public scrutiny of the presidential candidates intensifies. Nothing, and nobody, is left out by the eagle-eyed American media.
A tabloid even noted how tall Michelle Obama is.
The 43-year-old Harvard-educated wife of Obama is 1.8m, and that the two of them watched a movie called Do the Right Thing on their first date.
Her dressing, naturally, is placed under the microscope and she seemed to pass.
“She keeps her wardrobe strictly no-frills, her shoes are sensible and her jewellery, minimum.” That was how New York Post graded her.
Hillary also received high marks from image consultants, who apparently liked her Nehru-style jackets and her haircut.
However, her best asset remains hubby Bill, still wildly popular among Americans.
Voting for her means you get two-for-the price-of-one, as some people say.
But critics believe that she won't even be a senator if not for her last name and that she mirrors all that is wrong in politics.
Others are already jumping the gun, trying to predict the replacement as New York senator, should Hillary succeed in taking control of the White House.
One Democrat contender, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, is said to be a Guinness World Record holder. His feat? He shook 13,392 hands in one day during his campaign for governor four years ago.
The 2008 race will create a record of its own.
Hillary, 59, will be the first female president of the United States, if she's in and she wins, to borrow her own quote. At least eight other Democrat candidates are eyeing the presidential nomination.
Among them, Richardson, who will become the first Hispanic in the White House if he triumphs.
No prize for guessing the record that Obama will create if he wins.
Over at the Republican side, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, a potential contender, will be the first Mormon president, if he's lucky.
“Americans are not ready to vote for a Mormon yet,” Newport said.
As Time magazine noted two months ago, most Americans are still not comfortable with the Mormon faith, although its followers are very much family-focused.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is heading the polls among Republican hopefuls, followed by Arizona governor John McCain.
So far, 17 politicians from both parties are in the race to the White House, although some of them have not made that formal declaration yet.
“One reason why this election is fascinating is because this is a truly open election. There is no incumbent running and at this point, everything looks more positive for the Democrat Party. This is one of the reasons why the Democrats are scrambling for it,” said Newport.
Hillary or Obama, they are not the only game in town.
