Here's a quick rundown on the movements of the 2008 Presidential candidates:

* It's official: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will announce that he's running for President as soon as the week of January 8th, a Romney adviser tells the Associated Press. "The timing is somewhat dependent on when Sen. John McCain of Arizona makes an expected announcement about his own campaign for the GOP nomination," the AP says, citing the Romney aide.

* Former Dem Sen. John Edwards will head to Des Moines, Iowa on Dec. 28 to hold a "special town hall" with locals. The visit is expected to be part of a tour of early primary states coinciding with the official announcement of his '08 intentions.

* GOP Sen. Sam Brownback touted his opposition to abortion and gay marriage as proof that he's the only true conservative in the race -- and hence, that he can win -- at a campaign stop yesterday in Spartanburg, SC.

* A group in Oregon has launched its own version of the "Draft Obama" campaign.

* Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who lost his bid for the Senate in '06, is now seeking an advisory role on a 2008 GOP campaign. Steele has been in contact with each of the GOP campaigns.

* In order to deflect questions about Dem Sen. Joe Biden's staying power in the 2008 race following Sen. Evan Bayh's exit from it, Biden's advisers made sure to leak word that he has raised $5.5 million through September, which they claim is "more new money than most would-be rivals to Clinton and Obama." Biden's aides also let it be known that he will announce an exploratory committee early in the new year.

* Dem Sen. Christopher Dodd (yes, he's thinking of running for President, too) joined other Dem hopefuls by telling reporters yesterday that "there's no need for a so-called surge of some 20,000 to 30,000 troops" in Iraq. That puts him in the company of Hillary Clinton and Tom Vilsack, both of whom have opposed an increase.