Tom Tancredo dropped out of the presidential race today at a press conference in Des Moines. On his way out the door, he did in fact endorse a candidate: Mitt Romney.

We'll find out in the next two weeks if Tancredo's support will help Romney at all among the sort of rabidly anti-illegal immigration voters that Tancredo had long courted, despite Tancredo's own inability to have made any way in the polls.

Late Update: Tancredo declared at the press conference, "For the same reason that I launched the campaign, I must now end it." Presumably he was referring to his stated purpose at the campaign's outset, to drive the Republican Party his way on immigration.

And he very much succeeded, with even formerly conciliatory pols like Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani embracing a harder line. As Tancredo wryly stated at the YouTube debate, "all I've heard is people trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo."

Well, the nativist demagoguery was fun while it lasted. Tom Tancredo is expected to drop out of the presidential race tomorrow, two weeks to the day before the Iowa caucus. Tancredo had also indicated previously that he is not running for re-election to the House.

Tancredo had struggled to break through as a candidate in his own right, but he can probably take some satisfaction in seeing so many of the other candidates take a hard line on immigration, including those who had been more conciliatory in the past. As he said at the YouTube debate, "all I've heard is people trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo."

The Republican candidates met last night in Florida for a Spanish-language debate on Univision — minus Tom Tancredo, who considered the debate to be an act of pandering. Of the seven who did show up, they made their pitches to the Latino community, both for their own campaigns and on behalf of the Republican Party, which has been losing a lot of Hispanic votes in light of the recent upsurge in GOP nativism.

"I think some of the rhetoric that many Hispanics hear about illegal immigration makes some of them believe that we are not in favor nor seek the support of Hispanic citizens in this country," said John McCain. "Hispanics are pro-small business, they are pro-life, they are pro-religion, they are pro-less regulation, pro-less spending, pro-military, they're serving in incredible numbers in Iraq as we speak today."

Late Update: The English transcript of the debate is available here.

Here's Tom Tancredo's new ad in Iowa, in which the narrator shows the consequences of open borders: A lot of dirty, tattooed, brown-skinned gang members coming into this country to commit rape and murder.

A Tom Tancredo town hall in New Hampshire Saturday night sure seems like it was a fun old time. During the event, the candidate spoke out against the "Balkanization" of America and declared that Europe has already been "Islamicized."

The candidate was then confronted by a female 22-year old Arab student, who asked him pointedly if she is an enemy of America because she speaks more than one language, and wore a shawl over her head. Tancredo shot back by posing his own question: "Do you believe that we should replace the Constitution with Sharia law?"

Tom Tancredo has a new guest column in the Denver Post, defending his literally explosive ad after the paper had condemned it.

"If my advertisement is 'fear-mongering,' then Mothers Against Drunk Driving should apologize for suggesting that drunk driving kills innocent people. So do open borders," Tancredo writes. "The narrative text of my Iowa advertisement distinguishes between the 20 million illegal immigrants who come here 'to take our jobs' and those who come full of hate to conduct acts of terror. It is not fear-mongering to suggest that terrorists will join in taking advantage of our porous borders."

Again, here's that ad:

Tom Tancredo's new ad, set to run in Iowa — if any stations will accept it, that is — is a true original. The ad depicts the dire consequences of our open borders through a dramatization of a fictitious terrorist attack in the middle of a shopping mall. Furthermore, it even ends with the sound of an explosion!

One has to wonder if the plot is taken from the hypothetical terror scenario described by Brit Hume at the first Fox News debate earlier this year, which involved terrorist attacks taking place at malls.

Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has announced that he will not be running again for his seat in the House.

"It's the fact that I really believe I have done all I can do in the House, especially about the issue about which I care greatly," Tancredo said.

Tancredo's suburban Denver district gave 60% of its vote to President Bush in 2004, and is expected to remain in Republican hands.

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) went to the Senate floor today and blasted Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), accusing him of "bigotry and hatred" over Tancredo contacting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement yesterday and demanding a raid on a Durbin press conference at which Tancredo believed illegal aliens would be present.

Durbin said the actual participants at his press conference, to promote his stalled immigration bill, had been checked and were legally in the country — and attacked Tancredo for not looking into that.

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Although he's only in the House, Tom Tancredo has taken his fight against illegal immigration to the Senate side — by calling Immigration and Customs Enforcement and asking them to raid a press conference yesterday by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), at which Tancredo mistakenly believed illegal aliens would be attending.

Durbin was presenting a bill that would confer legal status upon illegal immigrants who have graduated high school and will attend college or serve in the Armed Forces for two years. Accompanying Durbin were three immigrant students, all of whom are in the United States legally on temporary visas. No action was taken by ICE.

"If we can't enforce our laws inside the building where American laws are made, where can we enforce them?" Tancredo said in a statement.

Tom Tancredo has pushed hard throughout his career for a fence along the Mexican border. Now that one has been enacted into law, though, actual construction has been thwarted by mayors along the Southern border who don't want the fence disrupting their communities and local commerce.

So Tancredo has an interesting solution: He would "build the border fence north of these communities."

"These mayors have already demonstrated that their hearts and loyalties lie with Mexico," Tancredo said. "Perhaps they'd feel more comfortable if their cities were geographically located there as well."

Is this a joke, or is he serious?

Whew -- this is a relief.

GOP Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo's campaign today clarified his recent assertion that retaliating against terrorism with attacks on Muslim holy sites would be an effective deterrent to further terror. The campaign said that Tancredo's not committed to pursuing this strategy as President -- proving that he's "open-minded."

"He is open-minded and willing to embrace other options," senior Tancredo adviser Bay Buchanan told CNN today.

That is indeed reassuring. Still, it would be premature to get too relieved, however. Tancredo still thinks it's a good idea and has no intention of ruling it out, either.

“This shows that we mean business,” Buchanan said. “There’s no more effective deterrent than that.”

Fun postcript: A State Department spokesperson told CNN that Tancredo's comments were “reprehensible” and “absolutely crazy.”

Hillary Clinton's widely popular Sopranos spoof, which got 500,000 hits in one day, may have started a disturbing trend – candidates shamelessly piggy backing on pop culture.

Tom Tancredo's campaign has announced the "Iowa's Idol" contest and asked Iowans 17 or younger to submit demo tapes of themselves showcasing their musical ability. Ten finalists will perform in front of a panel of three "celebrity" judges (as yet unannounced), and the winner will be crowned at the Ames straw poll in August. Tancredo has been polling one or two percent in Iowa.

Tancredo's press secretary, Alan Moore, said the campaign will promote the contest on talk radio and in newspaper advertising. And while seemingly completely unrelated to politics, Moore said the contest was designed to be "a gateway" for young people.

"The main purpose is to get young people involved in the political process," Moore told Election Central. "They're not just going to come and sing, but they're also going meet the candidate and listen to him talk.... It's a gateway is what is."

Here are some quick updates on the movements of the Presidential candidates:

* Rev. Jerry Falwell will host a "meet and greet" for Sen. John McCain a week from today at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Orlando, Florida. As you may recall, McCain famously descibed Falwell as an "agent of intolerance" when he was running against President Bush as a maverick outsider in 2000. Now, however, McCain is working hard to win over this agent of intolerance, even speaking at the 2006 spring commencement ceremony of Falwell's Liberty University. Video clips of McCain's evolving relationship with Falwell can be seen here.

* Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack issued a debate challenge to Sen. Barack Obama today, citing Obama's decision to skip a Feb. 21 candidate forum hosted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Carson City, Nevada. "As you know, AFSCME represents workers throughout Iowa and they would be willing to organize a forum for us in any town on Feb. 21,'' Vilsack wrote in a letter to Obama's campaign.

* Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced today that he has picked up the endorsement of Rep. Pete Sessions and former Rep. Susan Molinari. Sessions will work to build support in the House while Molinari will act as a Senior Adviser and Chairwoman of Washington outreach.

* During his trip to Iowa this weekend, Sen. Barack Obama obtained some key endorsements in the state: both Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Iowa State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald have officially thrown their weight behind Obama while freshman House member David Loebsack appeared on the official program of Obama's Iowa rally, though he did not officially endorse the candidate.

* Meanwhile, in an interview with AP yesterday, Obama laughed off comments by Australian Prime Minister John Howard that suggested terrorists would be "encouraged" if Obama was elected, saying “it's flattering that one of George W. Bush's allies feels obliged to attack me.” Howard told reporters that he doesn't "retreat in any way from that criticism."

* Rep. Duncan Hunter gave support to Howard's comments yesterday, saying that the Australian Prime Minister had "earned a right to comment" and was "basically stating the truth."

* Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the keynote speaker at the Missouri GOP's Lincoln Day dinner over the weekend. Romney is expected to officially announce is candidacy in Michigan tomorrow.

* Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee picked up two solid endorsements in South Carolina today: Former first lady Iris Campbell, whose late husband Caroll Campbell II was Governor '87 to '94, and her son Mike Campbell. Her other son, Caroll Campbell III, has endorsed Sen. John McCain.

* Speaking of McCain, the Arizona Senator will campaign in Iowa on Feb. 17.

* Though director Steven Spielberg seemed to be in camp Obama due to his co-hosting of a February fundraiser for the Senator in Los Angeles, Spielberg will also host a future fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Spielberg agreed to host the Clinton fundraiser after an appeal from former President Bill Clinton, according to Robert Novak.

* Rep. Tom Tancredo is backing a Colorado state legislature bill that would pull state pension funds out of companies with major investments in Sudan. The bill is meant to punish Sudan for the genocide in Darfur.

* California is THE big fundraising destination for candidates in the upcoming weeks: Rudy Giuliani is speaking to a non-partisan business group in Santa Clara, California today; Tom Vilsack will be in San Francisco tomorrow to speak to the Commonwealth club; former Sen. John Edwards will be at a $500- to $2,300-a-head dinner in Woodside on Thursday; Barack Obama is speaking at a a pair of big ticket fundraisers for Sen. Barbara Boxer on Feb. 19 then heading to Los Angeles the next day for a fundraiser hosted by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen; Also on Feb. 20, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will attend a fundraising lunch at the San Francisco law office of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein; and finally, on Feb. 23, Hillary Clinton will be in San Francisco for a $250 to $25,000 VIP luncheon and reception hosted by building mogul Walter Shorenstein, Esprit clothing co-founder Susie Tompkins Buell and investment banker Thomas Steyer.

* New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will travel to New Hampshire this week and Iowa next week.

Here are some updates on the movements of the Presidential candidates (plus one House '08 item):

* Speaking to activists in Iowa yesterday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney conceded that the Iraq war has been poorly managed, but refused to go against President Bush's current plan for the war.

* Speaking of Romney, he has been named the keynote speaker at a Lincoln Day dinner jointly sponsored by two Republican county committees in New Hampshire.

* Republican Minnesota state Sen. Dick Day has filed papers to challenge freshman Rep. Tim Walz (D-01) in 2008. Walz, an Afghanistan vet, beat incumbent Gil Gutknecht this past November in what many considered an upset.

* Sen. Barack Obama's fundraising practices -- and how they mesh with his call for higher fundraising standards -- come under scrutiny in the Chicago Sun Times.

* Did someone say "rock star"? Obama's Monday event at the University of New Hampshire is sold out despite being held in a gymnasium with a 3,500 person capacity.

* A bill being considered by the New Hampshire state Legislature is is meant to solidify the secretary of state's ability to schedule New Hampshire's primary -- traditionally the first in the nation -- before the Nevada caucuses.

* Sen. Hillary Clinton has hired New Hampshire Democratic Party executive director Nick Clemons as her state director. Clemons supervised the political and field operations that successfully gained two House seats for the Dems in 2006 and was the state director in New Hampshire for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004.

* In other Clinton hiring news, former Iowa Democratic Party communications director Mark Daley will serve as her communications director in New Hampshire.

* On the campaign trail today, Hillary Clinton is speaking in New York City, Sen. Christopher Dodd is in Florida to address the National Association of Home Builders' Board of Directors, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is the keynote speaker at the TD Ameritrade Partnership 2007 National Conference in San Diego, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is speaking to business leaders in New Hampshire and Mitt Romney is speaking at the Republican Party executive committee meeting in Alabama.

* Former Sen. John Edwards recieved a positive reaction at a crowded International Longshoremen's Association Hall in Charleston, South Carolina where he spoke yesterday about his health care plan and the need to withdraw from Iraq. Also in South Carolina, Mitt Romney fielded questions about abortion this morning when he spoke to a crowd of 100 in Anderson.

* Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is on course to have 14 New York City fundraisers in the bag by March 14, according to Ben Smith.

* The 2008 Presidential ad blitz is about to begin and far earlier than in previous elections due to the lack of a White House incumbent running and the gobs of cash in the race.

* New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said in a foreign policy address yesterday that the United States must reduce its stock of nuclear weapons, close Guantanamo Bay, and dramatically cut energy use in order to take the lead on many global issues. Richardson is both a former Secretary of Energy and ambassador to the United Nations.

* Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced today that that New Hampshire State School Board member Fred Bramante and former City Chair of the Manchester Republican Committee Cliff Hurst will serve as the New Hampshire Co-Chairs of his 2008 presidential exploratory committee.

* Rep. Duncan Hunter will next be in New Hampshire from Feb. 19-21.

* Speaking in Connecticut yesterday, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said he "can bring a degree of leadership" to the Presidential race while discussing his plans for Iraq, health care, education, and the environment.

* A fundraiser for Rep. Tom Tancredo in Greenwood Village, Colorado on Feb. 25 will be hosted by conservative talk radio hosts Peter Boyles and Robert "Gunny Bob" Newman.

Here are a few updates on the movements of the Presidential candidates:

* Sen. Barack Obama is set to forgo public financing for both the primaries and the general election. Obama follows Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. John McCain, and former MA Gov. Mitt Romney in opting out of federal matching funds.

* Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani will deliver the commencement speech at the Citadel military academy in South Carolina on May 5th.

* Despite his placement in the second-tier of Dem presidential candidates, CT Sen. Christopher Dodd led the pack in fundraising -- yes, including Hillary -- during the 4th quarter by raising $3 million over the last three months of 2006. Dodd's position as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee is thought to have brought increased donations from the financial-services industry.

* Two bloggers, Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon and Melissa McEwan of Shakespeare's Sister, recently hired by the campaign of former Sen. John Edwards are drawing fire from a conservative religious group, The Catholic League, over comments they made on their non-Edwards-related blogs before joining his campaign. Media Matters has a look at the inconsistent history of outrage by The Catholic League's president, William Donahue.

* Sen. John McCain has gained the endorsements of Ohio Rep. Stephen C. LaTourette and former Alabama state GOP chairman Winton Blount.

* Former MA Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Barack Obama, and former WI Gov. Tommy Thompson will each be traveling to Iowa this week. Romney will be in the state tomorrow, Thompson on Saturday, and Obama on Saturday and Sunday. Obama's visit will come on the heels of his official announcement of candidacy on Feb. 10.

* One of the biggest free agents left in New Hampshire, Bill Shaheen, the chairman of John Kerry's 2004 New Hampshire primary campaign and husband of former NH Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, was offered an unspecified campaign job when he met with Sen. Hillary Clinton in Washington, DC last week. Shaheen did not except immediately, but said he'd "make a decision in the near future." He will meet with Obama on Monday and has already fielded calls from Dodd, Edwards, and Sen. Joe Biden.

* Romney and Sen. Sam Brownback will address the Michigan Republican convention on Saturday while MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty will speak as a surrogate for John McCain. Pawlenty is the co-chairman of McCain's national campaign.

* Former IA Gov. Tom Vilsack blasted Senate Republicans yesterday for blocking a resolution critical of the Bush administration's Iraq policy and also criticized the non-binding resolution itself as "inaction."

* GOP Rep. Nathan Deal made it clear in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he's not jumping on the Mitt Romney endorsement train, but that he has warm feelings towards both former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Rep. Duncan Hunter.

* Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, speaking at a press breakfast in DC yesterday, said he was optimistic that he had no where to go but up in the Republican primary. "When you’re in first place right now, there’s only one direction you can go, and it’s not a good one," he told reporters.

* Meanwhile, Huckabee will visit New Hampshire this Friday while NM Gov. Bill Richardson is scheduled to attend a Feb. 17 fundraiser for Concord City Democrats and Sen. Christopher Dodd is set to attend the Merrimack County Democrat's St. Patrick's Day dinner on March 17.

* Rep. Dennis Kucinich re-introduced the Department of Peace and Non-Violence Bill yesterday with 52 co-sponsors.

* Rep. Tom Tancredo is stepping down as the chair of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, which Tancredo has led since his first Congressional term in 1999.

Here are the latest updates on the movements of the Presidential candidates:

• John McCain scored the support of a top religious right figure, picking up former Christian Coalition field director Guy Rodgers, who will serve on the McCain campaign as the Deputy Director of the Americans of Faith coalition.

• Barack Obama may have a controversy on his hands, Ben Smith reports. In a meeting of the Democratic National Committee's Black Caucus on Friday, Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr., who is black, told African-American political leaders who were uncertain of whom to support, "How long are you going to owe politicians for past favors?" — and that race alone should guide them to support Obama's candidacy.

• Hillary Clinton will be touring New Hampshire this Friday and Saturday, her first visit to the state in over ten years. Clinton had previously been scheduled to visit last weekend, but cancelled due to the death of her father-in-law.

• Mitt Romney's campaign announced that they are reaching out to modern cyber-campaigning, launching an official campaign Facebook group.

• John McCain has also announced the support of high-ranking state legislators in Romney's original home state of Michigan: Assistant House Minority Leader Kevin Elsenheimer, House Minority Floor Leader Chris Ward, and House Minority Whip Kevin Green, who will serve on McCain's Michigan steering committee.

• Sam Brownback told a crowd of about 240 people in Columbia, South Carolina — including a minister who regularly protests abortions — "I will commit to helping end abortion in America."

• Dennis Kucinich spoke on Sunday to a standing-room only crowd in Dover, New Hampshire, quoting a a line from English Romantic poem, "Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"

• Duncan Hunter travelled to Florida on Saturday, meeting with Sen. Mel Martinez and attending a cookout in the town of Lamont, near Tallahassee

• During his speech before the DNC on Saturday, Tom Vilsack called upon Congress to immediately stop funding the Iraq War.

• Tom Tancredo declared during a visit to Iowa on Saturday that multiculturalism has become "a cultural, political, linguistic tower of Babel," diluting patriotism and national identity in America.

Update: Mitt Romney's campaign announced on Friday the endorsements of three GOP House members from Kentucky: Hal Rogers, Ed Whitfield, and Ron Lewis.

Here are a few quick updates on the Presidential candidates:

* Barack Obama has landed the support of one of New York's most prominent fundraisers, Ben Smith reports.

* Tom Tancredo has called for the abolishment of the Conressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the wake of the rumored refusal of the Black Caucus to admit white Rep. Steve Cohen, D-TN.

* Mitt Romney will be visiting Iowa tomorrow, going to Waterloo, Fairbank and Dubuque with his son, Tagg, according to a campaign press release.

* Rudy Giuliani will be in New Hampshire tomorrow, giving the keynote speech to the Littleton Chamber of Commerce in Bretton Woods. He'll follow that up at the state GOP's annual meeting in Manchester on Saturday.

* Jim Gilmore and Tom Tancredo are also visiting New Hampshire this weekend, appearing separately at restaurants in the state, while another restaurant will feature a private fundraiser for John McCain featuring Governor Jon Huntsman Jr., a McCain backer.

* Bill Richardson and Wesley Clark will be appearing together this Saturday in Nevada, with both speaking at a fundraising dinner for the Douglas County Democratic Central Committee.

* In New Jersey, a Quinnipiac poll finds Rudy Giuliani leading the GOP field with 39%, followed by John McCain at 21%. On the Dem side, Hillary Clinton is in the lead with 30%, trailed by Barack Obama with 16%.

* A poll from Arizona State University has John McCain dominating the GOP side, as is to be expected among primary voters in his home state, with 54% of the vote, followed by Newt Gingrich with 14%. On the Dem side, Barack Obama is leading Hillary Clinton, 29%-23%.

Here are some updates on the movements of the Presidential hopefuls:

* A Rasmussen poll released today shows Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama statistically tied among Democrats across the country. This poll, strikingly, was conducted last week, before Obama's announcement of an exploratory committee.

* John McCain is struggling to connect with conservative activists -- even his home state of Arizona. He placed a distant fourth in a Maricopa County Republican straw poll held last week.

* Chris Dodd is introducing a bill to prohibit troop escalation in Iraq, taking a harder line than the non-binding resolution being offered by Harry Reid and the rest of the Democratic leadership — not to mention Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Clinton.

* Mitt Romney's committee has just announced the appointment of three GOP Congressmen as the campaign's House liasons: Jim McCrery, R-LA, Dave Camp, R-MI, and Buck McKeon, R-CA.

* Sam Brownback and Duncan Hunter will appear at the Blogs4Life Conference on January 22, the 34th anniversay of the Roe v. Wade decision, alongside other speakers such as Ramesh Ponnuru and Bobby Schindler, brother of the late Terri Schiavo.

* Tom Tancredo, the fiery anti-immigration GOP Congressman, has announced that he will form an exploratory committee.

GOP Rep. Tom Tancredo will decide whether to run for President in the "next couple of weeks," his spokesman tells Election Central. Tancredo is visiting Iowa this weekend to "gauge" the "interest" he can drum up in the state, his spokesman, Carlos Espinosa, says. Espinosa adds that Tancredo expects two things to happen on Monday that will help him make up his mind: He expects Barack Obama to announce his Presidential intentions, and also expects Sen. Wayne Allard to declare whether he's seeking reelection to his seat, which Tancredo has coveted "for some time." According to Espinosa, Tancredo is waiting for those two shoes to drop before setting about making up his mind.

GOP Rep. Tom Tancredo is headed to Iowa today to kick off a weekend of public book signings. Could it be the start of the anti-immigration hardliner's nascent campaign for President? Quite possibly. The Des Moines Register is reporting that Tancredo will announce his '08 intentions during his trip through the state. Tancredo will be in Iowa through Monday -- maybe he'll announce on MLK Jr. day.