WASHINGTON -- Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party's presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it. The nature of the alleged scandal was not disclosed.

This word-of-mouth among Democrats makes Obama look vulnerable and Clinton look prudent. It comes during a dip for the front-running Clinton after she refused to take a stand on New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's now discarded plan to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

Experienced Democratic political operatives believe Clinton wants to avoid a repetition of 2004, when attacks on each other by presidential candidates Howard Dean and Richard Gephardt were mutually destructive and facilitated John Kerry's nomination.

LOU FOR PRESIDENT?

The name of longtime CNN commentator Lou Dobbs has entered speculation as a possible independent candidate for president. At age 62, he never has engaged in politics, but is reported by people who know him as pondering a presidential run.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been the most likely independent candidate, particularly if Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani win the Democratic and Republican nominations. But Dobbs's hard-line positions on immigration, international trade and globalization starkly contrast with the three New Yorkers.

If Dobbs really chooses to run, his problem would be finding sufficient campaign funds. While billionaire Bloomberg can handle this difficulty by writing a check, Dobbs would be getting a late start in campaign finance.

OUT OF IOWA

Sen. John McCain soon will consider opting out of the Jan. 3 Iowa presidential caucuses to take the sting out of a probable fifth-place finish there.

McCain skipped Iowa in 2000 while nearly seizing the presidential nomination from heavily favored George W. Bush. But when McCain was the early front-runner for 2008, it was decided he would contest the state this time.

The rationale for leaving Iowa now would be total concentration on the subsequent New Hampshire primary. Although McCain defeated Bush by landslide proportions in New Hampshire eight years ago, he did so with overwhelming support from independents who are likely to vote in the Democratic primary this time. Continued...