Romney, Huckabee and Paul all gain significantly in SC

From Byron York of National Review, a summary and analysis of the most recent SC "Palmetto" poll (from Clemson U.) about the Republican presidential candidates.

Romney, Huckabee and Paul all gained 5-7%.
McCain and Thompson dropped 4%; Giuiliani dropped 9%.
Undecideds also jumped 8%.

As a result, the race is quite tight-- and wide open: Romney--17%, Thompson--15%, Huckabee--13%, McCain--11%, Giuiliani--9%, Paul-- 6%. Apparently, those who are choosing candidates are now more confident, but "undecideds" have increased to 28%.

Back in August, when callers working for Clemson University’s Palmetto Poll got in touch with South Carolina voters about the Republican primary, the responses they got were pretty relaxed. “They’d say, ‘Oh, I like McCain,’ or ‘I like Rudy,’ but it was kind of casual,” says David Woodard, the Clemson political science professor who directs the poll. Now, that has changed. The election is within sight — South Carolina Republicans will go to the polls January 19 — and people are being more careful with their answers. Fewer respondents are saying who they support, and the number of voters classified as undecided is climbing as the campaign goes on.

Among the Democrats, Obama and Edwards edged up. But the big news was Hillary dropping 7% into a virtual tie with Obama and only a few points up on Edwards.