This weekend brings the next major step in the race for the White House, as both parties hold caucuses in Nevada and the GOP has a primary in South Carolina.

History tells us that South Carolina has led the way for GOP candidates, as since 1980, every winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to the Republican nomination for President.

For now, the polls continue to indicate an advantage for John McCain in the Palmetto State, with Mike Huckabee running a strong second. Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are battling for third.

"What is helping McCain is the presence of Fred Thompson, the conservative who is siphoning support away from Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee," says pollster John Zogby.

Mitt Romney voted with his feet on South Carolina, as he flew Thursday out to Nevada for several campaign events, the only GOP candidate who has gone to the Silver State this week. He will be there again on Friday and Saturday.

Whether Romney has a chance to win those caucuses is unclear, as the last two polls from Nevada had conflicting results. One showed Romney ahead, the other had McCain leading.

Those same polls had a split result for Democrats as well, with Hillary Clinton narrowly ahead in one, Barack Obama in the other, and John Edwards not far behind.

Democrats: Nevada then South Carolina

Because the South Carolina primary is split over two weekends, Democrats will focus first on Nevada's caucuses Saturday and then transition to the January 26 showdown in South Carolina.

One big dustup has been over caucus sites at some of the casinos along the Las Vegas Strip. The Clinton camp doesn't care much for that, because it would allow members of a union backing Obama to more easily vote, but the courts backed the unions.

Another battleground has been in radio advertisements. One ad for Obama on Spanish stations called Clinton "shameless" and drew jabs from not only the Clinton campaign, but the Edwards camp as well.

All three have been in Nevada for much of this week, though Edwards will leave Friday and make some stops in Super Tuesday states on his way back to South Carolina. He arrives there on Saturday night.

Even if Edwards fails to win in South Carolina, it won't surprise many in DC to see him continue through Super Tuesday, which could certainly drain votes and delegates away from Clinton and Obama.

But it won't stop stories centered on whether he should get out of the race, sort of like the stories four years ago about whether he should be the Vice Presidential nominee.

Economy Politics, 2008 Version 1.0

"It's the economy, stupid" was a line from the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign that was coined by Democratic strategist James Carville, a line that may well apply in 2008.

The politics of the economy swung into high gear soon after President Bush returned to Washington, D.C. from the Middle East, as both sides in Congress are clamoring for a bipartisan deal on an economic stimulus plan.

The President will lay out some of his ideas on Friday, as leaders in both parties signal that they want to find a bipartisan compromise in the range of $150 billion.

On the campaign trail, John McCain laid out his own ideas for how best to boost the economy, a package that emphasizes lower taxes and tax breaks designed to spur new business growth and job creation, but no taxpayer rebates.

McCain would cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 25 percent; establish and permanent research and development tax credit; and and allow first year deductions for equipment and technology investments.

"Now is the time to act to stimulate our economy," said McCain.

On the trail in South Carolina, GOP rival Fred Thopmson wasn't so sure. Asked about a stimulus plan by reporters - he said that leaving the economy alone might be the best solution for now.

Right now is probably the best time for Congressional leaders to broker a deal on a stimulus plan, because if there's a clear nominee in a few weeks, then moving without having that campaign on board could create political troubles.

It is just one of many political calculations that all arms of both parties have to make in a presidential election year.

Where Are the Candidates Today?

Giuliani - Florida
Huckabee - South Carolina
McCain - South Carolina
Romney - Nevada
Paul - South Carolina
Thompson - South Carolina

Clinton - Nevada
Edwards - Nevada, Oklahoma
Obama - Nevada