With only a few days to the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, it is obviously always instructive to hear the candidates on the stump, see which ones actually take questions from the voters and/or the media, and see who is attacking whom by name.

But you can also learn quite a lot from the candidates' schedules.

On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain spent some time in Iowa after Christmas, but is now back in New Hampshire.

Eight years ago, McCain bypassed the Iowa caucuses, handing them to then-Governor George W. Bush. But McCain was in New Hampshire working that state hard, and in the end, he beat Bush soundly in their first real head-to-heard matchup.

I remember covering McCain's events back in 2000 in New Hampshire. They were standing room only, with an obvious feel of momentum. The big question is, can McCain recapture that on January 8th?

Also evidently not banking on a big showing in Iowa is Rudy Giuliani, and that is obvious from his schedule. The former New York City mayor is also back in New Hampshire, and has events on the day of the Iowa Caucuses both in the Granite State and Florida.

Giuliani had been hoping for a good showing in New Hampshire, but McCain's surge there has dampened those expectations.

On the Democratic side, there are no side trips, as the Big Three of Obama, Clinton and Edwards are in Iowa until the bitter end on Thursday night.

Obama's daily schedule in Iowa is jammed - five events on New Year's Eve, four more cities on New Year's Day and five more stops Wednesday, wrapping up his campaign with a rally in Des Moines.

Hillary Clinton is just as busy, as she has five events on the 31st, culminating in a late night New Year's Eve rally in Des Moines with her husband, the former President.

We'll see in just a few days whose months of hard work will produce victory in Iowa.

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