With Fred Thompson scheduled to enter the race on Thursday, Mitt Romney, campaigning in New Hampshire on Labor Day, had a few thoughts. "'Why the hurry?' Why not slow it down and maybe think about coming in December (or) January?" he said, reports the Union-Leader's Jim Devine. On a more serious tone, Romney said, "He'll actually add to the race and the interest in our race."

Also on a serious note, speaking to a crowd at the Nashua VFW, Romney said that Iraq was "a mess," reports The Politico's Jonathan Martin. "Romney's assessment was delivered by way of agreeing with a gentleman who stood up at a Nashua VFW post and complained that the conflict is 'an unmitigated mess,' " writes Martin.

Romney responded: "So, so when you got a mess, there is no easy, good answer. Alright. The easy, good answer is to turn the clock back and do some things differently a long time ago."

Campaigning in Iowa on Labor Day, John McCain trumpeted President Bush's trip to Iraq. "Six months ago it would not have been possible for him go that part of Iraq. It was a free fire zone," he said, reports Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson. "And now Anbar province is one of the more stable parts of Iraq thanks to the success of this new strategy."

Noting that the "Straight Talk Express," the "throngs" and the "crowds" which characterized his 2000 campaign are gone, Washington Post reporter Michael Shear writes "What's left is John McCain, still running for president, but now, as he was in 1999, an underdog."

An aide said the Straight Talk Express will be renamed the "No Surrender Tour," and will be launched shortly to highlight McCain's "support for the war in advance of the Senate's debate over progress in Iraq," reports Shear.

Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani is headed to New Orleans today to "highlight his plans on emergency preparedness, an issue some see as his greatest strength - and others among his biggest vulnerabilities," reports the New York Daily News' David Saltonstall. In prepared remarks, Giuliani is expected to vocalize his committment that "every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters."

As if to put an exclamation point on the start of the campaign season, John Edwards and Barack Obama both went after frontrunner Hillary Clinton, reports the New York Sun's Russell Berman.

"A day after Mrs. Clinton touted her experience in Washington and said she would "work within the system" to effect change as president," Berman reports, "Mr. Obama shot back that the 'system isn't working for us and hasn't for a long time.' " Edwards, meanwhile, accused Clinton of defending Washington lobbyists and "referred derisevely to her failure to enact universal health care as first lady."

"The rhetorical jabs come as Messrs. Obama and Edwards seek to establish themselves as Washington 'outsiders' and cast Mrs. Clinton as wedded to the special interest culture, in an effort to erase her lead in the polls," writes Berman.

Clinton, however, kicked off her own fall campaign with a familiar face, writes the Wall Street Journal's Jackie Calmes. A weekend of campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire brought Clinton together with husband Bill in a "rare joint effort calling to mind the uncharted waters of a White House with an ex-president in residence."

Clinton also unveiled a new stump speech outlining four goals: "restore leadership, rebuild the middle class, reform government and 'reclaim the future for our children,' " reports Calmes.

Edwards received a bit of a boost over the weekend with some timely union endorsements, reports the Post's Alec MacGillis. The United Steelworkers and United Mine Workers of America both endorsed Edwards, who "hopes the rally will deliver a boost to a campaign that has struggled to keep pace in summer fundraising and polls," reports MacGillis.

Finally, the last of the Democratic candidates to address the Northwest Iowa Labor Council Picnic on Monday, Joe Biden said Bush would be "judged very harshly by history," reports the Des Moines Register's Jason Clayworth. "Not for the mistakes he has made, but for the opportunities he has squandered to unite this country and unite this world."

Get these and today's other election stories at RCP's Politics and Elections page.