Barack Obama undoubtedly got a jolt on the way to his meeting with New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg this morning when he opened his New York Times to discover columnist and liberal icon Paul Krugman slamming his health care plan and, worse, accusing him of "echoing right-wing talking points." In Democratic circles, it doesn't get much worse than this and one can expect to see Krugman's charges make an appearance in an Edwards or Clinton ad or two as things move along.

One column does not a campaign make. But it's indicative of one key development. Obama's mini-surge has come awfully early, giving his opponents ample time to answer back. John Kerry and John Edwards surged later in Iowa last time - and that was ages ago technology-wise, in a year when the race was not nearly as intensely covered as now and few had Blackberries.

It's not that Obama won't win Iowa. It's that to do so, he's going to need a second and a third act. In the early days of television, Bob Hope complained "in the old days you could do one sketch for five years. But if you use that sketch on TV, in one night it's used up." The same principle applies to this year's process, which is the first real campaign of the internet age.

To read Steven Stark's complete "Presidential Tote Board" blog, go to www.thephoenix.com/toteboard/