I.C.Y.M.I.

In case you missed it, more surrogates for the powerful, disciplined, meticulous Team Clinton continue speaking out of school. Turns out Billy Shaheen isn’t the only one who went off-script …

A couple days ago I read that Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio said that beginning the presidential race in Iowa just “makes no sense,” and that he hopes both parties will say “We’re going to bring this to an end.” Clinton just featured Strickland in weekend rallies in Iowa to hint she could win the battleground state in a general election, because he has endorsed her. It’s a stretch, but that’s another matter.

Note to Ted: Iowans who felt neglected by the Clinton campaign through much of this year have given parity in the polls to John Edwards and Barack Obama. They do get to decide the first contest, and Clinton is trying to make them feel more important than any other citizens in any other pocket of the universe.

Also, in Sunday’s Washington Post, high-profile Clinton endorser/former candidate/surrogate Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was quoted as explicitly stating that Bill Clinton turns people into Hillary supporters, people who didn’t support her on her own. “I can’t tell you how many people come up to me after his talk to say, ‘I didn’t realize Hillary had done so many things in her life,’ ” he said. “He basically persuaded them to become Hillary Clinton supporters.”

Note to Tom: We know this is true, but the fact that people have to be convinced by her husband to support the most famous woman in the world just days before the caucuses is probably not what the campaign would like stated on the record.

Oh, and Bill Clinton again referred to his opposition to the Iraq war over the weekend, according to NBC.

Note to Bill: Can you keep Iraq out of your talking points until the general campaign, when you and your wife can run as anti-war against the pro-war GOP nominee?

Note to the Clinton Campaign: If you make it past the caucuses, how about surrogate camp? Give them a few donuts, show them a few movies, and then drill them over what to say and not to say.

Just an idea.

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WHOOPS! Sorry for the error — ASK A.B. returns on Jan. 7, not the 2nd. That’s five more days to send more interesting, provocative and riveting questions to askab@digital-staging.thehill.com. Join me on my first video blog of 2008. I look forward to seeing you then.