IOWA: ALL DOWN HILL

    Democratic 2008 front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a lot of ground to make up in crucial Iowa, with a new poll showing her in fourth place behind Sen. Barack Obama, John Edwards and the state's governor.

    The general election matchup numbers are also stark for New York's Clinton in the first-in-the-nation 2008 caucus state, since they show her losing to top-tier Republicans McCain and Giuliani.

    Edwards, the former North Carolina senator who came in second in the 2004 Iowa caucuses, is tied in first place with rising star Obama, with both snaring 22 percent among Democrats, shows the poll conducted by Iowa-based Research 2000 for KCCI-TV.

    Coming in third is Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, with 12 percent, followed by Clinton, who took just 10 percent of the caucus vote, according to the poll. Former Vice President Al Gore got 7 percent, with everyone else trailing in single digits and 11 percent undecided.

    The results are an early warning sign for Clinton, who's been making calls and dining with key Iowa Democrats in the last few weeks, but has not set foot in the state in years.

    Clinton has said she won't make up her mind about a presidential run until after Jan. 1, although insiders believe she'll visit the Hawkeye State early in the year if she goes for it.