On the Drudge Radio Report Sunday night, just as the Colts were finishing off the Pats on the RCA Dome gridiron, Matt Drudge was reporting that the Clinton machine was in the last stages of having the Democratic Party move the 2008 California primary up to soon after the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

Reason: Hillary is not liked in New Hampshire based on prior statements about the Granite State when her husband was a candidate. Obama is loved in Manchester as evidenced by the huge rock star-seeking-like crowds he drew there recently. Hillary trails John Edwards badly in Iowa polls. Edwards is loved in Iowa. No sign of same in the state for Hillary.

Drudge discussed this possibility with The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund, who did not disagree.

Now, this morning we find at the top of the web’s Drudge Report the following from the Sun-Sentinel:

California Wants Early Primary
State’s influence in presidential derby would grow

With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s backing, state legislators from both parties are moving rapidly to make California a player in choosing the nation’s next president by holding the state’s primary four months earlier.

A bipartisan group of state senators introduced legislation Friday to change the 2008 presidential primary from June 3 to Feb. 5.

Another bill was introduced by an Assembly Republican on Thursday, the day after Schwarzenegger declared that moving up the primary date would make California “relevant” nationally and was “something to shoot for.”

The February date — the earliest the state can choose under national party rules — would place California at the beginning of the election season, right after four states that have secured the most privileged spots in January for their Democratic caucuses or primaries: Iowa (Jan. 14), Nevada (Jan. 19), New Hampshire (Jan. 22) and South Carolina (Jan. 29).

The Republican calendar has Iowa and New Hampshire first, with the rest of the schedule in flux.

Contenders, who now bypass California except to raise money, would be forced to establish real presences in the state.

The huge cost of competing in California — estimated by one veteran strategist to be $6 million to $8 million per candidate — would probably require all contenders to accelerate their fundraising and possibly give an edge to those candidates who have already amassed sizable war chests, such as Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John McCain, R-Ariz., according to operatives in both parties.

Republican moderates such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who might face opposition in Southern states for their liberal views on social issues, could benefit from the change.

“If California can succeed in moving up its primary, this truly is an earthquake in presidential national politics and the tremors will be felt through all 49 [other] states,” said Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic National Committee member from New York and major presidential fundraiser.