It's an infectious gab fest. This is the slate political gab fest for Friday, January 25th, 2008. I'm Dale Willman. On this week's agenda, Bill Clinton is on the ascendance. It's make it or break it time for Republicans in Florida and

troubles for Israel. John is, well, you'll find out where John is. So to introduce the discussion,

here's David. Hello and welcome to Slate's Political Gab Fest. I'm David Plotz. I'm here in

our lavish downtown studios with Emily Bazelon.

And John Dickerson is not with us again, but it's not because he's out reporting in South Carolina.

It is because he is in an isolation ward, in an isolation ward in a leper colony in South America.

John, are you okay?

Yes.

Are you going to make it through the gab today?

I'm into gab.

I don't appear to have use of my left eardrum, but I'm with you.

So I'm soldiering on for the Gab Fest.

And you got this, are you submitting for disability because this was caused by all your travel?

I think so, yeah. Every time I went up into a plane, actually, Emily was there with me when I first started experiencing this on the point back from Iowa. It was unpleasant. I had to listen to John cough in his sleep. It's been since Iowa. He's been as sick as long as the campaign has. He has been sick for a long time. And you've been doing great work. Maybe you should be sick all the time. Exactly. I think if I start feeling too good,

somebody's trying to start feeling too good. long as the campaign has been sick for a long time. And you've been doing great work. Maybe you should be sick all the time.

Exactly.

I think if I start feeling too good, somebody should haul out some leeches and start

draining me.

Let's talk first about politics, because what else is there to talk about?

We have on Saturday, the South Carolina Democratic primary, which is heavily anticipated by Barack Obama, certainly.

Could it turn the sort of tied in Obama's favor, John, or is it Hillary moving too fast for him now?

I don't know.

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