Parties Could Have Nominees on Feb. 5th 2008

This would explain why candidates are at each others throats so early:

Candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties could wrap up the presidential nomination on Feb. 5, 2008 — more than half a year before the national conventions and nine months prior to the general election.[...]Nominees from both parties will likely be decided on that day, which will make December and January the most frenzied campaign months in the history of primary contests. While mathematically there could end up being a tie on Feb. 5, the likelihood of that is slim.