It's bound to get voters griping about his commitment again, but Fred Thompson's campaign schedule for New Year's Day is decidedly light, and it's all about football.

Thompson will not start campaigning until after the end of the Outback Bowl, which pits his home state Tennessee Volunteers against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Most of the other candidates have planned a normal day of campaigning, with just two days left before the Iowa caucuses.

But Mitt Romney plans to combine campaigning and football. His New Year's Day will be spent hopping from house to house, joining supporters who are watching the bowl games.

— Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times