DES MOINES - If there's one thing many Iowans want for Christmas, it's a silent night.

"Give us a break, please," said Joanne McInteer of Independence, Iowa. "They all started too early, and I think for Christmas they should all call a truce. Christmas should be about Christmas."

But a truce is not to be. While the candidates are taking time off on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they're not shutting down their message machines.

Blame it on Iowa's Democratic and Republican parties scheduling their caucuses for Jan. 3 - the earliest ever - to preserve the state's first-in-the-nation status. In 2004, Iowa waited until Jan. 19, allowing for a longer Christmas interlude.

"It actually bothers me a lot," said Ben Humphrey, a Drake University law student. "In years past, there's been kind of a ceasefire for these two weeks. Now you've got to put up with all the political ads as well as the Christmas ads."

Or political ads dressed up for Christmas. Many of the campaigns tried to show their sensitivity by dressing up their ads with holiday cheer

Barack Obama, his wife and their two young daughters posed Hallmark Card-style in front of a brightly ornamented Christmas tree and fireplace. Hillary Clinton put up an ad that featured her labeling gifts not with their recipients' names, but wonky policy prescriptions.

Republican Mike Huckabee, who trained as a Baptist minister, ran a cozy family scene, but with a cross image apparent in the background arrangement of light and shadow, setting off days of speculation on whether it was intentional. (Huckabee said no.) Rudy Giuliani, in a fire-engine red sweater, featured a jokey Santa cameo.

Bucking the trend, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney launched a decidedly uncharitable TV ad saying ex-Arkansas Gov. Huckabee pardoned a pack of vicious killers.

For all their grousing, some Iowans have decided the political noise at a time better suited for caroling is worth it.

"I guess I don't really mind all the saturation and the political coverage," said Gregory Fields of Burlington, leaving a Hillary Clinton campaign stop at 10 on Thursday night. "Considering what's been going on with the Bush administration, this couldn't get going soon enough."

By Michael McAuliff, Daily News, December 22, 2007