The media hasn't dug up too much of what Bill Clinton has been up to in the private sphere since leaving office 7 years ago.  Please spare us the embarrassing tales of marital infidelity, I used to think.  Now, I'm wishing it had only been just that.

The New York Times, which has endorsed Senator Clinton mind you, today published details surrounding an international humanitarian trip that former President Clinton took in 2005, during which he made a stop in Kazakhstan where he was partially involved in an unusual business deal.

From the editorial page of Sunday's Nashua Telegraph:

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is the best choice for Democrats in the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8. He is the candidate with the greatest chance of reaching across the aisle – of resonating with moderate and independent voters needed to capture the general election – while maintaining the core principles of his party.

And he best represents what Democrats are looking for this year: a change from the status quo, a genuine and authentic voice for hope and healing during difficult and divisive times.

So I haven't set foot in New Hampshire in 2 whole months.  That might sound like a while but believe me, it can be easy at times when you realize that your most respected journalistic institution is the Union Leader.  I opened it this morning to discover that Gore Won't Run.  Not only that, but..

Al Gore is not going to run for President. He is going to endorse Hillary Clinton, instead.

My problem with these statements actually has very little to do with the UL.  It's not about a difference of opinions between the Union Leader and I; that I really don't trust assertions like these when I read them in a Republican rag.  

A perfect example of the disconnect between the Beltway crowd and real people can be found by looking at the media's treatment of Al Gore after his Nobel Prize win and the conclusions they've drawn versus what we can find out for ourselves.

You can watch on C-SPAN2 and listen in on C-Span Radio.

RIGHT NOW:

Sen. Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Sen. Tom "Lesbians will beat up your kids" Coburn (R-OK)

PRESIDING:

Jimmy Webb!!!

NEXT UP:

Tom Harkin (D-IA)
John Thune (R-SD)

The U.S. Senate is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Harry Reid has requested a simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill.

Text of the amendment is here: S. 2766

In case you didn't know, they don't normally work this late -- THIS IS A FILIBUSTER

(This is the 5th leg of our 24-hour blog-a-thon, carrying on the torch from some world class bloggers, NH-Sen: 'Round The Clock Fundraiser For Steve Marchand! Diary No. 1, 24 hour Steve Marchand (vs. Sununu) fundraiser, part 2 (Lieberman loves Sununu), Steve Marchand Madness! Blogo-Fundraiser, Part III, Steve Marchand Blog-Fundraiser, Part IV)

We're running a great race - $930 raised so far - but John E. Sununu is in an all-out sprint.

Help us catch Sprintin' Sununu - donate to Steve through ActBlue and give him wings!

(Cross-posted at Blue Hampshire)

I attended the house party for Barack Obama at the home of State Rep. Bette Lasky's in Nashua today.  I was priveleged to get special attention from the Senator in this house filled with 120 Nashua Democrats.

My impressions of the Senator himself will have to wait because they were overshadowed by my overall impression of the event..

http://respond.forwardtogetherpac.com/...

I am Andrew Edwards, a nineteen year old college student running for State Representative in New Hampshire (Hillsborough-26). Mark Warner's Forward Together PAC will be giving $500 and $1000 contributions to candidates like me who will change the political map in this election.

Vote for me!

- Fill out your name, email and zip code
- do a quick search of the page for 'Edwards'
- check off my name, Andrew Edwards (it's under Hillsborough-26)
- cast that ballot!

The 15 winning candidates for state representative receive prizes of $1k or $500 to their campaigns.

The 700 Club actually did a decent job covering the Connecticut primary, and even gave background information listing Lieberman's gradual distancing from the Democratic party. Unlike the rest of the right, they aren't promoting the myth that this is all about the Iraq War,  but seemingly for entirely different reasons...

could he have made it any easier? perfect fodder for our brand spanking new left-wing noise machine!

from a Molly Ivins column on our op-ed page:

[The Washington Press Corps] It's like a cross between Versailles under Louis XIV and high school: obsequious courtiers flattering their way to favor, plus the silly cliques of the "in crowd" and "out crowd." On the other hand, I am greatly cheered by the young journalists in the blogosphere who have now whelped a perfect litter of books worth paying attention to.
For my marbles and chalk, the pick is David Sirota's "Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government - and How We Take It Back."
...
While there are right-wing blogs that are entertaining freak shows, it's hard to find substantial journalism there. I hate to list bloggers I like because I'm bound to leave out so many, but here goes: Daily Kos, Eschaton, Altercation, Political Animal and Media Matters.

I remember being captivated by the "pornographic" 24/7 news footage of Shock & Awe in April of 2003. However, I saw right through Bush's stunt on the aircraft carrier a few months later and at that point in time everything started to make sense and this was the first time I consciously recognized my own stupidity and became angry for being taken advantage of. The Iraq War helped along a more gradual shift in my political sentiments, one that actually began the day Al Gore conceded to Bush.

The personal issue that really had the strongest impact on me, however, was religion...

talking about the disparity in academic performance in blacks vs. whites he was saying something like "we're closing the education gap between blacks and whites" and with his hands shows the two uneven levels, above and below, then bringing them closer together to demonstrate his progress.
The AWFULLY hilarious thing was that he didn't raise his lower hand up to meet the upper, signifying improvement in results for blacks. But rather dropped the top one DOWN, implying that whites on average are decreasing in academic perfomance???

As ironically this symbolism may be, I don't know if thats actually the case, but this is definitely analogous to his measure of progress in other areas.

Given the amount of crap they gave John Kerry over simply going hunting in Ohio during the 2004 campaign, from the amount of media coverage to manner in which he holds his rifle in his hands?? I wish so badly that some fabricated story could be spontaneously generated and propagated, casting some USEFUL suspicion on Cheney. You know like 'an old friend of Whittington's speaks out about secret tension between him and Cheney'.

Ok, so maybe this is really irrational but I just wish so badly sometimes that we had a bizzaro Karl Rove

That's what I'm wondering, because even though the idea sounds preposterous he really doesn't seem to have any inhibitions when it comes to protecting his own power. I also don't think he'd just admit defeat  and sit back and watch as his politcal career ends. So what other way is there for him to make a comeback? I can't think of any but I hope this isn't the only one...