Hahahaha. Hilarious. Great story.

Pathetic Man and Wife. Pathetic.

Rick, you're off to a heck of a start .... Best wishes from your old friends in Boston -- we've already lost one election today -- Jim Rice came up short for the Hall of Fame, but we remain the sports capital of America.

H.

It is not hilarious that Obama is the weaker candiate and is coddled by the press and his shenanigans covered up or not exposed. The GOP wants to run against Obama in a national election because he doesn't stand a chance. Obama is a Ralph Nader and those types of egos serve no one but themselves and certainly not the American people. Don't be fooled.

Why has no one mentioned that the young fanatics for Paul do not likely get polled b/c they have cell phones?

They will bleed away support for McCain by indies, imo, and give Paul a stunningly strong THIRD place finish tonight!

are you kidding me?

you actually felt that because he sued to be rightfully included in a debate that it somehow is blogworthy to talk about peanuts?

comparing the two actions, i'd say the reporter wins the pettiness award in a landslide.

bah. it was a harmless, amusing little anecdote, heh.

clinto INC should not freak too much when they come in 2nd tonight--remember--the media love to build up, then tear down! Obama the Golden will soon be more scrutinized than a grandmother in an airport security line, lol!

Yes Senator Hillary Clinton keeps saying she is running on experience. Well I would like to know where she got her experience! Bill Clinton served in office for two terms as President. Unless He just sat in the position and Hillary Clinton Ran the Country, how can she say she has lots of experience.Was not she a lawyer before she became firstlady. Or was President Clinto First Husband and Mrs Clinton held the reigns as President? I would like to know where her experience comes from. It seems no one wants to challenge her on it.

Yes Senator Hillary Clinton keeps saying she is running on experience. Well I would like to know where she got her experience! Bill Clinton served in office for two terms as President. Unless He just sat in the position and Hillary Clinton Ran the Country, how can she say she has lots of experience.Was not she a lawyer before she became firstlady. Or was President Clinto First Husband and Mrs Clinton held the reigns as President? I would like to know where her experience comes from. It seems no one wants to challenge her on it.

Funny story - shows the human side in this campaign. Thanks for sharing the story.

IMHO, when a can of nuts becomes news, no matter who or what the instance, we are having a really SLOW.. news day!

Hahaha... maybe it's funny, maybe sad, maybe neither but gee folks let's not be overly touchy since we ARE waiting for real news.

I just can't get over the way the system works over there in the States (i'm following this from Ireland). Obama wins in one tiny, unrepresentative state and the media go crazy over him...hyped media attention then means more votes...i'm just not sure how fair the system actually is. Why can't all the primaries/caucuses be held on the same day? I love following US politics but this primary system just doesn't seem right somehow. Obama looks like a great candidate but I would love to see him in 4-8 years time as president. Hillary would be better now. Both Obama and Hillary are held in really high regard over here (Obama apparently has some Irish relations!!...who hasn't!) Good luck to Hillary.

LOL, The person calling Ron Paul a bigot because he is a republican?!?! I'm not a RP supporter by any means, nor a republican, but it sound like that is painting all republicans with a broad brush!!!

Bravo for hippocricsy!

Don't be petty about your nuts. If you don't want people to eat them, don't put them on the snack table. Lots of people work with each other while suing each other, especially in politics. And heck, abc deprived Kucinich of a forum for his views worth millions of dollars - at least you shouldn't be a cheap squirrel with your nuts. Hooray for Kucinich for kicking abc in the nuts.... have a cashew Dennis....

At least G.W. Bush had experience running government, Barack Hussein Obama has never even been a mayor of a city or for that matter has never ran a business. HOW CAN HE RUN THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD?! Help me understand, seriously, HOW? We need someone who will produce best results for our economy and make our country great in the eyes of the world again. I know Hilary will do that, her experience along with decision making under intense pressure will make our country grand once again!

are you saying the black race is under the thumb of the white race, this is not so.

That is you thought and your thought only, not mine. Think harder brain.

For Elizabeth from Ireland...

Thanks for your interest in our politics, even if your perceptions are colored by your own peculiar national viewpoint. Not to be rude, Elizabeth, but you simply have no idea how irrelevant most Americans think you, and the rest of Europe, is when it comes to our national affairs. You just don't matter. You have every right (I suppose) to voice your opinions here, but I personally wish you would go away and take your simpering condescension along with you.

How about giving each candidate equal opportunity to speak to a public that should get to make informed decisions with the help of the media rather than in spite of it. Kucinich deserves a lot more than your nuts!

Rick --

Thanks, my thought is that 4 weeks is a long time between NH and Feb 5 and a lot can happen in that time to the major candidates. Events also impact the primaries -- Carter was on a run in the primaries of 1980 until Donald McHenry misspoke at the UN and gave Kennedy a string of wins. Also, Gary Hart was the hot property 4 years later until "Where's the Beef"? (Note: Hart would win "open" primaries with Independents; Mondale won "closed" primaries with Democrats only -- will this be a rerun? Bill Clinton conceded Iowa and lost NH, and so on.

Anyway, I assume that HRC will still lead in delegates after today and after SC, even with some movement to Obama. Feb 5 will be the ball game.

Rick --

Thanks, my thought is that 4 weeks is a long time between NH and Feb 5 and a lot can happen in that time to the major candidates. Events also impact the primaries -- Carter was on a run in the primaries of 1980 until Donald McHenry misspoke at the UN and gave Kennedy a string of wins. Also, Gary Hart was the hot property 4 years later until "Where's the Beef"? (Note: Hart would win "open" primaries with Independents; Mondale won "closed" primaries with Democrats only -- will this be a rerun? Bill Clinton conceded Iowa and lost NH, and so on.

Anyway, I assume that HRC will still lead in delegates after today and after SC, even with some movement to Obama. Feb 5 will be the ball game.

To Colfax,

It was Louise from Ireland commenting, not Elizabeth. I never suggested in my post that my country or any other in Europe matters to the US...I was just giving my opinion...thought that was the idea of a blog!!! I certainly didn't mean condescension...particularly that of the simpering type!! I follow US politics because it's so exciting and thought it might be a good thing to get views from people in other parts of the world...didn't realise it was US people only who could proffer their opinion. But perhaps I will take your advice and 'just go away'!!!

Ron Paul is to reality what Mitt Romney is to rational thinking. (Mitt believes in a god named Elohim, who's lives by a star called Kolob, which shines on all the other gods). It's up to McCain or Guianni as far as Republicans. If a Dem. wins, it better be Clinton - she won't protect us from terrorism better than a Rep., but better than any other Dem.

Okay Rick, so maybe Dennis feels that Pringles and Planters makes up in some minute way for lost air time. Be big. Send him a few cases maybe?

Some momentum won't be derailed. Being a child of the sixties, I witnessed more than a few causes build and succeed that way. It's been a long time since the US has seen that kind of action but it's not impossible; it just gives the jaded ones fits, that's all. I think Obama has genuine potential to pull off a win win all the way to the White House in that fashion -- because his is not a campaign, it is a movement.

To Louise -
Colfax got more wrong than just your name. Bitter partisan hubris is just so last election. There's room for everyone here. Please .... feel free to stay.

Yes Senator Hillary Clinton keeps saying she is running on experience. Well I would like to know where she got her experience! Bill Clinton served in office for two terms as President. Unless He just sat in the position and Hillary Clinton Ran the Country, how can she say she has lots of experience.Was not she a lawyer before she became firstlady. Or was President Clinto First Husband and Mrs Clinton held the reigns as President? I would like to know where her experience comes from. It seems no one wants to challenge her on it.

This is interesting, I can't believe this isn't more "out there" - Bill on Hillary :

"The most important thing to know about Hillary is that all her life, she's been an agent of change, somebody who can both see other people's problems and solve them.

After law school where we met, she could have taken a job in a big law firm in Chicago or New York. Instead she took an extra year at the Yale Child Study Center and the Yale-New Haven Hospital to learn more about the problems of poor and abused children.

After law school, her first job was not in a big law firm. It was working for the Children's Defense Fund, going door to door in New Bedford, Massachusetts, visiting people to find out why their kids had dropped out of school. She discovered that a lot of them were not in school because they had disabilities that kept them from succeeding in school. She helped write a report that went to Congress and helped lead to the passage of a federal law to provide those children an equal, appropriate educational opportunity.

Then she moved to a small university town in the Arkansas Ozarks, where she'd barely visited, and married a guy whose political career consisted of one lost race for Congress. I was making $16,450 a year and had a campaign debt of $42,000. And what did she do? She organized a legal aid program there to serve poor people who didn't have access to legal services.

Then we moved to Little Rock when I became attorney general and governor, and she became really worried about children who were being raised in families with devoted mothers and fathers who had little to no education.

So she started looking around for a good preschool program. And she learned about one that began in Israel, called Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters. It taught parents how to be their kids' first teachers. Soon she had me driving to these graduation sites to see young preschoolers and their mothers, beaming and proud that they were teaching their kids to read and had learned how to keep them healthy.

Now this program is in 25 states and the District of Columbia. Thousands and thousands of kids have had their lives changed because she came to Arkansas years ago and started solving problems. She's an agent of change.

In 1983, I asked Hillary to lead a committee to reform our schools in the wake of an educational expert saying that a child could get a better education in any state other than Arkansas. We had 265 high schools offering no advanced biology, 217 offering no physics, 177 offering no foreign language, and 164 offering no advanced math.

After Hillary's report, the legislature adopted higher standards and implemented them in our schools. In 1986, eleventh-graders in Arkansas took an exam, competing with four other Southern states. They finished first in the region. By the time I left office, the state's graduation rate was the highest in the South. The same expert who had said we had the worst schools in America said we had made outstanding progress, and things had changed immeasurably.

Hillary held no public office then, but she was an agent of change. She gave tens of thousands of kids a better future.

In the early 1980s, Hillary told me about Mohammed Yunus and his Grameen Bank, which gave small loans to poor people in Bangladesh to start businesses, and about a Chicago bank doing the same thing for African-American carpenters and Croatian electricians. She thought we should establish one in Arkansas. She helped to raise the money to establish one of America's first rural micro-credit banks. It's still operating. Thanks to her, when I became president we passed community development legislation and funded micro-credit loans all over the United States.

And when I became president, I asked her to lead our health care reform effort. You know she didn't succeed, but Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter didn't either. It's hard.

But Hillary gave a good effort, and she didn't quit. As a result, we passed the Children's Health Insurance Program, which today gives health care to six million kids, the largest expansion since Medicare. We immunized 90 percent of our kids against serious illness for the first time.

She helped get more research, screening, and care for breast cancer and cervical cancer. She helped improve diabetes care. She helped protect insurance coverage when people change jobs. And for the first time in 12 years, we had a reduction in the number of people without health insurance, with health costs increasing no more than regular inflation, unlike today. Hillary is an agent of change.

While we were in the White House, Hillary worked with Republicans and Democrats to double the number of children being adopted out of foster homes.

And she represented America in more than 80 countries, seeing not just leaders but also visiting villages to encourage education and economic development.

When Hillary spoke at the 1995 Women's Conference, the Chinese were so worried about what she was going to say that they moved the talk out of the city, and it was pouring rain. Women from all over the world were drenched getting out there to hear her say that all over the world, "Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."

It broke like a thunderclap. And after all this time, in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, people in villages will come up to me and say, when your wife made that speech, it changed everything for us. We knew that nobody could deny our daughters the right to get an education, to make a living and to contribute to society. She has always been an agent of change.

When the leaders of the new government in Northern Ireland recently came to see the president, they wanted to see somebody else too: Hillary. Why? Because as they repeatedly reminded me, even though they are exceedingly grateful for what I did, she had an independent role in the peace process because she helped to encourage groups of Catholic and Protestant women to pressure the men to stop fighting and make peace.

Why am I telling you all this? Because it's one thing to talk and another thing to do. All her life she has been an agent of positive change, though she never ran for office until 2000.

When she got to the Senate, what happened? She made alliances with Republicans and Democrats. She and John McCain traveled to the northernmost village on the planet in Norway, and the northernmost town in America, Point Barrow, Alaska, with skeptical Republicans to show them the growing impact of global warming.

She worked with the Republican Senate Majority Leader, a doctor, to co-sponsor a bill to give everybody electronic medical records. If we all had electronic medical records, it would cut $80 billion from medical costs. That's almost 80 percent of what it would cost us to insure every man, woman, and child in America.

She has worked with a Republican senator from South Carolina to pass legislation to speed up providing body armor for out troops, and to provide the same health benefits regular service members have to the members of the National Guard or Reserves who serve in combat. And recently, they passed a bill to extend the Family and Medical Leave Law to ensure that relatives of military personnel who suffer from physical or emotional trauma are entitled to time off for them without losing their jobs.

The reason I think she should be president is that she's got a 35-year record of being an agent for positive change. She has never been in a situation that she hasn't left better than when she found it.

And that's all that really matters: whether people are better off when you finish than when you started. Do children have a better future? Are we moving in the right direction? Are we coming together? You will never have another chance to vote for anyone who has done more creative, effective things to make a positive difference in other people's lives than Hillary.

So do I think that it's great that people around the world think a lot of her? I do. Am I proud of the policies she's advocating? I am. I love her health care and education and economic and climate change plans. But the reason you ought to support her is the reason she would be the best president, because she's the best change agent."

Cokie Roberts nailed it. She said the other day, obama has to sustain record numbers of youth, independent and republican support in every state not just Iowa. We have yet to see weather or not that the case. Obama was only polling about 1% above Clinton yesterday and no one who wasnt intentionaly trying to skew numbers should have included Saturday his highest day of the bounce. it will be closer and Clinton get s to declar e a comeback if she is closer than 9% absolutely!

I am tired of hearing obrack say the word change does he even know what it means, Idont think so if he did he would know we want HILLARY not him so please go to back of the line with edwards. u go girl

Contributions from Pharmaceuticals/Health Products Industry:

Clinton:$269,436
Obama:$261,784
Romney:$260,535
Guilliani:$138,850

Kucinich: A measly $5,100

Should'nt we be looking at who our potential president is getting his/her money from?

If we're going to get it right this time we absolutely need to see who our next president owe's their allegiance to. Is it going to be the people or a small band of greedy and dangerous corporations?

Let's get it right this time because we see how it can effect our world if we don't.

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/select.asp?Ind=H04

If Clinton loses by less than 9% say 7%she can spin it as a come back or stoping Obama, or Obama dropping in the numbers. They don't call it the IOWA curse for nothing.

CC'd from Clinton/Obama Experience vs. Pizzazz (ABC): "I find the term “experienced” can actually be a double-edged sword. I recall quite well some of the Clinton era “experiences” such as the passing of NAFTA, but to be fair I must blame that on congress as well. There now being a long list of such Clinton era experiences that give me pause, and I am a life long Democrat. On the other hand, I can appreciate her point on experience; although I remain convinced that Obama is also onto something when he suggests that there is a greater interest in a candidate for change, if just for the sake of “change”. After a thirty year career in advertising, public relations and government affairs, I still find it unlikely that the Democratic Party can prevail with the existing choices. When, during a campaign year, I saw AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) come out with their little purple logo where they blended the Republican elephant’s front end with the Democratic donkeys’ kicking heels, I was momentarily hopeful. As a veteran ad man (Creative Director) I could suddenly and optimistically see it all very clearly: An already powerfully organized and affluent independent/third party, comprised of America’s wisest, baby-boomer/retiree’s united, and clandestinely poised to spring more like a Thoroughbred out of the starting gate on a moments notice. Surely, I thought, the next change to AARP’s logo would be in the name (or acronym) itself with the change being something like: “AARP: The ALLIED AMERICAN REFORM PARTY!” Then I woke up, he mused to himself as he tipped back his morning cup. "

I hear questions about "change" but never the main question.
As a senator, why did you fight all the time with "R"s and or
"D"s instead of trying to get this country back on track? Who
cares what they did or didn't do as we know not much was
done, just fighting among each other instead of working with
the president elect no matter who he was.

Jobs keep going over seas and foreigners keep buying up
hotels and gas stations and restaurants here. So we are not
able to find work due to all this and pay is low, gas going up,
electric going up and jobs going out.

Only ones who can afford anything are movie starts, politicians
and sport figures as they keep getting more and the regular
people keep having to pay higher prices just to see games,
go to movies and elect politicians who keep telling us lies. When
will all stop and when will our country start working together
again as they should, like "D & R" together for once?
Does Obama
want to take God out of America?

Ask the right questions so one can vote correctly....

I hear questions about "change" but never the main question.
As a senator, why did you fight all the time with "R"s and or
"D"s instead of trying to get this country back on track? Who
cares what they did or didn't do as we know not much was
done, just fighting among each other instead of working with
the president elect no matter who he was.

Jobs keep going over seas and foreigners keep buying up
hotels and gas stations and restaurants here. So we are not
able to find work due to all this and pay is low, gas going up,
electric going up and jobs going out.

Only ones who can afford anything are movie starts, politicians
and sport figures as they keep getting more and the regular
people keep having to pay higher prices just to see games,
go to movies and elect politicians who keep telling us lies. When
will all stop and when will our country start working together
again as they should, like "D & R" together for once?
Does Obama
want to take God out of America?

Ask the right questions so one can vote correctly....

Hillary's claims to fame fail to dazzle me: she didn't reform health care, and that inaction cost me thousands that I didn't own; she didn't vote against the war, and she should have; and she did nothing to change powerful lobbying interests--she just accepted their money. How is that a vote for change?

in reference to john mccain; he is the one. he is honesty, we don't need mit romney's money. aske anyone in massachusetts what he did for us as govenor...he was nowhere to be found. And so basically...honesty over money. GO JOHN!!!!

rick, thanks for your direct answer, i appreciate the acknowlegement for edwards. i am so hoping you use your power as a media person in a responsible way, you certainly have huge influence on this corner of time. we are hanging on your every word for tidbits about our candidate--thanks for being there! to the folks posting: this is like my 2nd time ever joining an online conversation with postings. i think it is great when people put down their own thoughts but cutting and pasting someone elses is not very interesting to read..just a thought

Lousie,

Very sorry for getting your name wrong. And no irony in that.

I'll let the rest stand. No irony there either.

Tried to look up O'Bama in MacLysaght and be damned if I could find it atall, atall.

Hubristically yours,

Colfax

Rick,

If Obama loss by 4-5 points...what does that mean for his campaign?

Thanks for the direct answer Rick.

Based on your estimation, what is tonight's story so far?

-Brando

P.S. Fantastic blog, brings a layer I have never experienced before

It seems that her female vote is up...I would definitely say that her more human side yesterday brought out some empathy for her in this cohort.

Great job Rick. Love the live blogging!

On how Hillary did so well:

1) I think the independent vote going to McCain is part of it. I know some people despise Romney to such a level that they may have voted for McCain to spite Romney. Since Obama had such a huge lead in the polls, they thought their vote against Romney would mean more.

2) I also think that after Iowa, people are looking more at the substance of Obama's plans/preparation and finding there is something lacking. Even if they don't like Hillary, they may beleive she is a better candidate.

3) How are Edwards' number compared to the polls - is Hillary taking more from Obama or Edwards relative to the polls? I think some folks who were fans of Edwards may have also jumped to Clinton.

Hillary should definitely not make a speech yet...turn out in those college towns is up and Obama is bound to come back closer...hopfully not too close though!

God Bless John Edwards. His attacks on Hillary worked. He said he and Obama are the agents of change and he has seen how he short-changed himself. HIS MEAN-SPIRIT HAS HELPED. I AWAIT HILLARY'S VICTORY SPEECH.

Experience first, Fairy tales last.

Hanover is home to Dartmouth, not UNH, and Dartmouth is in session.

Hanover is the home of Dartmouth, not UNH. Durham is where UNH is. I don't think the results for either are in yet, correct?

THAT'S MY GIRL! GO HILLARY

So Hillary wins the popular vote, but she and Obama split the delegates so its really a tie when it comes to impact on being selected as the Democratic party candidate, right?

First of all, I just want to state that the reason Clinton & McCain won in NH was that more people voted for them in this state. Like it or not, that is the outcome this year.

Now, if ABC News is so shocked about these results, then it seems to me, that they might be as out of touch with people as the american government seems to be lately.

In addition, to me it seems that the media is pretty biased (as usual) which can easily be seen in IA & NH. When Obama won in IA, the headlines were to the tune "Obama Sweeps Iowa". Doesn't 'to sweep' means to takes all, however note that he ONLY received 16 of the 45 delegates from IA. Now with Hillary winning NH, the tone is more like, "Hillary Narrow Margin Over Obama" & "Obama Still Fired Up".

So why am I even mentioning this here, well, the reason is that I find it very curious that Rick can crow about ABC News beating CNN by 5 minutes with McCain's projection, but what about ABC News being BEHIND AP by 15 minutes with the democratic projection??

Lastly, dont you think it is time to update your copyright date on this page to 2008 as we are already well into this new year ??

rob
PS I am an american and I definitely would rather hear Lousie's opinions then anything at all from Mr. Exlax. Oops sorry, got your name wrong... No pun intended Colfaq....