It's great that Paris and Amanda can be part of this experience. You can't teach this kind of stuff in civics class.

Er, First?

bc

Oh, never mind.

Good morning, RD.

Oh, and Joel, 5th para, I think you'll want to capitalize that "I", sir.

I'm enjoying the work by the A-blog photogs, BTW. Well done, ladies!

On a completely different note, congrats to Scottynuke on his just-in-time-for-the-playoffs HD TV. It'll be even better if you get to see the Washington NFL Franchise win.

bc

And although these young ladies are clearly talented photographers. Do they have the skill that I suspect would really give Team Achenbach a competitive journalistic edge? Can they read maps?

Taking pity on those of you who rely exclusively on the Washington Post for your election coverage, I will share a link so you don't miss the important "Dick Harpootlian" interview:

http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/367940.html

But does this "David Barry" person have ace photographers? Huh? Does he? I think not.

When the blog's carbon footprint was mentioned, I imagined the photography team in the role of navigator as the Boss sped mightily over ice and hardpacked snow, in rally like style, between campaign events.

I won't even go over to The Trail to read the comments that I'm sure are bashing Joel for his overt support of Mike Huckabee.

But I do wonder what the Republicans mean when they say they worry about what another President Clinton might do to America.

You mean we might go back to being a prosperous country that the world has respect for? That would be horrible, wouldn't it?

'morning boodle!

KB-thanks for that Dave Barry link.

I was completely motivated to get a million things done today, as in actual physical labor not just tapping the old 'puter keys, but the Frostcats are playing their Siren song of "come nap with us in front of the fire." Resistance is futile.

Like others I am finding Obama more appealing with a win behind him.

Read Grisham's _The Innocent Man_ on the plane yesterday. Not fiction, and not great, but a sadly engrossing read. Which brings me to why I find Huckabee strangely appealing despite his positions on just about everything except torture, and that silly evolution denial thing. As long as there is capital punishment in this country, and I hope it endures not a moment longer, I'd like a chief executive who will pardon people even knowing that some may offend again. That is making a tough call and living with it. To have a blanket policy of no pardons is to not have the guts to make a decision that might turn out badly. That is just another way of avoding making decisions that involve great risk, but have the chance of succeeding beyond your wildest dreams.

Error in '08, and since Martooni is so busy I think Pedro would make a good VP.

I looked for you in the press box at the NH Democratic Party's 100 Club dinner last night - didn't see you. Were you there? I was one of the few actual NH voters in the crowd of 3000.

Dennis Kucinich's oratorical skills were a pleasant suprise - he got the crowd to its feet, roaring and cheering. Who knew? That guy should consider running for president one day.

20-something volunteers handed out yellow cards with the following instructions: "Once Senator Obama arrives on stage, your cheer captain will lead you in a brief cheer. Cheer Captains: 'Fired Up!' YOU: 'Fired Up!' Cheer Captains: 'Ready to Go!' YOU: Ready to Go!' Repeat twice."

Lots of Hillary supporters in attendance. They were not 20-something - mostly senior citizens in yellow t-shirts proclaiming Hillary to be the "smart" choice. A group of old folks at the table next to mine had brought a large Hillary for President sign, which one of her staffers asked to borrow, noting that there were no Hillary signs near the stage, and they needed it to be caught on camera during her speech. Shouldn't her staff be planning these things in advance?

The media onslaught is a little overwhelming. Had trouble getting into my office yesterday due to media trucks blocking the entrances; when I ran out to get a sandwich was accosted by multiple reporters. It was so cold that the only people on the sidewalks of downtown Manchester were reporters and Ron Paul supporters, waving signs and beating drums.

I have to run out to the grocery store this afternoon, will make sure my makeup is camera ready, as I am sure the CNN crews are staking out the parking lot at Market Basket.

Enjoy your stay in NH!

Forgot to mention what a great dad JA is to have his blog photog's along for the ride in NH. RD is right, no Civics class could teach this stuff. Well, in retrospect they could, but they seldom do.

Manchester, NH- Thanks for the voter-eye-view. Interesting stuff.

Manchester, NH... yes! THANKS! Keep up the Boodle in Residence postings for us, will you?

Who's camping out in front of C-SPAN today to watch the Wyoming Republican Caucus? Are they even covering it?

Joel writes:
Mike Huckabee rocks! Some presidential candidates, such as Calvin Coolidge and (I'm pulling this from memory) Grover Cleveland, only played one or two songs before they delivered a stump speech. But Huckabee played four!

http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2002-11/thismonth/feature.asp

Most certainly, ol' Grover played "Hurrah! Hurrah! for Cleve and Steve." It certainly cost him the election, despite being described thusly: "It's a very upbeat tune and if songs could win elections, Cleveland should have won his bid for a second term. With a rather rustic cover but a melodious and interesting song inside, it's a wonderful example of an American campaign song."

(You can listen to both--above and below--at the link that I provided.)

Of course, Cleve got his revenge with the "Inaugural March" in 1892.

Debates for both Dems and Repubs on ABC tonight.

You know, I'm starting to like that "rat-the" fellow over in The Trail's boodle. He's got that genuine pop socketry that just keeps on entertaining..

"McCain? Why are you trying to be President, when you are better qualified to be the Director of Defense?"

How about Defensive Coordinator?

Maybe rat-the will find his way over here to keep us amused.

I am really enjoying these missives from Iowa and New Hampshire. Nobody does this kind of stuff better. Perhaps we will end up with a sequel to "It looks like a President Only Smaller"

http://www.amazon.com/Looks-Like-President-Only-Smaller/dp/B000H2MO4G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199547862&sr=1-1

Only this time with a lot more photographs.

I love getting to blog about Joel interviewing Maureen Dowd while she is stalking Obama. This is so meta, I could almost pee.

http://dowdreport.blogspot.com/2008/01/dowd-spotting-stalking-obama-in-concord.html

Keep up the good work and give Dowd my url if you run into her again.

Say what you want about The Trail readers, they are much more gullible, er, more willing to click on random links. I got 21 hits from a link on Joel's Obama piece to 16 hits from the Boodle yesterday despite giving boodlers a 3 hour head start.

And for the record, I have no idea who rat-the is.

What is the freelance stringer rate for WaPo.com photogs? Sounds like Joel has found a very creative solution to the upcoming college tuition crisis.

And the pictures are lovely. Well worth whatever the powers that be are having to fork out for them.

Mo MoDo, check your update date. I think you're in the wrong year.

'"It would be horrible for children. If she would have her way she'd take so many rights away from parents."'

I remember the screams of outrage from the religious conservatives up here in Haute Maine when the federal government prohibited corporal punishment. They claimed no government has the right to interfere with their god-given duty to thrash their children with sticks.
There was a story (apocrophal?) that evil liberals were going to have toddler flogging advocate James Dobson arrested should he visit Canada. I think that's a great idea. We could render him unto Singapore for little Karma balancing.

OK, if you insist, a couple more observations about last night's 100 Club dinner. It was the largest turnout ever, at 3000 attendees. Many were from out of state. Word is that the campaigns were charged a hefty fee to participate, and the state democratic party raised over $500K. Party official Ray Buckley was giddy, hugging every one in sight.

Edwards got a lot of attention by not showing up. His wife was there. She walked through the crowd, shaking hands, then stopped by the press box to explain to the cameras that John thought it more important to speak to undecided voters than the party faithful. Sure enough, WMUR played clips of both Elizabeth and of John, who was at an event in Portsmouth. The candidates who were at the 100 Club got only one clip each.

Kucinich's wife is super-humanly tall and beautiful. She wore elbow length gloves, despite the room's warm temperature. My friend and I were wondering if she is perhaps an extraterrestrial? Remember, Linda Carter's character in Wonder Woman looked like a beautiful human woman, but she was actually an Amazon. Anyway, it's just a theory.

Since I have your attention, I would just like to comment that I am tired of reading commentary about NH by people who have never been here, and only pay attention to this state every four years. The fact that Mitt Romney is from the neighboring state of Massachusetts is not going to help him in this primary. We get all the Boston news channels, we watched him during his term as Massachusetts governor as he travelled about the country bashing the state he was elected to govern.

rat-the is the one who claims he's banned here - not allowed to post.

Welcome, lilith, and Manchester!

dr, I've never attempted orchids. There are some that are supposed to be somewhat easy to care for. But I have sort of a reverse green thumb with houseplants, so have never subjected an innocent orchid to that.

SCC apocryphal

Hey Manchesta -- I went to law school in NH ages ago (really -- way back in the last century even) and I thought the state was beautiful. Good people, mostly. And close to Maine for cheap lobsta.

I spoke w/ a friend last night who is a big Hillary supporter. When I suggested that Obama might trump her for the nomination, she thought he was too empty a suit for her, and she would consider Romney instead. . . .Um, what??????? Speaking of empty suits, I think that Romney is waaaayyyyyy too empty for my taste. So are Thompson (please!) and Guiliani (who would need no secret service to protect him, as he can enlist all the M a f i a dons he knows to do the job, eh?).

I have mixed feelings about watching the debate tonight. I may just watch my DVD of "The Odd Couple" instead. Funnier, I'm sure.

Otherwise, it's a beautiful day here in metropolitan DC, and I learned this morning that I need three new tires. Ack! The unbudgeted for expenses are killin' me here! (sympathy solicitation from the boodle. . . .).

Heck, ftb, you might as well get 4 new tires. You have my sympathy. We replaced nearly everything in the house that can be replaced last year.

Thanks, mostly, but the reason why it's three is that I replaced one tire in late November or early December, already.

*sigh*

Welcome, Manchester!! *doing the secret Old Man of the Mountains handshake* Don't complain too much about "every four years" -- That means we get to enjoy the Granite State all by ourselves the other three years! :-)

Hiya lilith!!

Okay, so I'm guessing that Ms. Achenbach (and perhaps this "Nooter" person) is/are getting a special dispensation from school to tool around New Hampshire with Dad during the lead-up to this historic night of quiet paper-marking and touch-screen touching (accompanied by reassuring beeps). I am compelled to ask a couple questions:

(1) Do politicians modify their answers to questions from a reporter who introduces his teenage photographer as "this is my daughter, XXX?" If so, was this the purpose of this father-daughter outing? Are you USING your daughter to get primo material?

(2) You let your daughter within leering distance of Bill Clinton? You let her make skin-to-skin CONTACT with Bill Clinton? The man, apparently, exudes more pheromonic molecules per square inch than even a French president. Get that child into an icy bath and feed her a steady diet of Bush-approved abstinence-only education immediately! Otherwise, the consequences are too horrific to consider.

Howdy y'all. I skip one day of the Boodle -- just one! -- and miss two full kits! I don't recall getting that kind of energy burst from turning 47. Perhaps Joel could bottle this and sell it. Happy belated birthday, dr! Yesterday was Ivansdad's birthday as well. Howdy to lilith & Manchester. Thanks for the NH perspective. I visited the state twice and liked it - does that count?

Oh, and I understand some political thing happened in Iowa.

I too am really enjoying Joel's Kit coverage, with lovely photo accompaniment, and thanks to kbertocci for throwing in Dave Barry. These interludes make the prospect of another year of campaign bearable.

I think I drove through New Hampshire once, on the way to Maine. Or was that Vermont? Ruh roh.

ftb - you have my sympathies. There's something about spending money on a car that just kills me. It's just supposed to start up and take me where I want to go, not cost me money. I hope bc will won't wash his hands of me now. Also, I simply can't imagine going from supporting Hillary to voting for Romney...that doesn't compute.

I like Manchester, NH bulletins. I lived in CT for 2 years when I first got married and we went to NH every chance we got...live free or die...you gotta love it.

kb -thanks for the Dave Barry link. The hubby asked what on earth I was reading as I cackled away.

I love Bob Schieffer - much better interviewer than Russert, IMHO. I think Obama IS the real deal and he's looking better and better to me. I loved what he said the morning after the Iowa caucus..something like, "This feels great! Just like I thought it would when I talking about it with my kindergarten teacher."

As you all must know, I watch Charlie Rose quite a bit. Last night he had a particularly good show, with David Brooks, who offered a really good analysis of Obama, Paul Begala, Adam Nagourney, and Lylah Holmes. The last is a graduate student doing a master's thesis on Obama's run. She is African American, and her personal reaction to Obama's win was touching. The video isn't up on the website yet:
http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/01/04/1/politics-after-iowa

Welcome,lilth and manchester.

I'm back, and everything went well. The church will vote this Tuesday. I hope we can move forward. It was so cold inside the church. I hope they can heat it up before tomorrow.

Slyness, the fire chief in Hamlet during the time of the Imperial disaster, and this is not something I know to be a fact, gave the company permission to lock the doors. I'm not sure of the truth of that, but one guy claim he heard some of the fire personnel say it was only __ (the "n" word goes in there, and poor whites)inside the building. It really was a mess. I've never seen so many reporters hit a small town. One could not go anywhere that a microphone wasn't being jammed in your face.

Of course you've read some of those letters sent to the local paper, so you know what we're dealing with here.

When you say, "elect-a-bility", it sounds like there are some things missing, but in the interest of putting someone in office, those missing items will be overlooked. Do I have it right?

It is so pretty and bright outside, Pat, if you're reading the blog today. The sun feels warm, but it has to fight that cold that still in the air. It gives the illusion of warmth, but not quite able to pull it off. And the sky is a mixture of blue, and soft white threads. And to be able to move about in this wonder and know the beauty of it is better than ice cream. God is good.

Cassandra, no fire chief in the state has the authority to allow a marked exit door to be locked. If he did that, he was waaayyy over the line and should be criminally liable for his actions.

In this town, a locked exit door will get you a $500 fine, payable on the spot. If you don't comply, fire inspectors do have the authority to close the business. They've done it, too.

mostly-I've been meaning for some time to tell you that I really appreciate your Charlie Rose alerts. Our local PBS station shows them a day late so I often stay up to watch because you've recommended a look see in the boodle.

new photo filled kit!

This is the best article on Benazir Bhutto
I've read.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2233334,00.html
I admired the way she stood up to the military, who murdered her father, but she was a disaster in power. Twice.
And then she sold out to the Bush administration and was going to benefit from the upcoming rigged elections.

The west has to stop supporting the wrong people in Pakistan.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/pm/2008/01/from_pakistan.shtml

Our buddy rat-the claimed to be banned, but I suspect he got the Halbot "comment eater" and just thought he'd been.

And since Joel's never banned anyONE--he just banned a word/subject--he or she is welcome here.

@#$%^&*()(*&^%#@^%$#@&^%

Sorry, Mudge. I was in the room for the last quarter and thought of you.

We had Ivansdad's ceremonial dinner and cake tonight, a day late, but had to bow to the football gods. Fortunately he has no strong preferences for any of tonight's teams. Me, I find football highly amusing but I do like to watch them run run run down the field evading all those other guys. This has been a good night for me.

I watched the Huckabee speeches, and wow, that reflection from Chuck Norris' teeth is simply dazzling.

Sorry but i have a question. where can i see the pictures????

[URL=http://www.dailygmat.com/film-dvd] film dvd [/URL] film dvd

[URL=http://www.dailygmat.com/sperma] sperma [/URL] sperma

[URL=http://www.friland.net/donne-sole] donne sole [/URL] donne sole

[URL=http://www.friland.net/chat-cam] chat cam [/URL] chat cam

[URL=http://www.cedricleroy.com/testosterone] testosterone [/URL] testosterone

[URL=http://www.huraiyth.com/fiori-domicilio-consegna-fiori] fiori domicilio consegna fiori [/URL] fiori domicilio consegna fiori

[URL=http://www.huraiyth.com/credenza] credenza [/URL] credenza

[URL=http://www.betamate.com/albergo-3-stella-milano] albergo 3 stella milano [/URL] albergo 3 stella milano

[URL=http://www.betamate.com/tariffa-voli-aerei] tariffa voli aerei [/URL] tariffa voli aerei

[URL=http://www.ncfliving.net/luggage] luggage [/URL] luggage

[URL=http://www.ncfliving.net/oroscopo-porto] oroscopo porto [/URL] oroscopo porto

[URL=http://www.key4fun.com/unlock] unlock [/URL] unlock

[URL=http://www.key4fun.com/residence-lampedusa] residence lampedusa [/URL] residence lampedusa

[URL=http://www.key4fun.com/segno] segno [/URL] segno

[URL=http://www.fxtend.net/aprica] aprica [/URL] aprica

[URL=http://www.fxtend.net/regionale] regionale [/URL] regionale

[URL=http://www.michaelsteven.net/lamermelculo] lamermelculo [/URL] lamermelculo

[URL=http://www.michaelsteven.net/lamermelculo] lamermelculo [/URL] lamermelculo

[URL=http://www.youngamericansfund.com/cerco-uomo-lecce] cerco uomo lecce [/URL] cerco uomo lecce

[URL=http://www.ubvimusica.com/capodanno-budapest.php] Capodanno budapest [/URL] Capodanno budapest

[URL=http://www.freundetreffpunkt.com/live-video.php] Live video [/URL] Live video

[URL=http://www.conversationing.net/voli-prenotazione.php] Voli prenotazione [/URL] Voli prenotazione