"Dixville Notch" would be a good band name

Something's going on in New Hampshire today?

Who knew?

Liberal media, my ass

So I go out to the driveway this morning to pick up my Palm Beach Post, and I'm greeted with the smiling faces of four GOP nominees (click image for full-size PDF version):

Didja see the headline beneath the pictures? You mean the Democrats are competing in New Hampshire, too?

You wouldn't know it from the pictures, would you? I mean, other than the idea that Sen. Clinton's campaign is panicking because she's "trailing."

I'm no Clintonite, but this is ridiculous. From now on, whenever I hear that the Post is liberal-leaning, I'm just going to pull out this front page. It's absurd.

Now, scroll down for a Caption Contest on the Huckabee picture. I can't resist!

UPDATE (1:57 pm 1/8/08): The Post strikes again today, promoting a civics test from a conservative think tank but not disclosing that salient fact. Again I am compelled to say, liberal media, my ass.

When 8th graders outshine the media, everybody wins

Why is that that a 13-year-old kid in New Hampshire can ask a more direct and cogent question of a presidential candidate than can most of the ink (or makeup)-stained wretches in newspapers and on teevee?

On Thursday, Eighth-grader James Harvard told Edwards that several other Democrats had made that guarantee.

"Last night, I watched the debate and Congressman Kucinich said he would end the war in three months and you said it would take a whole term, and I was wondering why," Harvard said.

Edwards told Harvard that the United States has troops in many parts of the world, and the key issue is combat troops. If elected, "I would have combat troops out of Iraq in about nine months," he said.

During the debate, Edwards said if he were elected and 100,000 U.S. troops remained in Iraq, he would immediately redeploy up to half of them.

"I do not think we should continue combat missions in Iraq," he added.

I'm still generally an Edwards fan, but I wonder what the distinction is between moving combat troops out of Iraq in nine months and ending the war in nine months. Why would it take a whole term to end the war if combat troops are gone by this time in 2009?

McCain is forked

Seriously, Saint John is DONE.

An unflinching John McCain was told Tuesday by New Hampshire high school students he might be too old to be president and too conservative to be respected.

McCain, the Arizona senator whose presidential bid has stumbled through the summer, countered the Concord High School students with humor.

"Thanks for the question, you little jerk," McCain joked back to one student who asked the 71-year-old about his age. "You're drafted."

Uh, John, it's really not good form to call a kid a "jerk," especially in New Hampshire. Oh, and joking about a draft is even better. Give it up, d00d. Besides, why didn't you keep your promise from after the 2006 election?

But it's good to see the students not letting up:

Another student pushed him on gay rights; McCain repeated his pledge to oppose discrimination but support for traditional marriage.

"I came here looking to see a good leader," 16-year-old William Sleaster told McCain to boos. "I don't."

All we need now is Dandy Don Meredith to come out and sing, "Turn out the liiiiights, the party's over ..."