Edwards Enters Race

The AP is reporting that former North Carolina senator, and Kerry's 2004 running mate, John Edwards is going to enter the presidential race.

"Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards intends to enter the 2008 race for the White House, two Democratic officials said Saturday.

The former North Carolina senator plans to make the campaign announcement late this month from the New Orleans neighborhood hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina last year and slow to recover from the storm. "

John Edwards was last in the Granite State a couple of weeks ago promoting his new book. He attended a book signing in Manchester.

Richardson's Schedule

Here is a schedule of Bill Richardson's weekend schedule.

Saturday (12/16)
10:30am Speech at NH Dems Winter State Committee Meeting, Manchester
-after speech with Rep. Gil Shattuck at Central Square Empirum, Hillsborough
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM house party for state senator-elect Molly Kelly, Gilsum

Sunday (12/17)
2:00pm-3:00pm House party for state rep. Eileen Elhers, Hooksett

Biden Weekend Schedule

Here is a detailed schedule for Sen. Biden's visit to the state this weekend.

Saturday (12/16)
6:00pm New Hampshire Young Dems Holiday Party, Manchester

Sunday (12/17)
11:00am House Party, Concord
1:00pm Speech at World Affaris Council of NH, SNHU Manchester
5:00pm Merrimack Co Holiday Party, Hopkinton 12/17/2006 1:00 PM

Thompson Files

Tommy Thompson, former governor of Wisconsin and HHS Secretary, has formed a presidential exploratory committee. Thompson field the papers on Wednesday, with the FEC.

Obama Creates Another Victim

Evan Bayh has decided against a presidential run. Bayh released a statement that stated "I concluded that due to circumstances beyond our control the odds were longer than I felt I could responsibly pursue. This path - and these long odds - would have required me to be essentially absent from the Senate for the next year instead of working to help the people of my state and the nation." Bayh's last visit to the state was last weekend. He had visited the state a total of seven times. Looks like Obama has created another victim in the Democratic field.

Romney To Announce on January 8th

The Hotline is reporting that Mitt Romney will announce his presidential ambitions on January 8th. The report states that "Top donors and prominent supporters of Gov. Mitt Romney have been told to expect a formal announcement of his presidential candidacy on the 8th of January. They've also been warned that the date could change."

Draft Obama Begins Ads

The "Draft Obama" movement will begin airing TV ads. The ads will be featured on WMUR starting next week. A couple of weeks ago a "Draft Rudy" group paid for radio spots, while in 2005 a "Draft Condi" group paid for an ad on WMUR. However, the Obama ad is serious because it was was produced by former General Wesley Clark TV gurus Bud Jackson and John Hlinko. Also, the spokeswoman for the Draft Obama is a former executive director of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.

Biden's Travels

From the Union Leader: "Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, will speak on Saturday at the New Hampshire Young Democrats Holiday Party in Manchester. On Sunday, he'll address the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire at Southern New Hampshire University, then visit the Merrimack County Democrats' holiday party at the home of Rep. Christine Hamm in Hopkinton."

Romney's Next Visit

Mitt Romney will pay another visit to the state next week. He will have receptions for Commowealth PAC volunteers in Manchester and Exeter.

Richardson To Visit Manchester

Bill Richardson will be in Manchester this Saturday. He will be the guest speaker at the annual New Hampshire Democratic State Committee annual winter meeting. The event is taking place at St. Anselm College at 10:30. Richardson will make additional stops during the weekend, but those plans are being finalized.

O'Brien: Obama A Must See

Late night comedian, and heir to Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien made a joke about Obama's recent visit to the state. O'Brien said "The 2008 presidential race is already underway. ... Over the weekend, Senator Barack Obama visited New Hampshire and thousands of people showed up to hear him speak. The New Hampshire crowds were excited, because apparently, this is the first time they've ever seen an African-American."

Romney's Retribution?

It appears that a crisis is brewing over the Massachusetts College Republicans endorsement of John McCain. A member of the executive board has e-mailed members with the following message (this is an excerpt of the e-mail):

Dear Fellow Massachusetts College Republicans/State Republican Party Leaders:

I write to you today about a very important situation of concern relating to Massachuetts College Republicans. As a member of its Executive Board, I learned with profound dissapointment today that Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans (MACR) State Chairman Michael Miltenberger, a Florida native, unilaterally decided that the MACR should prematurely endorse the presidential aspirations of U.S. Senator John McCain, a decision that was covered in today's edition of "The Hotline," a major national political news website

Endorsing one presumptive GOP presidential candidate over another when the race for our Party's presidential nomination is still more than eighteen months in the future is premature at best. However, the most dissapointing part of this endorsement is its snide tone and the perception it disingenuously offers. While he has not yet officially announced his intentions, many expect our Governor, Mitt Romney, to announce soon that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. Governor Romney has faced unfair and unwarranted criticism in recent weeks over the authenticity of his conservative beliefs. So you can imagine why national news outlets picked up on Governor Romney's homestate College Republican federation endorsing a likely presidential nomination opponent, Senator McCain, and noting his "authenticity" and "straight talk" - in a subtle but clear jab at the Governor.

Governor Mitt Romney has been an amazing asset to Massachusetts Republicans of all ages these last four years, and many of our members are excited and eager to assist him with his likely presidential bid. But with Miltenberger's unilateral endorsement of Senator McCain today, I speak on behalf of many MACR members concerned that top Massachusetts Republicans supporting Governor Romney's presidential bid would look unfavorably on MACR members because of the imprudence of the current MACR State Chairman.

For the sake of the future of the MACR, the final straw must be today's imprudent act of profound disrespect towards Governor Romney by Michael Miltenberger. The Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans desperately cries for new leadership. This being the case, I submit the following requests:

*I call upon members of the MACR Executive Board and State Committee to join me in demanding Michael Miltenberger's resignation as State Chairman, effective immediately.

*I urge Massachusetts Republican Party leaders to do whatever is in their power publicly and/or behind the scenes to provide the MACR new statewide leadership.

Sincerely,
MACR Executive Board Member (identity withheld due to fear of retribution)

The member must either be someone working for, or planning to work for, Gov. Romney or someone who is looking to become the next Chairman.

Manchester GOP Promotes Christopherson

The head of the Manchester GOP is pushing for a new candidate to enter the race to be chairman of the New Hampshire GOP. Jerry Thibodeau, chairman of the Manchester Republican Committee, is promoting Liz Christopherson. Below is a e-mail he sent out about the race.

"I have in great concern for the New Hampshire Republican Party's future.
The two people that are running for office leave great doubts as to their ability to perform in both areas needed.
They must be a leader and they must be articulate.
Furgus Cullun is articulate, however; from what I have seen, he is not a leader.
Fran Wendelboe has the ability to lead but not the necessary skills to be articulate.
Fran also is entitled to her opinion but is not entitle to create facts.
Living in Hollis is a woman who fits all of the description needed to run the State Committee.
She has character, she is intelligent, she is articulate and she can lead.
Please call Liz Christopherson at *******.
Liz is concerned that she may not be the right person.
A little help from you may make the difference.
Thank you for your consideration for Liz Christopherson.

Sincerely

Jerry Thibodeau "

Biden To Attend Merrimack Party

Senator Joe Biden will the the special guest at the Merrimack County Democrats Holiday Party. The party will be taking place in Hopkinton on Sunday the 17th. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes will also be attending. Biden will also be with the Manchester Young Dems on Saturday night.

Kucinich: Number Two

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich will announce he is running for president. The announcement will be made tomorrow from Cleveland City Hall. He becomes the second Dem to announce declare his presidential ambitions.

Romney Set To Explore

CNN is reporting that Mitt Romney will form an exploratory committee in early January 2007. Also, Dan Senor, former spokesman for the CPA in Iraq and husband to NBC's Campbell Brown, has signed up to lead Romney's communications department.

McCain Gains In Romney's Backyard

Truth Caucus has learned that "The highest levels of Massachusetts College Republican leadership are set to declare their support for John McCain early this week." In case you don't already know, Mitt Romney is the governor of Massachusetts. The article went on to say that:

"The group of College Republicans—including Massachusetts CR State Chairman Mike Miltenberger—will form a youth advisory committee to assist McCain in Massachusetts and neighboring New Hampshire.

“Conservative College Republicans in Massachusetts appreciate Senator McCain’s authenticity and straight talk,” Miltenberger declares. "

Obama Came, Saw and Conquered

Freshman Illinois Senator Barack Obama was in the state today. It appears that the media frenzy lived up to its reputation. The NH Dems passed out 150 media credentials for the event in Manchester and several hundred people attended Obama's book signing in Portsmouth. Obama told the Dems that "What we've come to be consumed by is 24-hour, slash-and-burn, negative ad, bickering, small-minded politics." Also, before signing books Obama said that all Americans should have health insurance and the United States should reduce its dependence on oil. All of this came on the news that Obama will decide after the Holidays, whether to enter the race.

Bayh: Let's Work Together

Indiana Senator Even Bayh was in Keene and Cornish today. Bayh told the crowd that energy independence is a major issue "because it affects so many important things and because there's some common ground there." By stressing energy independence, Bayh promoted himself as a moderate Democrat who can work with the GOP and get results. Bayh also commented on the Iraq Study Group. He said "My own belief ... is that we need to put pressure on them and tell them, 'Look - unless you start making these hard decisions, we're not going to stay forever and we're going to begin the process of leaving.' Only by doing that do we maximize the chances of them forging a country."

Monitor Slams Romney

In today's issue, The Concord Monitor slammed Mitt Romney. The Monitor, had an extensive piece that detailed Romney's shift on abortion and same-sex marriages. Here is the opening paragraphs of the article:


"The Mitt Romney who twice ran for statewide office in Massachusetts is a different politician from the Romney who will likely court New Hampshire voters in the 2008 Republican presidential primary.

As a Massachusetts candidate, Romney pledged to keep abortion "safe and legal." He called on the Republican Party to provide "more support" for the gay and lesbian community and won the support of many gay Republicans. In a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1, he painted himself as a social moderate."

The article ended with a quote from Rob Thomas, director of the New Hampshire Coalition of Families, who said that New Hampshire voters are "not going to be any fools."