DNC Chairman Howard Dean just announced Sen. Hillary Clinton won't speak here today because of the hostage crisis at her New Hampshire office.

"Details are sketchy," Dean told disappointed and gasping DNC members in Vienna. "Senator Clinton is now dealing with a very difficult problem ... We will keep them in our prayers."

You can follow our coverage of the hostage situation as it develops on our home page.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

VIENNA, Va. -- Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) has some new anti-Bush material this morning. Edwards, sporting a bright blue tie, is speaking to the Democratic National Committee's delegates at their fall meeting. It's one of the last chances the 2008 candidates have to address national party faithful (and showcase their support with signs, t-shirts and the like) before voting starts Jan. 3 in Iowa.

Edwards opened with a standard stump line that he has "good news" that George Bush and Dick Cheney won't be around in a year.

"One year from now we will not have George Bush and Dick Cheney to kick around any more," he said, to cheers.

But later he added that Bush and Cheney "ought to retire together, they ought to grow old together, they ought to get out of our way because we are going to end this war!"

He also included a strange call - to a ballroom filled with Democrats - that they have a choice. They can choose between Republicans, who represent the status quo and a broken system, or if they want to stand up for labor and a government that is made to work for everyone - "Vote for us."

Because Northern Virginia traffic is so horrible, I missed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who spoke first. Next up: Obama. This afternoon's lineup: Kucinich, Biden and Clinton gets the closing speech.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

I crossed party lines for a story this morning on the Republicans' CNN/YouTube debate. So far I've gotten a lot of response, and so has the gay brigadier general who asked the candidates about Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Gen. Keith Kerr, who is affiliated with Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign, is getting a lot of posts on his own YouTube page.

You can view all the responses to the YouTube questioners, or post your own response, here.

Media Matters has done a few posts about it, as well. And presidential hopeful Duncan Hunter said "thanks" to Clinton, even though the campaign swears it had nothing to do with the question.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Iowans, get ready. An 8-foot version of Sen. Chris Dodd is coming to town.

The International Association of Fire Fighters has plastered his face on two sides of their bright-yellow signature campaign bus and will take the show on the road to prove to Iowa caucus goers why Dodd (D-Conn.) is the best choice for president.

The firefighters will spend 8 days touring the Hawkeye State in the 42-foot-long bus, hitting 20 cities.

The tour "will show everyone in the Great State of Iowa just how hard fire fighters campaign - no matter where their candidate stands in the polls," IAFF says in a release. "The bus tour is all about rallying the troops, just like we did for Kerry in '03 and '04. It's all about getting fire fighters to attend the caucus and influence the outcome, just like they did for Kerry in '04."

Speaking of fire fighters, Sen. Hillary Clinton held two events this weekend with fire paraphernalia as a prop. I dropped an IAFF source a line to fill them in on the fire trucks seen in the Reuters photo below.

My birdie replied: "Was Wolfson driving the trucks?"

Dodd, who moved his family to Iowa in advance of the Jan. 3 caucus, also said yesterday he'll skip the DNC's meeting Friday "instead will be campaigning in Iowa" to "take his case directly" to those voters.

That leaves the other 2008 candidates free to woo Democrats from across the nation.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Sen. Hillary Clinton nabbed the Babs endorsement today, with performance diva Barbra Streisand saying the Democrat has the best ability to bring about change and has the added bonus of being a woman.

"Madame President of the United States ... it's an extraordinary thought. We truly are in a momentous time, where a woman's potential has no limitations," the Oscar and Emmy winner said in a statement sent by the campaign. "Hillary Clinton has already proven to a generation of women that there are no limits for success. She is driven by her passion for public service and her belief in the enormous potential of our country. Smart, capable and strong in her convictions, Hillary has transcended the dictates of what is thought to be possible for our time."

Streisand, a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates, added: "Hillary Clinton is ready to shatter through that glass ceiling for all women."

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

An Obama campaign birdie in Iowa writes in responding to former Gov. Tom Vilsack's suggestion that Oprah Winfrey might have fewer fans in the Hawkeye State than she does nationally.

As I wrote over the weekend, Vilsack, national co-chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign, told me Iowa has so many working families he wasn't sure how many viewers she has. Oprah will campaign in Iowa with Sen. Barack Obama next weekend.

The bottom line is that on average, 40,000 Central Iowans watched Oprah each weekday, according to Nielsen stats pulled together by the CBS affiliate in Des Moines that airs her show.

Put in context, about 124,000 Democrats participated in the 2004 Iowa caucus and Democratic party officials expect 150,000 or more voters to show up to the caucus on Jan. 3.

I'll let the math below sent over by the campaign explain itself, but basically Oprah has plenty of Iowa viewers.

In May 2007 Nielsen Media Research, Oprah had an 8.1 rating/32 share. Out of the Top 100 markets in the country, our 8.1 rating was 12th highest, but our 32 share was tied for 2nd highest!

A rating is the percentage of all TV households in the Des Moines/Ames DMA (Designated Market Area) tuned to a particular program. A share is the percentage of all TV households using television in the Des Moines/Ames DMA tuned to a particular program.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Sen. Barack Obama this morning announced some details of Oprah Winfrey's big campaign swing.

It's sure to be a major event in all three early voting states she will visit — Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — but there's a catch if you're an Obama fan (or Oprah fan) in Iowa wanting to attend.

The two Iowa events, in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, will take place immediately following a caucus training on Dec. 8. She'll hit the other states Dec. 9.

"Tickets to the Iowa events will first be distributed to precinct captains, then campaign volunteers, then to supporters and undecided caucus goers. Obama precinct captains will receive multiple tickets to distribute within their precincts. Volunteers who either complete a four hour volunteer shift or attend their local caucus training before the event will be guaranteed tickets," the campaign writes.

A page set up to sign up for the event puts it a little more nicely:

"To secure your preferred seating now, we are challenging you to do one of the following between today and December 8: * Commit four hours to volunteering for Barack's campaign; * Attend a caucus training with your local organizer or precinct captain. All you need to do is complete one of those tasks between today and December 8, to secure your preferred seating for the rally with Oprah, Barack and Michelle!"

So far, the other states don't have any working requirements.

Here is some info for those of you in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina.

As I noted over the weekend after chatting with Tom Vilsack, not everyone is convinced the TV goddess will have an impact on voters and caucus-goers, but expect this to get a ton of coverage on the news networks.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

DES MOINES, IOWA — Sen. Hillary Clinton, with the traveling press corps in tow, attended church services this morning. She sang and nodded in agreement during the service, and even stuck a contribution on the offering plate before heading out for a full day of campaigning through the Hawkeye State.

Clinton (D-N.Y.) sat towards the front during the service, held at Grace United Methodist Church.

She participated in the unison prayer: "God of empowerment, help us to give all of our children the anchor of faith, the rudder of hope, the sails of health care and education, the paddles of family and community to keep them afloat when life's sea gets rough. Amen."

Rev. Jill Flyr, associate pastor, read from the book of John and gave a sermon about the importance of supporting those who can't help themselves. Clinton nodded when the pastor read off some statistics, such as 35 percent of Iowa children are part of low income families, and added 45,000 children in Iowa are without health care.

"We should be outraged by these numbers," Flyr said, encouraging the congregation to work toward changing public policy to fund "high quality preschool" for disadvantaged children. She said health care and education should not just be for children from "well-to-do" families.

"We as adults need to advocate for them," she said. "Let the candidates know they need to be strong advocates for children."

Another parishoner stood during the service to publicly welcome Clinton, who received polite applause.

Before the service, church-goers crowded Clinton to shake her hand and bend her ear. "Tom Harkin is fabulous," Clinton was overheard saying about the state's Democratic senator.

Melissa Pardock tugged on the presidential hopeful's pant leg because she wanted to show off her red, white and blue-starred teddy bear named Twinkles. Clinton bent down to get at eye level with the toddler and gave her a big smile. Melissa's father, Dan, a soccer coach in Des Moines, told me his band "Faculty Lounge" had played at a Clinton event earlier this year.

"They told me I could play the inauguration if she wins, but I'm still a free agent," he said. "The guys are giving me grief about it because I have to decide if I am going to support her."

Not everyone was excited to see politics in church. "I don't know how we're going to start service because everyone is out here," one worshiper complained loudly.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

HIGHWAY 20, SOMEWHERE EAST OF SIOUX CITY AND JUST OUTSIDE OF CORRECTIONVILLE, IOWA — I asked former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack this afternoon how many viewers Oprah has in the Hawkeye State. The Democrat, who supports Sen. Hillary Clinton, knew right away I was hinting at the recent news that Oprah will be campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama here in the next month.

"I don't honestly know," Vilsack said, quickly adding that Iowa has the second-largest population of working parents in the country — 77 percent, leaving just 23 percent who would be home to watch daytime TV, presumably.

"I'm not sure who watches her. Maybe young moms, maybe people who are retired. But we have the support of most retired Democrats," he said.

Vilsack, who dropped his own White House bid earlier this year and joined the Clinton campaign, said celebrity endorsements help because they get people talking about politics, but doubted if they have major significance.

"Iowans are more interested in who their neighbor supports, who their best friend supports, who their family supports," he said. But Vilsack caught himself: "Bill Clinton is in a class by himself."

At the event in Sioux City, Vilsack told voters that Hillary Clinton will be spending a lot of time in Iowa, where "it's a very competitive race."

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Organizers of Saturday's Global Warming and America's Energy Future forum in Los Angeles repeatedly pointed out they invited all the presidential candidates from both parties, but only three attended.

California voters who want a green candidate packed the house to hear how Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Sen. John Edwards and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, all Democrats, would tackle climate change.

The event (which organizers said was totally carbon neutral) brought out local elected officials and celebrities like Sheryl Crow and Laurie David, and generated a lively discussion about how a president could actually change environmental policy.

"We need the magnitude of the political response to match the magnitude of the problem," David told the audience.

Kucinich touted his personal choices such as driving a small car, living in a small house and eating a vegan diet to prove his environmental consciousness. He also said if he were elected president he would implement green practices at every level of government — from transportation and encouraging mass transit, to the education department and teaching school children about climate change.

Clinton detailed her plan to cut carbon emissions and the dependence on foreign oil. She also said that on the campaign trail she often talks about "a place called California" and lauded the Golden State's environmental policy. (I've never heard her say that — if anyone has this quoted in a news story, please send it my way.) Clinton also promised to get global warming "into the blood stream of the presidential campaign."

Clinton had the most supporters in the crowd, but Edwards ultimately made the best impression, voters said.

"We are never going to get the change we need by pretending this is going to be easy," Edwards said.

Edwards, being last, was able to turn the event into a campaign speech, expanding on the environment as a topic and touching on his own themes, including corruption in Washington and his revulsion for special interests.

Here's some coverage of the forum.

Oh yeah, and as you may have seen over the weekend, Clinton was heckled by a Code Pink protester during one of her answers.

When the man stood and started shouting, forum organizers immediately called, "Security!" and some folks in uniform dragged him out of the auditorium, still yelling.

The crowd gave a cheer when Clinton asked flatly, "Were you invited to speak here this afternoon?" and calmly took a sip from her coffee mug.

Clinton then went on with what she was saying.

"She votes for war every time!" the man shouted as he was pulled past reporters in the back of the room.

Panelist Dave Roberts of Grist apologized to the former first lady, "on behalf of those of us who prefer conversation over screaming."

Here's some TV-quality video, and below is some video I took from the back of the room.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Sorry for the light blogging, folks. It's a combination of traveling from coast to coast, covering the debate, fighting off the bug that seems to be plaguing everyone these days and three late nights in a row.

That said, check out this video I took at Sen. Barack Obama's San Francisco rally on Wednesday night. The event got started late -- really late -- in part because the long line to get into the low-dollar fundraiser ($30 general, $15 students, who made up at least half of the crowd) snaked around the building more than once.

There wasn't much news made as Obama gave his standard stump speech, but before he took the stage some of his supporters worked to rally the growing crowd.

They got on stage and talked about the importance of organization in California -- and elsewhere.

One woman told the Obama fans from California to "Get in your car, and do a road trip." "Get some Doritos and get some Diet Coke, and you can head to Iowa December 26 because election day is January 3," she said.

She didn't explain what the supporters were supposed to do when they arrived to the Hawkeye State after drinking all that Diet Coke, but it invokes Howard Dean's "Deaniacs" - including many young voters from other states who descended on Iowa and turned off some caucus-goers.

Another Obama supporter reminded the California crowd that "Nevada votes Jan. 19" and "You can go there." "You can impact that race," he said.

Watch for yourself:

It's an interesting concept, but came right on the heels of accusations the Obama campaign stuffed the Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Iowa with Chicago-based supporters. The campaign completely denies this, but Obama's rivals all made mention of the friendly crowd.

Sen. Joe Biden made light of it, first greeting Iowa during his dinner speech and then gesturing to the balcony to greet Chicago. The next day on the campaign trail in Onawa, Iowa, Biden quipped that he would nave done it too if he had the money to buy tickets for his supporters.

A blogger noted recently he spotted Chicagoans signing people up for a bus trip to Iowa as "some kind of political trip" and later learned it was for Obama supporters to go to the dinner.

And a blogger over at Iowa Independent noticed the applause got louder when Obama mentioned his experience from Chicago.

While in Des Moines for the dinner, I met two different women who came from Illinois, but neither was from Chicago and neither had been bussed in as an organized campaign effort.

Here's some video of Obama supporters pre-dinner marching behind him up the street. Let me know if you spot any Chicagoans.

It also seems like Obama wasn't the only one with some out-of-state fans at the dinner, and this Iowa blogger found a memo urging Hillary Clinton supporters to come to the Hawkeye State.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Last week I posted a blog with video from the Hillary Clinton campaign showing the folks who won a fundraising contest with the prize being a debate watch party with former President Bill Clinton. The winners were shown praising the former first lady's debate performance while interacting with the former POTUS.

But the video gave little information about the donors, and all of their quotes fit nicely into the campaign's theme. So I tried to get some more details, and came up with a goose egg.

The Clinton campaign, getting knocked lately for its tight control over its message and general disdain for reporters, had refused to give out contact information for the supporters featured in the video. They also wouldn't tell me how much each donated.

I'm not really sure why, especially since Sen. Barack Obama's campaign released information about the supporters who took part in a similar contest.

It took us a few days to track down Clare Beaumont, but when I spoke with her, she gave an eloquent and honest endorsement of why she loves Clinton.

When Beaumont, 72, gave $10 to the Clinton campaign in the debate watch contest, it was "the first time I had donated to any campaign in my whole life," she said.

The retired educator and school social worker from Houston said she was motivated by the possibility to meet a former president, but was already a firm supporter of Senator Clinton. She said she believes she was randomly chosen, and said the other supporters gave similar small amounts. (The campaign doesn't have to disclose the total since it's less than $200.)

The Clinton campaign paid for Beaumont and her sister to fly to New York. The party was hosted by a Clinton friend. Beaumont was excited because she sat next to Clinton, but also enjoyed meeting fellow party-goer and best-selling author John Grisham.

"It was just a lovely evening," Beaumont said.

Interacting with Clinton was a memorable experience for the first-time donor. "He taught us things about the nature of the politics," Beaumont said. "He explained about how the Iowa caucus works and why she did not hit on the other candidates. She doesn't believe it's good for the party."

Beaumont said the former president was vocal about his frustration with some of the debate questions and statements from the other candidates. "Sometimes he disagreed with a question or the accusation — he would shout out, 'that's not true!'"

As for the now-infamous question about giving drivers' licenses to illegal aliens, Clinton had an intense reaction right away, Beaumont said. "He felt as if she was set up," she said.

Beaumont recalled that Clinton also criticized NBC's political guru, Tim Russert, who asked the licenses question: "He said Tim Russert has become that way, badgering people. He said, 'He does that now.'"

Beaumont said Clinton turned to the donors at every commercial. "He kept asking our opinion on how [we] think she did. I was really surprised he would ask us, I'm just a nobody," she said. "I'll always remember that he would care what anybody else thought."

So how did Hillary Clinton do?

"Well, the first part, she did well, but I told him it was not her best moment in the middle there," Beaumont said.

On camera, Beaumont talked about a need for "solutions" in the country, prompting Clinton to agree with her. "I'm honored that he did that, repeated something I had to say," Beaumont said.

The moment was real, she said. The whole night she never felt like she was being filmed. I asked if she got any script or coaching from the campaign before she talked directly to the camera. "Never, no," she said.

As for Rep. Dennis Kucinich admitting during the debate that he has seen a UFO, "We all laughed," Beaumont said.

I also asked Beaumont about Obama, Clinton's top rival for the Democratic nod.

"My children really like Barack Obama, and I have two grandsons that really like him," she said. "But my opinion is that he's pretty new in politics and I guess his lack of experience turns me off a little bit," she said. "Hillary kind of knows how things work in Washington."

She added: "I like Joe Biden. I used to really like John Edwards."

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

In a little preview of what could erupt into fireworks during Thursday night's debate, Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards had a little tussle on health care today.

First, Edwards released the TV ad below in Iowa pledging he will revoke the health care for members of Congress if they don't pass his universal health care bill were he to become president.

The Clinton campaign's new "FactHub" responded here, saying:

Sen. Edwards has a new TV advertisement about health care where he proposes the following law:

When I'm president, I'm going to say to members of Congress and members of my administration including my Cabinet, I'm glad that you have health care coverage and your family has health care coverage. But if you don't pass universal health care by July 2009, in six months, I'm going to use my power as president to take your health care away from you.

The problem is, Sen. Edwards doesn't have the power to take health care away from Congress unilaterally — he'd have to propose a law. (Sen. Edwards himself has acknowledged this point.) And a law that takes away health coverage from Congress in July 2009 is unconstitutional according to the 27th Amendment:

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

Thus, since the law would change compensation for Congress before the next Congressional election (2010), it would violate the 27th amendment. The Atlantic's Matt Yglesias and All The President's Spin author Brendan Nyhan agree.

Today, Sen. Edwards is proposing unconstitutional gimmickry to pass universal health care. The last time he ran for president he opposed universal health care and attacked other candidates who supported it.

The Edwards camp fired back with a statement from spokesman Chris Kofinis:

"Today, Senator Clinton made it crystal clear where she stands: she defends health care for politicians while millions of Americans and their families go without care.

"Voters have a clear choice between John Edwards, who will fight to finally pass universal health care, and Senator Clinton, who seems intent on defending the Washington establishment.

"When John Edwards is president, he will name names and the American people will know which members of Congress are taking the money of big insurance company lobbyists and voting against universal health care while protecting their own health care. And unlike what happened in 1993, John Edwards will never kill legislation to give health care to ordinary people while letting the politicians keep their coverage."

Expect this issue to come up again.

—Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

First, some of her Democratic rivals were caught giggling when Sen. Hillary Clinton applied her new "turn up the heat" motto to global warming.

At the JJ Dinner Saturday, Clinton led supporters in a call-and-response, saying she would "turn up the heat" on Republicans. One of those lines was something like: "What do we do when Republicans let oil companies handle energy policy and deny global warming? Turn up the heat!" It prompted snickers from staffers and in the press room.

But mostly the crowd liked her lines. "As the campaign goes on, it's going to get a little hotter out there," she said, then repeated President Truman's, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

"I feel really comfortable in the kitchen," Clinton said, grinning.

But former Sen. John Edwards mocked the "turn up the heat" slogan today: "Well, somebody will have to tell me how you 'turn up the heat' by voting with Bush, Cheney and the neocons on their path to war with Iran. Because I don't believe that's turning up the heat — I think that's giving them exactly what they want."

And a political birdie pointed me to some of these quotes suggesting Clinton isn't actually all that comfortable in the kitchen.

We all remember quite well she chose not to be the wife who "stayed home and baked cookies," infuriating some as her husband ran for president in 1992.

In her memoir "Living History," Clinton talks about how the chef in the Arkansas governor's mansion was "invaluable," and on her MySpace page, Clinton writes "I'm a lousy cook, but I make pretty good soft scrambled eggs."

Here's the Clinton campaign's favorite clip from the JJ Dinner:

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

A reader points me to this short clip from an episode of the first season of FOX's "Sliders," a sci-fi show in which the characters traveled to alternate universes. This aired in 1995, right after the Republicans won control of Congress.

The characters are relieved when they hear about "President Clinton," because it means they must be on present-day Earth, but look a little shocked when they realize it's not the Clinton they thought it would be. The episode is titled "The Weaker Sex."

Speaking of shows on Fox, check out this story from today's print edition on what 24's Joel Surnow has to say about the possibility of a second President Clinton.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

"I'm voting for Hillary," my grandma declared into my cell phone earlier today as I drove west through Iowa on the campaign trail.

I admit I was surprised because just a few months ago, after she'd read his book "Audacity of Hope" — twice — my grandma said she would be supporting Sen. Barack Obama. But she's changed her mind.

"She's got the experience. We really need someone with experience," my grandma, who lives in my hometown of San Jose, Ca., told me. "But if the nation isn't ready for a female president and they nominate Obama, I'll vote for him."

One of the biggest family fights I remember was in 1992, when my grandma informed my grandpa she would not be voting for President George H.W. Bush to be reelected. My grandpa, a Republican most of his life, shared a hatred for vegetables with the former president, and also was fond of tax cuts.

As for my grandma, she's a loyal voter and will study up on all the candidates before California's Feb. 5 primary. But she said today she can't imagine changing her mind because Clinton has won her over with her debate performances.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

DES MOINES, Iowa — They call it a sign war, but tonight it was more of a dance-off/drumfest/shouting match, coupled with song and new t-shirts.

The six major Democratic candidates in a few hours will speak to 9,000 Democratic party faithful, one of their last chances to make an impact before Iowa's Jan. 3 caucus.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) led his loud followers on a march up to the Vets Auditorium where the fundraising dinner begins at 7 p.m. Most of them donned his new t-shirts, keying off the campaign's "Fired Up!" motto inspired by Edith Childs, a South Carolina woman I've written about.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) seemed to have won the "sign war," but Obama's backers beat her in critical mass. She did give her supporters yellow t-shirts that may just be a new slogan ("Turn up the heat, turn America around") she'll reveal in her speech tonight. Might the "heat" be a reference to her opponents ramping up their aggression?

The Clinton folks chanted, with drums backing them up, "H-I, H-I-L, H-I-L-L-A-R-Y, Hillary!"

Not to be outdone, supporters of former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), shouted "Go, John, Go!" while a huge crush of marchers waved signs behind him. (Sorry, no pics - the crowd was so huge I was nearly trampled trying to get a shot.)

Sen. Joe Biden's campaign — the only one to get a sound permit — was blaring music early this morning and kept enthusiasm going even as the Obama parade passed by.

Also spotted: some supporters of Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and some bored-looking Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd folks. (Though his presence across the street was sizable, and those ralliers had a new chant: "D-O-D-D, Chris Dodd's ready to lead!")

And somehow, even Ron Paul had a presence at the Democratic dinner. I overheard this Obama supporter tell a Paul fan, "I'm for Obama, but I really like and respect Ron Paul," prompting the Paul-ite to say, "Me too."

—Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Former VP Al Gore's romance with Hollywood continued last night with an appearance on NBC's Emmy-winning comedy "30 Rock."

It was a brief appearance tied in with the network's "green-themed" week of programming, but was classic Gore as the Democrat attempted to be funny by playing it straight. After making an impassioned plea about pushing big changes to tackle global warming, Gore quipped he had to run off and save a whale.

All in all, amusing. Here's video of the Gore portion of the show, which also included a joke about Hillary Clinton's 2000 senate opponent Rick Lazio.

Speaking of Gore, folk singer Paul Kaplan added his voice to the many comments on my post about the "Run, Al, Run" concert's cancellation. Here's what Kaplan, who wrote a song of the same name, had to say:

Paul Kaplan responds. Folk music 101: for hundreds, probably thousands of years, people have taken the music in their culture and fashioned it, either a bit or a lot, to meet current needs. They have done this, with few exceptions, with no hope of remuneration, but just because they needed to do it as self expression. If you are lucky, your self-expression will strike a chord and your song will last. In my case, over a forty-year career a few of my songs have achieved this status (see Being Human, from the President's Council on Bioethics--yes this president! Or see the Digital Tradition database at the Mudcat Cafe).

In the case of "Run, Al, Run," the lasting power is open to question. It certainly has brought a lot of pleasure to Gore supporters, who have embraced it. It also seems that many of you are enjoying the song, in that you seem to take great pleasure in expressing yourselves angrily in print.

I wrote the song last March, at no one's behest. Anyone who says I wrote it for a particular occasion eight months later is not telling the truth. Yes, I borrowed the tune of the verse. This is what people do. The song that inspired the verse, though it sounds like "Shortning Bread," is actually "Zudio," an African-American singing game which begins "Walking down the alley and what do I see? I see a great big man from Tennessee."

As for the video, one of you picked up on the only part I am not pleased with, namely, the picture of the World Trade towers, which I agree is inappropriate. My daughter, who made the video in a big hurry (mostly from images I sent her, though not the twin towers), did not have the time to go back and edit that out. I apologize.

Posted by Paul Kaplan | November 8, 2007 9:19 AM

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Hillary Clinton already offers supporters her campaign's version of a 24/7 Hillary news network at HillaryHub, and today the campaign launched its own fact-checking site.

"In the minute-to-minute media cycle we live in, we believe it is critical to correct the record in real time, regardless of the source. The site is aimed at providing a central place for the public to get reality checks on what is being said about the Clinton campaign at any given moment," spokesman Phil Singer tells reporters today.

"The Straight Scoop on Election '08 from the Hillary Clinton Campaign" is a companion to HillaryHub, and already debunks an NPR report from earlier today claiming Clinton stiffed a waitress.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

I have a story up this morning about how — for now — Barack Obama and John Edwards are helping each other out by targeting Hillary Clinton. The three Democrats are locked in a tight battle to win the Iowa caucus, now less than two months away.

Since Edwards and Obama, using very different styles, went after Clinton at last week's debate, her lead in several polls has shrunk, though she is still by all accounts the frontrunner. Her campaign points this out this morning with a "lead unchanged" headline over at HillaryHub.

This weekend all of the major Democratic candidates will speak to Iowa Democrats at the party's Jefferson-Jackson dinner, one of their last opportunities to make a broad appeal to party faithful before the Jan. 3 caucus.

Some Iowa Democrats today will get a chance to hear from Clinton's biggest advocate — the former president.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Iowans who support former Vice President Al Gore have been forced to cancel a concert in his honor.

The $20 per ticket "Run, Al, Run" event, which I wrote about last month and was scheduled for Sunday in Des Moines, was called off because organizers feared they wouldn't sell enough tickets.

Peter Ryder of Cedar Rapids told me there are two reasons the rally and concert won't go on as planned, despite folk singer Paul Kaplan writing an original song in Gore's honor.

The idea was to "send a message to Al Gore there is a tremendous surge of feeling about you running, but after he won the Nobel Peace Prize, he really got that message pretty loud and clear," Ryder said.

Given the importance of Iowa for the declared Democratic candidates, "we felt it would be difficult to sell the number of tickets to make the whole thing financially viable," Ryder added.

And how about those draft efforts? As I've written lately, the national Draft Gore group is running TV ads (which are also on TV here in D.C.).

Meanwhile, the California Draft Gore group is "halfway" to its goal of getting the 26,500 signatures they need to put Gore on the state's Feb. 5 Democratic primary ballot.

"We are pretty much on track in the urban districts and behind in the rural districts. Our plan is to bring in help to the rural districts. We continue to be optimistic about getting him on the ballot," Roy Gayhart of San Diego tells me.

The group may send petitioners to the Global Warming and America's Energy Future presidential environmental forum next weekend in Los Angeles.

And since no one will get to hear it Sunday, here's Kaplan performing the Gore tune, which includes this line: "How can you lose when you've already won?"

As for Ryder, he still plans to attend his caucus on behalf of Gore, and is urging others in Iowa do to the same on Jan. 3. If Gore does not reach the 15 percent threshold in the caucus, Ryder hasn't decided a second choice, though he's ruled one candidate out: "Not Hillary. I am leaning toward Edwards but that can change."

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

The three Hillary Clinton supporters chosen in a fundraising contest to watch last week's debate with Bill Clinton heaped praise on the New York senator in an online video released by the campaign and shown below.

The Clinton campaign refused to reveal how much the supporters donated, but it was less than $200 each and does not require disclosure in Clinton's FEC report. The campaign also declined to provide contact information for the debate watchers. Their full names — but little else — are detailed in the video.

After a close listen to the supporters interacting with the former president, I caught their home states. There was David Monterosso of Illinois, Glenda Moore of Kansas and Clare Beaumont of Houston, Texas. None have listed phone numbers.

We found a C.P. Monterosso of Plainfield, Ill., and I decided to give him a call to see if he could help me track down David. Boy was he surprised when I explained to him I was hoping he was related to someone featured in a video supporting Hillary Clinton.

"Ha," Monterosso laughed when reached yesterday. "I grew up in a Democratic household but I'm not supporting Clinton. We need somebody different than a Clinton or a Bush, that's for sure."

No luck so far tracking down the supporters to chat about their experience with the former president.

Here's the Clinton debate watch video, released yesterday:

If you are reading this, Glenda, Clare and David, feel free to drop me a line to tell me about your experience.

Contrast that with this clip from Sen. Barack Obama holding his own dinner contest and interacting with winners of his fundraising contest. He jokes about the staged effect of setting up the dinner for photographers to snap a few shots.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

It didn't take long for Sen. Barack Obama's campaign to hit back on Sen. Hillary Clinton's CNN interview this afternoon.

Most notable was her answer about the driver's licenses for illegal aliens issue, a topic that has generated heated discussion since last week's debate.

Here's the exchange from the Situation Room transcript, where Clinton (D-N.Y.) defends not answering the question by noting the issue's "complexity."

Candy Crowley: Driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. You have said you broadly support what the governors are doing. Let me narrow that question down: If I wrote a story that said absent a broad illegal immigration bill, 'Hillary Clinton agrees about giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants,' is that correct?

Hillary Clinton: No. What I said is that I support what governors are trying to do. And governors are on the front lines because of the failures to get comprehensive immigration reform. There are already eight states that issue driver's licenses without any verification of citizenship. That's a decision that the governors and legislatures and the people of those states have made. I understand …

Crowley: But do you see why people think …

Clinton: You know, Candy …

Crowley: … that you are not answering the question.

Clinton: I think that if you go back and look at the complexity of this issue, I don't think a lot of these hard questions lend themselves to raising your hand and I know that that's easier in 30 seconds context to try to do.

I think the fact that governors are being forced into this position is really unfortunate. They should not be making immigration policy. The federal governor should be making immigration policy. And that's what I'm going to try to do as president again.

And I do not believe that in the context of federal immigration reform that that would be an issue that governors would have to contend with.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton responded: "The only person playing politics today is Senator Clinton. It's absurd to compare a simple yes or no question about immigration that Senator Clinton still won't answer seven days after the debate to the despicable Republican attacks against John Kerry and Max Cleland's patriotism. Senator Obama believes that to truly stand up to the Republican attack machine, we have to be honest and straightforward about where we stand on the major issues facing America."

Here's the tape.

As our exclusive FOX 5-Washington Times-Rasmussen Reports poll suggests, this is a hot topic for voters, 77 percent of whom think giving illegals licenses is a bad idea. Don't expect the Clinton criticism on the issue to go away any time soon.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

John Edwards has "five simple questions" for Hillary Clinton.

"Senator Clinton has repeatedly said she will 'end the war.' Yet she has provided no plan for how she'll do it," Edwards said in a statement challenging the Democratic frontrunner. "She has only said that she will hold a meeting with her advisors within 60 days of taking office. That's not a plan. It's a promise of a planning meeting. On such an important question we need honesty and answers, not double-talk and evasions."

Five Questions on Iraq that Every Candidate Should Have to Answer:

Question #1: Do you have a specific plan to end the war in Iraq?

Edwards: YES Senator Clinton: ?

Question #2: As president, will you withdraw all combat troops?

Edwards: YES Senator Clinton: ?

Question #3: Will you withdraw all combat troops within the first nine to ten months of your presidency?

Edwards: YES Senator Clinton: ?

Question #4: Will you conduct combat missions with troops stationed inside Iraq?

Edwards: NO Senator Clinton: ?

Question #5: Will you leave permanent military bases in Iraq?

Edwards: NO Senator Clinton: ?

It's still not clear if this new attack strategy will pay off for Edwards come Jan. 3, but it has gotten him a lot of press lately, and the "Politics of Parsing" video has been viewed on YouTube more than 274,000 times.

--Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times