Well, I think we're getting close to having the date of the New Hampshire First-In-The-Nation Presidential Primary firmed up. Right now, I'm expecting it to be Tuesday, January 8th. At least I hope I'm in the correct year.

Throughout the years that I've worked on this cause -- dating back to even before the 1980 election cycle when Secretary of State Bill Gardner set his first primary date according to the state law -- I've learned that it's an evolutionary process. Our "lead-off" position doesn't happen automatically, and it needs a lot of maneuvering. We've given Bill Gardner the tools he has needed in the laws we have passed dating to 1975 and updated several times since -- but he's the carpenter and he uses those tools very well.
The 2008 Presidential Election cycle has probably been his greatest challenge yet. During the past two years he and I have had the fun, if it can be said to be so, of meeting and talking dozens of times and many dozens of hours about the strategies to keep New Hampshire "...seven days or more..." ahead of any other primary. When the Democratic National Committee began its games a couple of years ago to set Nevada ahead of New Hampshire and in other ways dilute New Hampshire's influence and relevance to the presidential selection process, both he and I said we'd be okay, that New Hampshire would indeed be first, and that the predictions of some pundits that we were about to lose our status were a lot off-base.

Pretend for a moment that you're a political operative. Now, imagine the circumstances: your political party is in the red, your image with voters statewide is fading, and an important pivotal election is less than 6 months away. And you have an annual fundraising dinner coming up in a couple of weeks.

What do you do? You invite Karl Rove, undoubtedly President George W. Bush's top advisor (well, perhaps next to Vice President Dick Cheney) to New Hampshire to raise funds!

Forget whether he's got conspiracy and other legal charges of his own to face, forget about the President's problems, forget about all the dozens of other more respectable Republican leaders you could get — you invite a man who you know can bring in the bucks. You invite the "power guy" who people will pay high-plate-prices to share bread with so they can shake his hand and slip their business card.

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