If none of the others lock it up by Labor Day 2007, Newt Gingrich said today he might enter the Presidential race.

The former House speaker from Georgia said it would not be too late for him to enter the race after next Labor Day, if he believed no candidate had a clear advantage. He praised Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani as the contenders to watch.

''If one of them seals it off by Labor Day, my announcing now wouldn't make any difference anyway,'' Gingrich said. ''If none of the three, having from now 'til Labor Day, can seal it off, the first real vote is in 2008. And there's plenty of time in the age of television and e-mail, between Labor Day and 2008.''

Just what we need, another contract on America. It took us twelve years to work our way out from under the last one.

I don't think he has a prayer. His own personal peccadillos are too well known. Besides, he's too busy working on his current mission, restoring religion to American Government.

Who knows how long Bush's NSA warrantless wiretapping has been going on, but it was a year ago today that Bush 'fessed up to it:

On Dec. 17, 2005, Bush publicly acknowledged for the first time he had authorized the NSA to monitor, without approval from a judge, phone calls and e-mails that come into or originate in the U.S. and involve people the government suspects of having terrorist links.

Bush said he had no intention of halting what he called a "vital tool" in the war on terror.

It's up to the Dems now. Will they have the spine and the wherewithal to put an end to it...without passing more laws that increase the executive's power to order spying on more of us without adequate judicial oversight?

Nobody got named person of the year by Time because they named everybody.

The annual honor for 2006 went to each and every one of us, as Time cited the shift from institutions to individuals citizens of the new digital democracy, as the magazine put it. The winners this year were anyone using or creating content on the World Wide Web.

"If you choose an individual, you have to justify how that person affected millions of people," said Richard Stengel, who took over as Time's managing editor earlier this year. "But if you choose millions of people, you don't have to justify it to anyone."

It's really not us, of course, it's the web. But I guess saying it's us personalizes it a bit.

The Washington Post goes on for five pages about whether Bill Clinton will be a plus or a minus for Hillary's presidential campaign.

Not much news here. Shorter version: He's both. Must be a slow news day. It sure shouldn't have taken five pages to point that out, especially when neither Bill nor Hillary were interviewed for the piece.

My view: Bottom line: He's a huge asset. He's a political dynamo and a statesman. She's smart and a hard worker. She's held her own as Senator, she'd do the same as President. It'd be nice to have him back in the White House, even as First Spouse.

From the Sunday Times Online (UK): President Bush is considering a "double down" strategy in Iraq.

Having ruled out a “graceful exit”, Bush is tempted by the one option that presents the slightest chance of success: a sustained surge of up to 40,000 US forces into Baghdad and the Sunni stronghold of Anbar province.

He believes a sharp boost in troop numbers could salvage his reputation as a resolute war leader while presenting a satisfying break with the “cut and walk” proposal to reduce combat troops by early 2008 that came from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by James Baker, his father’s secretary of state. This independent report is already gathering dust.

What a travesty. Our sinking leader cares more about salvaging his legacy than the lives of American troops.

I love it when Republicans bash Rudy. Now, he's accused of making a "rookie mistake" by scheduling a major fundraising event in the days before Christmas.

As one Republican strategist says:

"He's viewed as erratic, mercurial," said Republican strategist Nelson Warfield. "His history is not one that inspires confidence that he can make a decision and go forward with it."

Doctors are now weighing in on the botched Florida execution of Angel Nieves Diaz (background here and here.)

They believe he died a slow, agonizing death, which one equates to torture.

``It really sounds like he was tortured to death,'' said Jonathan Groner, associate professor of surgery at the Ohio State Medical School, who has written several articles on lethal injection. ``My impression is that it would cause an extreme amount of pain.''

7 Guantanamo detainees have been returned to Afghanistan and freed.

The AP has conducted an investigation into what happens when these "vicious killers" -- many of whom turned out to be harmless farmers kidnapped and sold to Americans -- are returned.

Through interviews with justice and police officials, detainees and their families, and using reports from human rights groups and local media, The Associated Press was able to track 245 of those formerly held at Guantanamo.

The findings are very interesting. I hope you'll follow the link and read them.

I received this by e-mail, I don't know if it's real or satire, but it gets funnier as it goes along.

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:49:07 -0800
Subject: FW: Party Announcement

RE: Christmas Party

It's down to the wire. DNC Chair Howard Dean will decide really soon, probably this coming week, whether the 2008 Democratic National Convention will be held in Denver or New York City.

I really hope Denver is chosen. We are up to the challenge, we can raise the money and we have the infrastructure.

The Rocky Mountain West is the old South in terms of importance in 2008, particularly Colorado and New Mexico.

It would be great to host bloggers here in Denver. There's a lot to do, it's young and vibrant, not too expensive and easy to get around.

We also have a very active progressive blog community. Check out ProgressNow Action, Colorado Confidential, Square State and Colorado Media Matters. We're ready.

Where do you think the convention should be held?

John Edwards is going to announce his 2008 Presidential bid.

Edwards, who represented North Carolina in the Senate for six years, 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.

I'm glad. He has good ideas that need to be heard. I think it's time to expand the talk beyond Hillary and Obama. The more choices the better.

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh today announced he will not run for President in 2008 because he can't win.

"At the end of the day, I concluded that due to circumstances beyond our control the odds were longer than I felt I could responsibly pursue," Bayh said in a statement. "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."

Translation: Between Hillary and Obama, there's no room for me.