"One question for you, Wolf - can I please shift to the lectern between these two just to get some camera time?"

What if you cut interest rates 3/4ths of a percent and even the financial markets said..."waah?" Well, that's what we'll be seeing in the next few days. The fact that the major American markets could still dump billions of value on a day following such an announcement is the canary in the coal mine. I'm no economist. Although I did get a "B" in a pair of econ courses nearly two decades ago. So allow me to offer one pithy comment. Check your gut. It knows you, maybe you don't know it. This flux is all gut. Let's hope we've got the right tonic to settle things down in the coming months.

I should riff fully on the Democratic Debate in South Carolina last night, but I'm still playing catch up during naptime with our TiVo. But since everyone's throwing bombs, I'll offer my own. Hillary fights far dirtier (and smarter) than anyone in this race. My rationale is that I briefly combed votes doing opposition research bunk for Howard Dean's campaign in the last Presidential cycle. The sort of stuff Hillary's offering as broadcasted contrasts with Barack Obama is part and parcel of the ammunition I was told to look for - parse the voting record by bill names, look at some comparative markers (voting members with 100% ratings from various agents), categorize by funding vehicle (which Federal/State department), and look for the punchline. I warn everyone who takes my advice with a grain of salt that these tactics tarnish us all. Obama's people surely do the same research. I just honestly believe they're not playing it as cynical nor are they so willing to cross check this early in the period, so to speak, as the HillaryBorg. Do with that what you will.

Hope your own skates are sharpened and you don't swallow that wad of chew in your cheek before intermission. Rock on.

Message to the messengers: "Message matters"

This is the 1,100th post over the 3-year history of and the Family Buick. I started out wanting to feature our soon-to-arrive daughter, Maya, after past half-starts with political shtick (including Try the Kool Aid while working for Howard Dean's campaign in '04). But for those that check in occasionally, you know all too well that herein I veer into the realm of political shtick more often than not. Today's a big day for people cut from similar cloth. New Hampshire is burning white hot. Results will come in a handful of hours. The turnout appears to be huge. But I want to get out front (again) with a few resonant moments from the last 24 hours and what I entirely believe they will mean in the days and weeks ahead.

1) Hillary's tearful moment yesterday was human. Every voter in the room was surely touched. But this was her "Howard Dean in Iowa" moment. She will be mercilessly taken to ludicrous task by the merciless crowd. Fair? No. Damaging? Undeniably so.
2) Bill Clinton is an institution. However, he's gone fully off the reservation in the last handful of events. When he called Obama's campaign a "fairy tale" he just coined his latest "that depends on what the definition of 'is' is" moment.

Hang onto your hats - tonite's going to be a hoot. Hope your own change is jangling today. Rock on.

Attention DC Servers: Tucker Carlson will "leave a Hillary" for every meal for at least the next year.

Oh. My. Gawd. Hillary. Sucks. Or, at the VERY least, her campaign staff is so ruthless and tonedeaf that they don't deserve a chance in Hell once things really get dicey. Confused? Call it TipGate. NPR broke the story yesterday inadvertently, regarding a visit to a Iowa restaurant by Hillary and her subsequent use of an anecdotal exchange with a waitress, Anita Esterday. The waitress claims Hillary left no tip. I listened to the report yesterday and today's follow-up in real time. Without a doubt, Ms. Esterday (a single mother of two boys working two jobs) is legit. Everyone agrees that it's utterly ridiculous. Still, in the most incredibly stupid fashion I've ever seen, the Clinton campaign is trying to trash this minimum-wage working woman including using a pseudo-slick new counter-attack website. Somewhere right now, Matt Drudge is spooging into his mock-tweedy pants.

The follow-up story on today's "Morning Edition" is essential reading/listening. Do I think Hillary intentionally tried to short Esterday? Surely not. But the utter ruthlessness of her minions' response and obfuscation concerns me greatly. I expect that Hillary's campaign is the front-runner. I think she's a smart manager. I, nonetheless, understand why so many people so deeply despise her. Most of it's not her fault - she's surrounded by opportunists that will never rightly admit a wrong. But this story has legs that shouldn't even be possible. By not admitting that a mistake was made and instead offering up credit card receipts that in no way supports her story, Hillary's staff just lost her tens of thousands of votes from waitresses nationwide. Horrible, horrible campaign work. If anything thus far for '08 has approached the toxic volatility of Howard Dean's overplayed scream in Iowa, this sucker has the volume.

Hope your own tips are at least 25% today. Rock on.