WHY HUCKABEE?

Mike Huckabee seems like a decent guy, and as far as we can tell, he did a good job as Arkansas governor. Yet his lack of knowledge about what is going on in the world is appalling. As we reported Saturday, he doesn’t seem to keep up with the news very well, and he doesn’t even know where Pakistan is geographically in relation to Afghanistan. So why is he moving up into front place in Iowa ahead of the three former top-tier Republican candidates?

The answer is that Republicans are greatly dissatisfied with the men who are fighting for top spot. One of New Hampshire’s newspapers called Romney a phony, and he seems to twist and turn every time the wind changes direction.

Joe Biden said of Rudy Giuliani that everything the former New York City mayor says contains a noun, a verb, and 9/11. The man seems to be a one-issue candidate. You can almost see him practicing the George Bush swagger. Some of his neo-con advisors fill us with dread.

Among the Republicans John McCain is the most qualified by virtue of experience and character, but lately he has more and more become a supporter of George Bush’s policies. He has never wavered in his support for Bush’s war, and now he is saying it would be a good idea to keep Bush’s tax program that helps the rich to the disadvantage of everyone else. It’s no wonder that Huckabee looks good to some Republicans, but as we reported on Friday, not to all of them.

Compare any of these guys to Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin. Perrin grew up on a farm. He worked in a factory. He served in the army during the Korean War. He belonged to a union. He spent nearly fifty years teaching English to young people. And Perrin is the only candidate of either party who has come out clearly in favor of cheap beer.

HUCKABEE’S FOREIGN POLICY EXPERTISE

There are lots of things to admire about Mike Huckabee, but his knowledge of foreign policy is not one of them. The turmoil in Pakistan, he says, should remind us to tighten security along our southern border. Huh? Huckabee explained that except for Latin-Americans, more Pakistani illegals enter the U. S. than any other group. The Department of Homeland Security, however, reports that people from several other Asian nations enter the country illegally in larger numbers than those from the Pakistan.

In another interview the former Arkansas governor stated that the Pakistani government, “does not have enough control of those eastern borders near Afghanistan to be able go after the terrorists,” thus moving Afghanistan from Pakistan's western to its eastern border.

Earlier in the month when reporters asked him to comment on the National Intelligence Report that Iran had stopped trying to develop nuclear weapons in 2003, he said he was not familiar with the report. At the time the report had been widely covered in the news for over 30 hours.

Do we want to entrust the country to a man who doesn’t have a clear picture of the geography of Afghanistan, a country that has been prominent in the news for almost six years? Do we want to put the fate of the country in the hands of a man who doesn’t know what’s going on it the world?

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich has something to say about illegal aliens: “The greatest number of illegal aliens are entering the country from outer-space. I’ve seen them land in their little space ships.”

A LOT OF REPUBLICANS DON’T LIKE THIS GUY

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is leading in Iowa. Nationally he is neck in neck with Rudy Giuliani. Yet a lot of Republicans can’t stand him. They consider him worse than Hillary Clinton. Although Huckabee is popular with social conservatives, he is out of step with the country club and business Republicans.

The Wall Street Journal and the conservative National Review have attacked him. The Club for Growth is campaigning against him in Iowa and South Carolina, charging that he increased taxes while he was Arkansas governor. Club president Pat Toomey called him a “big-government liberal.” Huckabee countered by referring to negative ads from the “Club for Greed, excuse me, the Club for Growth.”

Huckabee has called attention to a difference between Wall Street Republicans and Main Street Republicans, but campaign money comes from the Wall Street types. On February 5 over 20 states will be voting. Huckabee may not have enough money to campaign effectively in all 20 states.

Voters keep switching their views of the candidates, both Republicans and Democrats. It will be interesting if Huckabee wins the GOP nomination. We can imagine him in a debate with Democrat Carl Perrin. The Baptist minister will be quoting the Bible, and the English professor will be quoting Shakespeare.

REPUBLICAN LINEUP

As we move into the primary season, the Republican lineup keeps changing every day. The reason for this is that Republicans are not satisfied with their front-runners. A lot people see Romney as a phony and a waffler. This comes out in things like his position on abortion: "I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I changed my position. And I get tired of people that are holier-than-thou because they've been pro-life longer than I have. But I'm proud of the fact." Huh? The Concord (NH) Monitor even came out with an editorial that said: “Don’t vote for this man.”

Because of the negative feelings about the former Massachusetts governor, Senator John McCain is now ahead of him in the polls. The Arizona senator has been endorsed by papers in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Rudy Giuliani was in first place for a long time. He certainly looked good after 9/11. However, since then questions have come up about his judgment. Social conservatives are concerned about his personal life and his waffling on positions dear to their hearts. People are less willing to leave the fate of the country in his hands.

Giuliani is no longer the front runner. He has been edged out of that place by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. Although Huckabee is in first place among Republican voters right now, people still don’t know a lot about him, and critics from both the right and left are beginning to snipe at him.

McCain is admired for his straight talk, but a lot of people do not like his position on the war in Iraq. Some people have questions about his age. If elected, he would be the oldest person to become president. Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin, however, thinks of the Arizona senator as “that young McCain fellow.”

Perrin is still way behind in the polls, but things could change for him as they have for Mike Huckabee. In the general election Perrin could well be facing either Huckabee or McCain. Either one would be a more worthy opponent than Romney or Giuliani.

NEW SCANDAL FOR PERRIN?

Just a week before the Iowa caucuses, a new scandal about Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin raises questions about his character. According to the story going around, in 1989 Perrin was two weeks overdue in returning a book to the Portland, ME, library.

When he was first confronted with this wrongdoing, Perrin pretended that he didn’t recall any such incident. When a reporter showed him a copy of the overdue notice from the Portland Library, Perrin couldn’t deny it. The former English professor insisted that the overdue book was merely an oversight. It had been a busy time in his life, and he had just forgotten to return the library book. “Anyway,” he said, “I made a mistake, but I paid my fine, $1.40, and it should not be held against me now, 18 years later.”

Unfortunately, the candidate could not produce the receipt that showed he had actually paid the fine, so some people are wondering if just kept the book an extra two weeks and got away with it. Did he get off scot-free just because he was a professor?

Perrin campaign manager Aristotle Mongoose told us, “Someone leaked this story just before the Iowa caucus so we wouldn’t have time to counter it before the good people of Iowa make their choice about which candidate they want. The dirty sneaks want to damage Dr. Perrin’s reputation with Iowa bibliophiles.”

DOES ROMNEY BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS?

The Concord (NH) Monitor has come out with anti-endorsement for former governor of nearby Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. The paper noted that Romney switched positions on stem cell research, abortion rights, and emergency contraception. The Monitor stated, “If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world. Mitt Romney is such a candidate.” Other New Hampshire papers, including the state’s major paper, the New Hampshire Union, have come out in favor of John McCain.

Still another story, damaging to Romney’s campaign in New Hampshire, has leaked out. Speaking to kindergarten children in Amherst, NH, the former governor said he had always believed in Santa Claus and in the spirit of Christmas. However, a former aide said that while he was stuck in Boston traffic while Christmas shopping in 1994, he said, “Christmas! Bah, humbug!”

A campaign advisor told us that, while it is true that Romney spoke those words, he was being ironic and merely quoting Charles Dickens’ classic story.

MASTER’S DEGREE IN CREATION SCIENCE

Now you can get a master’s degree in science education with an emphasis on creationism. A Bible-based group called the Institute for Creation Research will be awarding online degrees in creationism. The Institute will use materials from “top schools,” except that it will challenge standard teaching of evolution.

According to the Institute’s web site: “All things in the universe were created and made by God in the six literal days of the creation week.” The program, “equips believers with evidences of the Bible’s accuracy and authority through scientific research, educational programs, and media presentations, all conducted within a thoroughly biblical framework.”

The department offering the degrees will be called the George W. Bush Science Center, to honor the Bush administration’s contributions to modern science. Two years ago the president stated his belief that school children should be taught intelligent design. "Both sides ought to be properly taught . . . so people can understand what the debate is about," he said, according to an official transcript of the session. Bush added: "Part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought.”

Henry Morris III, the chief executive of the Institute for Creation Research, said, “We’re very excited about this new program. We plan to add new major areas of study to our science curriculum in the next two years. We’re planning to offer Master of Science degrees in Alchemy, Astrology, and Phrenology.”

EDITORIAL ENDORSEMENTS

As we get down to the wire, influential newspapers are endorsing some of the major candidates. John McCain may have the most endorsements. In Iowa the Des Moines Register came out for McCain, giving him a boost in that state’s caucus. Two New Hampshire papers also gave the nod to the Arizona senator. His home state Arizona Republican also endorsed their senator.

Hillary Clinton got the big prize in Iowa, a recommendation from the Des Moines Register. But Barack Obama came out ahead with support from the Boston Globe and from New York Time columnist David Brooks.

Democrat Dr. Carl Perrin also got an endorsement from Leisure Times, a paper published in the retirement village where he lives. Leisure Times noted that Perrin was the only candidate, Democrat or Republican, who promised to keep beer affordable for the average American. Although Leisure Times does not have a lot of subscribers, it is read all over the country, from Maine to California. Perrin feels reassured by this endorsement. Although none of the nation’s big newspapers promoted him, the one that really counts is behind him.

ON TO IOWA

Mitt Romney has spent millions of dollars in Iowa. Hillary Clinton and her husband have been crisscrossing the state trying to sell her as a warm human being. Christopher Dodd has gone so far as to move his family temporarily to Iowa. John Edwards has been campaigning in the state since 2004. Iowa newspapers have endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain.

And what has Democrat Dr. Carl Perrin done to win votes in Iowa? Nothing. Perrin has done nothing to win votes in the Hawkeye State. And that will be to his advantage. With all their campaigning and political ads and speeches, the front-running candidates are giving the voters of Iowa too much to chose from. And all of those people carry heavy negatives. Clinton is too robotic. Obama lacks experience. Edwards is too anti-business. Giuliani favors loyalty in his supporters over competence. (We already have someone in the White House who matches that description.) Romney flip flops all over the place. McCain has the wrong position on Iraq for most voters. Huckabee doesn’t accept the scientific concept of evolution. (We already have an anti-science inhabitant in the White House.)

When Iowa voters consider the drawbacks of all these candidates, they will naturally think of Dr. Carl Perrin. But what about Perrin? Does he have any liabilities? Frankly, we can’t think of any negatives in Dr. Perrin’s impressive background. We are confident that when Iowa voters go to their caucuses on January 3, they will say, Dr. Carl Perrin loud and clear.

CANDIDATE BASHES BUSH

A candidate for the nomination has come out with harsh criticism of the Bush administration’s foreign policy. The candidate in question criticized Bush for not listening to military leaders who urged him early on to send more troops to secure Iraq, charged that the administration’s policy toward Pakistan had been a “waste” and a “setback” and warned that the United States was now more “vulnerable to the animosity of other countries.”

“American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up and reach out,” the candidate wrote in an article published in Foreign Affairs. “The Bush administration’s arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad,” the article said.

The candidate called for more humanitarian aid to improve living conditions in the Muslim world and to make the people there less receptive to terrorists. He suggested taking a more flexible approach to Iran, including the possibility of greater diplomacy.

“Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons on my watch,” he wrote. “But before I look parents in the eye to explain why I put their son’s or daughter’s life at risk, I want to do everything possible to avoid conflict. We have substantive issues to discuss with Tehran.”

Which Democrat said these harsh comments about the Bush administration? It wasn’t a Democrat at all. It was Mike Huckabee. No wonder he is moving up and making a real challenge to former governor “Flip-flop” Romney and former mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of whose advisers is ready to bomb Iran.

OBAMA’S EXPERIENCE

Since the beginning of the campaign season Hillary Clinton has been raising questions about Barack Obama’s lack of experience in government. He had been in the Senate for only one year before he began his run for the presidency.

Senator Obama has tried to counter that charge by pointing to his experience as a legislator, a law professor, and a member of the Illinois legislature. He also referred to a statement made by Bill Clinton in 1992 to the effect that experience per se was not necessarily a plus. Some people have a lot of experience doing the wrong thing time after time. (Think of Dick Cheney.) Not having been part of the Washington games for very long, Obama can bring a fresh insight to the presidency.

Evidently the Boston Globe agrees with him. They endorsed the Illinois senator, saying, ''It is true that all the other Democratic contenders have more conventional resumes, and have spent more time in Washington. But that exposure has tended to give them a sense of government’s constraints. Obama is more open to its possibilities.''

We certainly agree with that sentiment. When it comes to Washington-style politics, the less experience, the better qualified the candidate. If you want to see a candidate with a minimum of Washington experience, you couldn’t find anyone better than Dr. Carl Perrin. He has never even to Washington. What could be better than that?

RON PAUL BLIMP

Anti-war Republican Ron Paul has been very creative in fund raising methods. On Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, he raised $4.5 million dollars for his campaign. Now he is renting a 200-foot blimp for $350 thousand a month to carry his message in the sky. It was scheduled to commemorate another event, the Boston Tea Party, by dropping tea into Boston Harbor, but instead it will be flying in North and South Carolina this weekend.

We can’t help but admire Dr. Paul’s creativity as well as his success in fund raising. Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin would love to be able to rent a blimp, but he’s about $349 thousand short of one month’s rent. Instead he is asking his supporters to get helium balloons and print his name on them. Then let them fly over the early-primary states.

APOLOGIES

It must be the Christmas season. Politicians are apologizing all over the place. Hillary Clinton apologized to Barack Obama after someone on her staff suggested that if Obama became the Democratic nominee, the Republicans would have a field day over drug use during his youth.

Then Mike Huckabee apologized to Mitt Romney over his suggestion that Mormons believed Jesus Christ and the devil to be brothers.

Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin thought some apologies from him were in order. Although he has never made this charge in public, privately he has referred to George Bush as an idiot. Technically an idiot is a person with an I Q below 20. Perrin does not believe the Bush’s IQ is that low.

In private conversation Perrin has referred to Bush as a liar. The former English professor now says that some of the lies about WMD and other stuff that came out of GSB’s mouth may have been fed to him by Karl or Dick or some other henchmen. Perrin apologizes from calling W a liar.

Carl Perrin has also stated that Bush and Cheney should be impeached for misleading the nation in all kinds of things, leading us into a senseless war, and irreparably damaging the nation and its reputation around the world. Perrin is not apologizing for that. He still thinks that Bush and Cheney should be impeached.

UNSUNG HEROES

Poor Al Gonzales got kicked around during his term as U. S. Attorney General, but he is finally getting his reward: The American Bar Association has named him lawyer of the year. The Bush administration is full of people who didn’t get the recognition they deserve. How about Michael Brown. They blamed him for FEMA’s disastrous handling of Hurricane Katrina. At least the president told him he was doing a heck of a job. Since Brown left, things haven’t gotten any better in New Orleans, so maybe Brownie wasn’t the only one at fault.

What about CIA Director of the year? George Tenet assured the White House gang that Iraq’s possession of WMD was a “slam dunk.” At least Tenet got the Medal of Freedom. George Bush should have a bunch of those hanging around to hand out to loyal henchmen.

Don’t forget Gonzales’s assistant, Monica Gooding. She weeded a lot of closet Democrats out of the Attorney General’s office. Did she get any thanks for that? Did the president even say, “Heck of a job, Monica”?

One of the great heroes of the Bush administration is former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who saved a lot of money by trying to invade Iraq on the cheap. He even forced the retirement of General Shinseki when the general suggested that they need a lot more troops to do it right. Then a couple of days after the election, the administration tells Rumsfeld that they don’t require his services any more. So what’s Rummy doing now, sitting around brooding over his treatment?

Then there’s Karl Rove. Once they realize that no one likes him, they just send him back to Texas. That’s a fine thank-you.

Julie MacDonald was doing a heck of a job as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department in Interior. She had to rewrite all those reports done by scientists who were not sensitive to business interests when they wrote about endangered species and stuff. When she left, some people cheered. How’s that for appreciation?

Don’t forget Randy Tobias , who as Deputy Secretary of State urged abstinence rather than condoms to prevent AIDS while he employed the services of “DC Madam” Jeanne Palfrey. Now he’s gone home to wherever. Think about all the money he saved by not supplying condoms. Did anyone say, “You’ve done a great job, Randy”?

And of course there’s Wolfy. Paul Wolfowitz did such a great job getting the country into the war in Iraq, and then he became president of the World Bank for a while before he was forced out. Someone should at least name him Banker of the Year.

IOWA IS CHANGING EVERYTHING

Republican voters, dissatisfied with the front-running candidates, are taking a closer look at former Arkansas governor, former Baptist minister, Mike Huckabee. The latest polls have put Huckabee ahead of Mitt Romney in Iowa, even though Romney has spent a pile of money in the state in preparation for the January 3 caucus. Over the past few months, Huckabee has come from way behind. A win in Iowa could put him at the front of the pack. He could easily become the Republican nominee for the presidency.

At the same time Democratic front runner,Hillary Clinton, is showing weakness in Iowa. Although she still leads nationally, in Iowa it is a three-way race between Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. Whoever wins in Iowa and in New Hampshire the next week could leave the others in the dust.

Mike Huckabee rose from the bottom of the pack. Now he has a clear shot at the top position. Democratic candidate Carl Perrin is still at the very bottom, even below Dennis Kucinich, but a lot could change in the next month. Perrin has high hopes of a good showing in New Hampshire, the state where he grew up, went to school, and started his teaching career.

Don’t be too quick to write off Perrin’s candidacy as a Quixotic quest. The top three Democrats could knock each other out of the race, and the party will need a unifier like Dr. Carl Perrin. The general election could be a race between former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee and former English professor, Dr. Carl Perrin.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

In last Friday’s post we noted that several of the leading candidates for the presidency have garnered the support of show business stars. Since Friday we have learned that we barely brushed the surface of Hollywood endorsements.

Actor Robert Duvall has come out for Rudy Guiliani. John Edwards has Danny Glover, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, and Ben Stiller in his camp. Barack Obama not only has Oprah campaigning for him. Jamie Foxx, Paul Newman, Will Smith, and Joanne Woodward are also supporting the Illinois senator. Bill Richardson has a big celebrity following: Michael Douglas, Steven Spielberg, Jodie Foster, Bette Midler, and Paul Newman. (Evidently Newman isn’t going to put all his eggs in one basket.)

Even Dennis Kucinich has a couple of famous names in his corner: Bonnie Raitt and Larry Flynt. Larry Flynt? How much help can that sort of endorsement be? It’s like Pat Robertson coming out in favor of Rudy Giuliani and Dick Cheney endorsing Carl Perrin.

Perrin is also picking up a few endorsements. Camden, Maine, philanthropist Oliver Tolliver P. Martin Dragbag III recently came out for Perrin. Portland, Maine, businessman J. Pierpont Peaseblossom announced his support for the former English professor a while back. The problem with endorsememtns by these two outstanding citizens is that are not well known outside of the section of Maine where they live.

The Perrin campaign is still looking for endorsements from show biz personalities, and the first one just came in this morning. Mary Belle Sassafras, a noted singer in the Gorham, Maine, area has volunteered to campaign for Dr. Carl Perrin. Ms Sassafras has never been to Hollywood, but she sings with a lot of pick-up bands in Cumberland County. “Whenever Carl Perrin campaigns in Maine,” she said, “I’m going to be there, singing my heart out for him.”

PERRIN CONFESSES

Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin took the bull by the horns and confessed that he is a chocoholic. A lot of people, although they admire the former English professor, were concerned about having a man with Perrin’s weakness for chocolate in the White House.

Speaking before a group of six or seven senior citizens in his retirement village, the candidate sought to reassure the public that they had nothing to fear from having a chocoholic president. “It’s not like I’d go on a chocolate binge and then go crazy and declare Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia an axes of evil, and then invade oil-rich Venezuela to prevent it from putting a strangle hold on South America.” Perrin chuckled at the ridiculousness of such an idea.

Perrin admitted that he does have a craving for chocolate, but he insisted, “I can keep it under control. I just limit myself to three or four chocolate bars a day, and everything is fine.”

WHAT IS MISSING IN PERRIN’S CAMPAIGN?

Democrat Dr Carl Perrin’s campaign is picking up steam. At first his financing was limited to money from returnable cans and bottles. Now every few weeks he gets one or two campaign donations in the form of small checks. He now has almost a thousand dollars in his election fund, not enough to spend on advertising in the primaries, but there will be some for the general election next fall. Name recognition is climbing too. From reading his blog, several hundred people now know that he is running for the president. So the campaign is going pretty well, but still something is missing, and Perrin is way behind all those professional politicians.

What do these other candidates have that Perrin lacks? It is not ability or charisma or good looks obviously. What they have is a celebrity helping them in their campaign. Oprah is campaigning for Barack Obama while Chuck Norris puts in a good word for Mike Huckabee. Barbra Streisand is supporting the former first lady and Warren Buffett is helping with her fund raising. You get the picture?

Dr. Perrin needs a celebrity to get the word out about his campaign. We wondered why some famous personality hasn’t already come out and said, “Vote for Perrin. He’s our man!” It soon became clear that no big name had come to Perrin’s aid because they didn’t realize he needed anyone’s help. It is obvious that Perrin is so eminently qualified for high office that no one thought they needed to come out and endorse him and give him a hand with his campaign.

Unfortunately in the real world even someone as outstanding as Perrin needs some star power to help him along. So come on, you entertainment luminaries, you famous people from all walks of life, it’s time for you to come out and support Dr. Carl Perrin’s candidacy.

WILL HILLARY BE A DRAG ON THE PARTY?

Democratic members of Congress running for reelection are worried that if Hillary Clinton is nominated for the presidency, they will lose votes. This is particularly true of Democrats running in heavily Republican districts. Nancy Boyda, a Democrat from Kansas, is one who could be affected. Sixty percent of the voters in her district went for George Bush in the 2004 election. Now Ms. Boyda faces a tough reelection battle. Some of her supporters are concerned that if Senator Clinton heads the Democratic ticket in 2008, people like Congresswoman Boyda will lose.

Politicians like Boyda are asserting their independence from leading Democrats in hopes of saving their Congressional seats. Democrats running for office are distancing themselves from Hillary Clinton, just as Republican politicians are staying as far away from Bush and Cheney as they can.

It is time to nominate who will not alienate independent voters, a man who has never even been in Washington, someone like Dr. Carl Perrin, a man of the people, and the people’s choice.

ANOTHER SLAM DUNK

President George Bush got another intelligence report stating that Iran had stopped working on nuclear weapons in 2003. The report supercedes the 2005 report that insisted that Iran was hell bent for leather to develop the nukes.

Mr. Bush affirmed that the report proved that he had been right all along. “Because of our efforts, we were able to avert World War III,” he said.

Meanwhile Vice President Dick Cheney has been out of sight for a while. There is some speculation that Cheney has been trying to draft former CIA Director George Tenet as a contract intelligence officer. According to our sources Cheney wants Tenet to prove that Iran is on the verge of developing nuclear weapons and aiming them at Washington.

HUCKABEE, OBAMA, AND PERRIN MOVING UP THROUGH THE RANKS

Doubts about the two Republican front runners keep growing. Rudy and Mitt keep attacking each other and trying to outdo each other in changing their positions. Romney was for government-supported health care before he was against it. Giuliani was for gun control before he was against it. Etc., etc., etc.

Into this moral void former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is filling some of the empty space. He is rising in the polls and being attacked by fiscal conservatives for having raised taxes while he was governor. Things have changed in the Republican landscape.

We are beginning to see changes among the Democratic candidates as well. Some people find Mrs. Clinton too scripted. They are not as sure as they were a few months ago that she has the nomination sewed up. If Hillary is knocked out of first place, most people assume that she will be replaced by one of her closest rivals. Right now Barack Obama is ahead of her in Iowa. On the national scene some people see a candidate from the back of the pack moving up, someone perhaps like Dr. Carl Perrin. For some people, Perrin is the perfect solution for voters who are fed up with all those professional politicians. Perrin: a man of the people, and the people’s choice.

MORE DIRT ON PERRIN

More details are emerging on Democratic candidate Carl Perrin’s trips to Maine at taxpayer expense. In his public announcements, Perrin has emphasized the campaign in the state of Maine. But we have learned that he started going to Maine long before he even thought about running for the Democratic nomination. According to our sources, these trips go back at least to 2001. Frequently he went by himself, telling his wife that he was “visiting relatives in Maine.”

We have learned that he always stayed at the home of the unidentified woman pictured above, a woman, we might add, who looks young enough to be Perrin’s daughter. When reporters confronted the candidate about what was going on, he refused to identify the woman. “Where I go in Maine is nobody’s beeswax,” the angry former professor insisted. Our sources have not identified the woman by name, but we have learned that she is a volunteer worker for Perrin’s campaign in Maine.

Campaign manager Aristotle Mongoose told us that he believes the leaks about Perrin’s secret life are coming from Democratic front runners. “They see a surge in support for Dr. Perrin, and they feel threatened by his candidacy.”

GIULIANI HANKY PANKY?

Some people were not surprised that Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin was suspected of some, let’s say, extracurricular trips to Maine on taxpayer dollars. The former English professor, after all, is a sophisticated man of the world.

What is hard to believe is that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, thrice-married Catholic, may have been involved in some hanky panky himself, at taxpayer expense. While he was mayor, Giuliani charged tens of thousands of dollars to various city agencies for trips to such places as the Hamptons, where he was evidently meeting Judith Nathan. One of the agencies charged was that which was responsible for loft apartments, like the apartment where Giuliani appointee Bernard Kerik had his own little fling with Judith Regan.

City auditors who questioned the expenses were told that the details couldn’t be revealed because of “security” reasons. At the time of these trips Rudy was having a little fling with Judith Nathan, who became his third wife.