Towleroad Guide to the Tube #291

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: Castro in the Streets reports...

HUMAN SHIELD: A sneak peek at Lindsay Lohan on the season finale of Ugly Betty.

MIKE HUCKABEE: Huckabee apologizes for disgusting assassination joke, and his love of McCain's "bomb Iran" joke..

JOHN MCCAIN: New "real McCain" video from Brave New Films.

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Tina Fey on Hillary: 'Bitch is the New Black'

In Saturday Night Live's welcomed return to the airwaves over the weekend, Tina Fey unloaded on sexist Clinton critics. The show scored its highest overnight rating in two years.

The weekend update segment also included an appearance by Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who, echoing his behavior in the Republican race for the nomination, wouldn't leave.

Both clips, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #248

JON STEWART: A portion of his appearance on Larry King Live last night in which he talks about Obama and the election. The other portions of the show here.

THE HUCK DANCE: Donna Summer and Mike Huckabee, two things that should never go together. (source: slog)

MICHAEL MOORE: Wants to bring Fidel Castro to the Oscars.

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M: Students march more than 7 miles to protest a decision by Waller County, Texas that they felt hindered their right to vote in early voting. More at AmericaBlog.

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News: Spy Satellite, John Rechy, Noah's Arc, Kalamazoo

Spy satellite shootdown may endanger International Space Station, will also reveal military's ability to target China's strategic anti-satellite weapons.

Huckaboo: Rock group Boston orders Mike Huckabee to stop using their song. "Boston has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything Boston stands for. In fact, although I'm impressed you learned my bass guitar part on 'More Than a Feeling,' I am an Obama supporter."

Biologist laments that after 20 years of research they're no closer to developing an AIDS vaccine: "Our lack of success may be understandable but it is not acceptable. Some years ago I came to the conclusion that our community had to seriously undertake new approaches or we might find ourselves with a worldwide epidemic and no effective response. "That is just where we are today."

Project Runway designers head for Bryant Park.

Yesterday I posted a performance by David Archuleta, but here are the rest of the top 12 guys who have made it into American Idol this year.

Noah's Arc to hit the big screen.

Bono RED art auction for AIDS takes in $42 million.

CNN profiles straight couple who stayed together even after the husband revealed he was gay: "'Neither one of us had a clue -- he didn't know what being gay meant for him. ... He needed to figure that out,' recalls Anna Marie Will, of Sacramento, California. 'I needed to figure out what his being gay meant for me, and whether I could incorporate that into my life and my marriage.' What they did know was that they believed in their marriage and wanted to make it work. Jim Will's revelation in 2001 began a three-year process during which they sorted out their feelings for each other. Ultimately, the couple, whose daughter turns 15 in March, decided to stay together. 'He had to learn to talk to me -- he had spent so many years not saying what was really on his mind, and not dealing with his true feelings,' says Anna Marie Will, now 39, a worker's compensation program administrator. 'We found out once we got past all that, our marriage was so much better. We still loved each other as people and partners.'"

Revealed: the Manhattan phone book's gayest page.

Bravo announces big gay dance show.

City of Night author John Rechy releases memoir: "Rechy’s book covers, in large part, the poverty and racist climate he endured growing up in the ’40s and ’50s, the son of Mexican immigrants living on this side of the border separating El Paso, Tex., and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He lived in a house with broken windowpanes. 'We patched them with cardboard from boxes gathered outside grocery stores,' he writes. 'When the cardboard on the windows was new, I would paint pictures on it, birds, flowers. The rain would eventually streak them into colored tears.'"

TVLand censors "OhMiGod" after pressure from American Family Association.

Jake Gyllenhaal does Italian Vanity Fair.

Death sentence stands for Gary Ray Bowles, Florida serial killer of gay men.

Impromptu group forms in Kalamazoo, Michigan to stand up to Westboro Baptist Church: "The Stop the Hate in Kalamazoo Coalition formed last week after Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., said it would show up to picket the first performance of 'The Laramie Project' at Kalamazoo Central High School, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported Thursday. The play, which opens Feb. 22, is based on the 1998 killing of Matthew Shepard, who was the victim of a homophobic hate crime which ended with him being beaten to death. 'If you rebel against the standards of God and live like Matthew Shepard, you will join him in hell for eternity,' a member of the Kansas church said, the newspaper reported."

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News: Spy Satellite, Jack Mackenroth, Huckabee, Indiana Jones

Pentagon will shoot down disabled satellite before it poses danger to Earth: "U.S. officials said Thursday that the option preferred by the Bush administration will be to fire a missile from a U.S. Navy cruiser, and shoot down the satellite before it enters Earth's atmosphere. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the options will not be publicly discussed until a later Pentagon briefing. The disabled satellite is expected to hit the Earth the first week of March. Officials said the Navy would likely shoot it down before then, using a special missile modified for the task."

Does Mike Huckabee have a new job shilling soup for Campbell's?

Check out the brand new trailer for the new Indiana Jones flick which has something to do with aliens and Roswell, New Mexico.

The Year of Paper: Documentary on three couples and their first year of marriage airs tonight in San Francisco. "First-time filmmakers Kelly Rouse and Nikki Parker explored the lives of three couples - two men, two women and a heterosexual pair - during their first year of marriage. The resulting film... goes into the history of marriage as well as the lives of the subjects. The filmmakers interview scholars, legal experts, clergy and activists from both sides to understand what marriage means in America today."

More Wentworth: A preview of the Prison Break finale.

Obama's delegate lead shifts focus of Clinton campaign: "With every delegate precious, Mrs. Clinton’s advisers also made it clear that they were prepared to take a number of potentially incendiary steps to build up Mrs. Clinton’s count. Top among these, her aides said, is pressing for Democrats to seat the disputed delegations from Florida and Michigan, who held their primaries in January in defiance of Democratic Party rules."

Senior DOJ official who authorized waterboarding now says it's illegal.

Nick Yordi, former starting quarterback for Wartburg, College in Waverly, Iowa in court on disorderly conduct charge for anti-gay slur: "The trial was scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Bremer County Courthouse. Nick Yordi, a sophomore from Solon, was arrested for yelling those slurs at another student on campus October 9th, 2007. Yordi has pleaded not guilty, and has played in two football games since his arrest." GLAAD: "According to the Wartburg Trumpet, Yordi was 'charged under a section of the Iowa Code that prohibits making abusive epithets or threatening gestures which are likely to provoke a violent reaction by another.' Wartburg College President Jack Ohle addressed the school Oct. 22 through e-mail and wrote, 'Understandably, matters that come within the college’s purview are dealt with immediately and privately with the parties affected through a prescribed process and according to the student handbook, honor code and the appropriate faculty and staff handbooks.'"

Former gay Arizona Rep. Steve May to get back into politics, running for seat vacated this year by Rep. John Shadegg: "This is a great time for a Republican like me to get into the Republican Party to bring it back to the values that win."

Who knew the Hilton family still had up-and-coming drunk drivers?

Project Runway's Jack Mackenroth talks to HIV+ magazine: "I think people have become apathetic--because you can see people like me. I look really good. I take really good care of my body. I think I look good for my age. And I certainly look good for someone who's been HIV-positive for going on 18 years. But don't let that fool you. Having HIV is still not fun. I have to take my pills wherever I go. It's still not a picnic. I run into people all the time who are like, 'Well, you don't look sick.' What the hell does that mean! That's so stupid! Young people now aren't educated like they used to be. I think it's really shocking. I had a partner die. He was 250 pounds! He was a huge, hulking guy. He never found a regimen that worked for him. He constantly had intestinal problems. We were out on Fire Island, and he said, 'I don't feel good.' We went back to New York, he checked into the hospital, and he was dead two weeks later."

Chippendale dancers visit The View.

Va-jay-jay chat: Meredith Vieira giggles nervously as Jane Fonda drops the word c*nt on TV.

Legislation floated that would allow same-sex married couples to divorce in Rhode Island: "The state's highest court ruled in a 3-2 decision in December that a lesbian couple who married in Massachusetts could not get divorced in their home state of Rhode Island. Supporters of the bill say it makes no sense to require people to remain married when they have no desire to do so. But the legislation is expected to face opposition from Gov. Don Carcieri and many other lawmakers."

Gay couples share their stories of romance.

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Super Tuesday Paints Unclear Picture for Dems, Big Win for McCain

Super Tuesday returns are still coming in, but what is becoming abundantly clear is that, as predicted by many, the Democratic race will go on. On the Republican side, results show John McCain as the clear frontrunner.

UPDATE: Obama claims delegate lead though Dem candidates are virtually tied.

Here are the state-by-state results of voting, which don't necessarily provide the most accurate picture of what happened, as Obama won more states, but Clinton took states with a larger delegate count.

CLINTON: AR, AZ, CA, MA, NY, NJ, OK, TN
OBAMA: AK, AL, CT, CO, DE, GA, ID, IL, KS, MN, MO, ND, UT

HUCKABEE: AL, AR, GA, TN, WV
MCCAIN: AZ, CA, CT, DE, IL, MO, NJ, NY, OK
ROMNEY: CO, MA, MN, MT, ND, UT

As of 7:30 EST, according to CNN, the delegate count for the Democrats stood at Clinton 825, Obama 732, with 2,025 needed to win the nomination.

For the Republicans, John McCain further increased the lead over his rivals, with 615 delegates to Romney's 268, and Huckabee's 169. 1,191 are need to win that nomination.

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo writes: "If you look at this from the vantage point of two weeks ago, it's a huge win for Obama, since he was trailing in states across the country by a very big margin. From the vantage point of the last couple days, however, it's much less clear. The hype of his momentum just got a bit out ahead of what he was able to pull off. And in that sense there's very mild echo of New Hampshire, though the Clinton campaign is silly to claim some sort of comeback. There were a handful of states which, had he won two or more of them, would have taken him from a delegate tie to a decisive win that would have been Clinton seriously on the defensive. But it didn't happen. Not in New Jersey or Massachusetts and most importantly not in California, which Clinton won decisively. But I think all these competing scenarios make one point clear. The only arguments for one side or the other being a winner here come down to airy and finally meaningless arguments about expectations. And the result tells a different tale. It's about delegates. It's dead even. You've got two well-funded candidates who've demonstrated an ability to power back from defeats. And neither is going anywhere."

Above, Obama and Clinton speak to their supporters. Below, McCain's speech.

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News: Alfie Allen, Huckabee, Alabama, Justin Chambers, Spiral Jetty

Theory that mass grave found in Fort Myers, Florida could be the remains of a serial killer's gay victims gains traction...

Woo! New shrew!

Singer Lily Allen's brother Alfie has taken over Daniel Radcliffe's role in London's Equus. Unlike, Radcliffe, full monty shots of Allen have quickly made it to the internet.

Memorial to gay Holocaust victims in Berlin should be ready within months: "The $890,000 memorial to gay victims will be located in Berlin's Tiergarten Park, across from the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Culture Minister Bernd Neumann said."

Iowa's Quad-City Times celebrates the gay American Idol contestant I posted about earlier in the week, Leo Marlowe: "Gwen Costello, librarian and drama director at Northeast High School in Goose Lake, Marlowe’s alma mater, remembers the young thespian playing the jester in 'Once Upon a Mattress' and receiving awards on the speech team. In his high school yearbook, Marlowe, who was voted 'Most Likely to be Famous' from the Class of 2002, was asked to pontificate on what he would do if he could not sing. 'I don’t know what I’d do,' he responded. 'I guess I’d be lost.'...'He’s just so down to earth and can make anybody laugh,” Costello said. “We noticed that right away last night, how he made everybody laugh and made everybody comfortable. That’s what he does best besides singing.' Costello said Marlowe comes from 'a wonderful family. We’re thrilled, we’re just thrilled. I thoroughly expect him to be schmoozing with the big guys soon. He’ll probably be Simon’s best friend someday.'"

Paula: dancing like there's no tomorrow.

Grey's Anatomy's Justin Chambers admitted to same psych ward as Britney Spears — for sleep disorder.

Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty threatened by oil drilling.

Gay populations booming in Alabama and Utah: "In the past 17 years, Utah's gay population has shot from the 38th largest in the country to 14th. Birmingham, Ala., meanwhile, is now home to all-night gay bars and pride parades; the South's gay tally has outpaced any other region. 'What many of the bigger cities like New York were experiencing during the late '60s and '70s is happening here now, but quietly,' says Danny Upton, the head of Equality Alabama."

Pro-gay bills advance in Virginia legislature.

Jesse Metcalfe: Single, hating it.

Oregon fans target UCLA basketball player with homophobic chants: "The target was Kevin Love, the gifted freshman who grew up near Portland but left his home state last year for Westwood. Some Ducks fans, lost in their immaturity, view Love as a traitor. From the warm-ups to the final seconds, they heaped scorn on the Bruins' No. 42 and his family. There's cheering and booing that is within the bounds of civility. But sometimes it goes out of bounds, into a realm society should not condone. You know it when you see it, know it when you hear it. This was out of bounds. There were stabs at Love's looks, at his mother, father and the history of mental illness in his family. This was disgusting. What drew my ire the most were reports of long, loud, homophobic chants directed at UCLA's young center."

Straight teen sues high school, claiming she was prevented from peacefully supporting gay rights: "Heather Gillman, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit in federal court against the School Board and Ponce de Leon High School Principal David Davis. According to the complaint, Davis suspended several students for 'expressing their support for the fair treatment of gays and lesbians.'...'I think everybody should be able to support what they believe in and not be punished for it,' Gillman said Thursday during a conference call with reporters."

Mike Huckabee on what's beautiful about America: “The beauty of America is that a person can come and even make a disruption, and you know what, that person is not going to be taken out and shot.”

The power of persuasion: reality show supermodels sittin' in a tree...

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John McCain Wins Florida Primary, Giuliani to Exit Race

John McCain won the winner-take-all Florida primary, hauling in a load of 57 delegates with 36% of the vote to Mitt Romney's 33%. McCain's victory speech is above, on the left. Rudy Giuliani came in a distant third, with 15% of the vote. His concession speech is above, on the right. Mike Huckabee received 14% of the vote. Giuliani is expected to pull out of the race and endorse John McCain today.

Politico writes: "Rudy Giuliani's distant third-place finish in Florida may put an end to his bid for president, and it seems also to mark the beginning of the end of a period in Republican politics that began on Sept. 11, 2001."

McCain pulled out all the stops in Florida, including a last-minute robo-call that attempted to influence voters through gay-bashing, suggesting that a vote for Romney would be one step closer to giving "special rights" to gays. This will not be forgotten.

The NYT writes: "The meaning of Mr. McCain’s victory starts with the trove of 57 delegates it brings him, the bounty of a winner-take-all contest and the biggest prize of the campaign to date. But it also gives him a chance to start persuading his party to put aside the deep internal divisions that have been exposed by the campaign and begin coalescing around him. Mr. Romney was having none of it. He continued to call for change in Washington and got in what sounded like another swipe at Mr. McCain when he said America needed a president who had 'actually had a job in the real economy.'"

Hillary Clinton, with 48% of the vote in Florida, soundly defeated Barack Obama (30%) and John Edwards (14%) in the Florida primary, but receives no delegates. Here's why:

"Florida violated party rules when it moved its voting contest ahead of Feb. 5, the date sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee. The DNC allowed four early contests: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. While Obama, Edwards and Clinton agreed last September that they wouldn't compete for Florida because of the party- imposed penalty, Clinton, a New York senator, last week announced she would press to have Florida's delegates seated at the Democratic convention in August. Florida is a crucial swing state in the general election. None of the candidates campaigned in the state, though Obama aired television commercials that ran on cable channels."

Clinton, looking ahead to Super Tuesday on February 5, appeared on CNN last night and, clearly, wanting to put South Carolina behind her, apologized for her husband's behavior over the past weeks.

Thanks to Talking Points Memo for the video clips.

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Dan Savage's South Carolina Huckabee Tour

Bill Maher sent SLOG's Dan Savage down to South Carolina to check out why folks might be supporting Mike Huckabee. John McCain ended up taking the South Carolina primary with 33% of the vote to Huckabee's 30%.

(via good as you)

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Mike Huckabee Equates Homosexuality to Bestiality [tr]

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Mike Huckabee Equates Homosexuality to Bestiality

In an interview published today on Belief.net, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee equated homosexuality with polygamy and bestiality.

Talking Points Memo notes: "Huck has just clarified his view that the Constitution should be amended to be brought in line with God's will -- and he directly equated homosexuality with bestiality. Huck, in elaborating on his views that the Constitution should be subjected to Biblical standards, had just wrapped up a discussion of the fact that marriage has meant 'a man and a woman in a relationship for life.' With this context firmly established, this exchange followed:"

BELIEF.NET: Is it your goal to bring the Constitution into strict conformity with the Bible? Some people would consider that a kind of dangerous undertaking, particularly given the variety of biblical interpretations.

HUCKABEE: Well, I don’t think that’s a radical view to say we’re going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we’re going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal. Again, once we change the definition, the door is open to change it again. I think the radical position is to make a change in what’s been historic.

(via americablog)

You may have missed...
Mike Huckabee: Amend Constitution to Reflect God's Standards [tr]
Michael Stipe Hearts Huckabee, But He's Not Sure Why [tr]
Flashback: Huckabee Congratulates Canadians on Their Igloo [tr]

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #229

LAS VEGAS DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS: It was a bit of a snoozer, but if you're interested, here are the highlights from last night. (source: talking points memo)

305: This parody of 300 meets The Office apparently was picked up for DVD distribution. (source: daily dish)

FRIED SQUIRREL: Huckabee talks about his favorite childhood dish.

GLENN BECK: FDR was one evil son-of-a-bitch.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Mike Huckabee: Amend Constitution to Reflect God's Standards

In one of Mike Huckabee's final stump speeches to Michigan voters, he really showed off his true colors:

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family."

You listening, Michael Stipe?

Huckabee ended up third in the Michigan primary, with 16% of the vote, behind McCain with 30%, and Mitt Romney, the most recent GOP winner, with 39%.

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Michael Stipe Hearts Huckabee, But He's Not Sure Why

REM frontman and gay vegetarian Michael Stipe recently confessed to being seduced by Mike Huckabee. He told Jane Pratt on her Sirius radio show:

"I've never seen the guy [Huckabee] talk, not even online. I have never seen him talk for 30 seconds...[and] he's really charming. I instantly wanted to call [Generation X author] Doug Coupland and say 'OK, project one year into the future for me: what the hell does this mean?' Because he's a creationist, he's a Baptist minister. I can't think of probably a single issue in which I am even remotely in the same universe as that guy.and yet, he was kind of charming and self-deprecating. He was actually kind of a good sport, and funny, and I don't know what that means. Maybe it's a good thing that's he's being lauded right now by the right. He's an evangelical. May God bless all living creatures but my god, how weird."

Do your homework.

Recently
Flashback: Huckabee Congratulates Canadians on Their Igloo [tr]
Huckabee: Aberrant, Sinful Behavior of Gay People is a Choice [tr]
Huckabee on Having Gays in His White House: Absolutely, Why Not? [tr]
Mike Huckabee Stands By 1992 AIDS Quarantine Remarks [tr]

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #224

JOHN EDWARDS: Talks to Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room from South Carolina about the New Hampshire primary and his plans for the next few states.

TEARS: Jesse Jackson, Jr. says Obama campaign analyzing Hillary Clinton's waterworks.

GLORIA ALLRED: Of course she has something to say about Britney Spears. (source: popbytes)

CHOIRE SICHA: His perspective on a New Hampshire Huckabee primary event.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #222

FEEDBACK: Janet Jackson's first new video in years. The flying from planet to planet is so Super Mario Galaxy.

RADICAL CLERIC: The latest creation of Max Blumenthal and Thomas Shomaker.

BILL CLINTON: The former pres. on the attack, going after what he calls the Obama "fairy tale".

SHELTER: Clip from the gay surf romance coming to theaters in March 2008, starring Brad Rowe and Trevor Wright.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here

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Actor Stephen Baldwin: Gay Marriage Not Acceptable

Blog Subarazzi reports that born-again Christian and Celebrity Apprentice contestant Stephen Baldwin called in to the Howard Stern show last week to let Howard know that he is a "full-blown, super-duper" fan of Mike Huckabee and that he agrees with Huckabee's take on the bible and same-sex marriage, and that he'd ban it if he were president:

"I don’t believe that gay marriage is in line with God’s Word, which is found in the Bible. So, what I think doesn’t matter; what I believe is what’s in the Bible and the Bible says that gay marriage is not acceptable."

Audio via Good As You.

powered by ODEO

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Flashback: Huckabee Congratulates Canadians on Their Igloo

Openly gay Canadian Broadcasting personality Rick Mercer made a trip to Arkansas back in 2001 to interview Arkansans in a segment called "Talking to Americans" and finished off by talking to the state's then governor Mike Huckabee.

I last featured Mercer on the blog in November 2006, in a segment with diver Alexandre Despatie.

(via dailykos)

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Obama and Huckabee Take Nation's First Caucus in Iowa

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee won their respective races in the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, leaving leftover candidates from both parties either scrambling for their next move or on their way out. Senator Hillary Clinton and John Edwards came within a percentage point of one another in the race for second place on the Democratic side, with Edwards edging out Clinton by a hair.

On the Republican side, second-place winner Mitt Romney was not even close, leaving a wide-open opportunity for John McCain in New Hampshire next week, where his support has risen in recent weeks.

The numbers came in like this: " Mr. Huckabee won with 34.4 percent of the delegate support, after 86 percent of precincts had reported. Mr. Romney had 25.4 percent, former Senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee had 13.4 percent and Senator John McCain of Arizona had 13.2 percent. On the Democratic side, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Obama had 37.6 percent of the delegate support, Mr. Edwards 29.8 percent and Mrs. Clinton had 29.5 percent. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico was fourth, at 2.11 percent."

Other details:

Massive turnout bad omen for the GOP.
Chris Dodd, Joe Biden drop out of Democratic race...
Keith Olbermann declares that Mike Gravel has dropped out of the race, and Gravel demands a retraction!
Thompson finishes in near-tie for third with John McCain...
McCain reacted from New Hampshire: "I think that the lesson of this election is that, one, you can't buy an election in Iowa; and, two, that negative campaigns don't work. They don't work there, and they don't work here in New Hampshire."
Giuliani vows to fight on after poor showing.
Independents go for Obama and Ron Paul.

Check out what the candidates had to say (Clips of ALL THE SPEECHES) about their respective wins and losses, AFTER THE JUMP...

OBAMA: "You know, they said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose. But on this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do. . . . You have done what America can do in this new year, 2008."

HUCKABEE: "What is happening tonight in Iowa is going to start really a prairie fire of new hope and zeal. And it's already happening across this nation because it is about we; we the people. We saw it tonight. . . . And we're going to continue to see it because this country yearns and is hungry for leadership that recognizes that when one is elected to public office, one is not elected to be a part of the ruling class; he's elected to be a part of the serving class."

CLINTON: "We're going to take this enthusiasm and go straight to New Hampshire...We have always planned on running a national campaign all the way through the early contests...What is most important now is that, as we go on with this contest, that we keep focused on the two big issues, that we answer correctly the questions that each of us has posed. How will we win in November 2008, by nominating a candidate who will be able to go the distance? And who will be the best president on day one? I am ready for that contest."

EDWARDS: "The one thing that's clear from the results in Iowa tonight is the status quo lost and change won. And now we move on. We move on from Iowa to New Hampshire and to the other states to determine who's best suited to bring about the change that this country so desperately needed."

ROMNEY: "Well, well, we won the silver. But just as Dan Jansen pointed out - you win the silver in one event, it doesn't mean you're not going to come back and win the gold in the final event."

THOMPSON: “It looks like someone’s gonna have to carry a strong conservative message, and it looks like it’s gonna be me.”

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Huckabee Does Leno, Hillary Does Letterman as Late Night Returns

Mike Huckabee appeared as Jay Leno's guest last night on the return of his show to late night, while Hillary Clinton introduced David Letterman on his return.

Clinton, taped from Iowa, was not faced with crossing a picket line as Letterman (and Craig Ferguson) cut deals with writers to bring them back. Leno, as well as Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel, were back without writers. Huckabee faced "scab" signs along with questioning about why he was crossing picket lines. Said chief union negotiator John Bowman: "Huckabee claims he didn’t know [the strike was still ongoing]. I don’t know what that means in terms of trusting him as a future president."

In a Bill Clinton-esque turn, Huckabee showed off his musical talents, then discussed his rivals.

Below, Hillary's brief intro.

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Huckabee: Aberrant, Sinful Behavior of Gay People is a Choice

On Sunday, Mike Huckabee made an appearance on Meet the Press with Tim Russert. Russert asked him about what statements he made in his 1998 book Kids Who Kill equating homosexuality with pedophilia and necrophilia. Huckabee danced around the statement, and basically said "we're all sinners" and that he doesn't know whether or not homosexuality is a choice, but that homosexual behavior certainly is. We've heard similar remarks from Giuliani.

On the "sinners" note, perhaps he should be hanging out with Terrence Howard, but Huckabee has instead made Chuck Norris his heavy. Huckabee claims he's running a positive campaign so he has his right-hand celeb do the dirty work. Right after touting Huckabee's non-negative campaign, Norris hits out at Mitt Romney for him.

The Politico also notes that in recent days Huckabee's focus has gone from his faith to his record, although Tuesday night he appeared to be appealing to the Lord for his support: "We cannot do it, by arming ourselves and taking anyone out. We will go to the caucuses having knelt on our knees and having asked God for his wisdom."

On Monday, Huckabee had anti-war protesters asking "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" arrested as they demonstrated in front of his Iowa headquarters.

Huckabee also looks to be the first to cross the writer's strike picket lines, appearing tonight on Jay Leno's return to the airwaves. Said Huckabee: "It's just an incredible opportunity to be there, particularly the very first night he's back from the writer's strike. Besides, if all else fails and this whole process doesn't work out, maybe he needs a sidekick and I'll be auditioning tomorrow."

The latest Des Moines register poll showed Huckabee and Obama in the lead position in their respective parties.

Here's the transcript from Sunday's Meet the Press:

RUSSERT: Peggy Noonan, a woman of faith who writes for The Wall Street Journal, said that sometimes it appears your philosophy is "This is what God wants," and that doesn't encourage discussion, it squelches it. And, and this is what you wrote in your book, "Kids Who Kill," in 1998: "It is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations--from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia." Why would you link homosexuality with sadomasochism, pedophilia and necrophilia?

HUCKABEE: Well, what I was pointing out is all of these are deviations from what has been the traditional concept of sexual behavior and men and women having children, raising those children in the context of a, of a traditional marriage and family. And, again, taken out of the larger context of that book, speaking about how so many of our social institutions have been broken down.

RUSSERT: But do you think homosexuality is equivalent to pedophilia...

HUCKABEE: Oh, of course not.

RUSSERT: ...or sadomasochism?

HUCKABEE: No, of course not. I didn't say...

RUSSERT: But this is what concerns people. This, this is what you did say about homosexuality: "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural and sinful lifestyle." That's millions of Americans.

HUCKABEE: Tim, understand, when a Christian speaks of sin, a Christian says all of us are sinners. I'm a sinner, everybody's a sinner. What one's sin is, means it's missing the mark. It's missing the bull's eye, the perfect point. I miss it every day; we all do. The perfection of God is seen in a marriage in which one man, one woman live together as a couple committed to each other as life partners. Now, even married couples don't do that perfectly, so sin is not some act of equating people with being murderers or rapists...

RUSSERT: But when you say aberrant or unnatural, do you believe you're born gay or you choose to be gay?

HUCKABEE: I don't know whether people are born that way. People who are gay say that they're born that way. But one thing I know, that the behavior one practices is a choice. We may have certain tendencies, but how we behave and how we carry out our behavior--but the important issue that I want to address, because I think when you bring up the faith question, Tim, I've been asked more about my faith than any person running for president. I'm OK with that. I hope I've answered these questions very candidly and very honestly. I think it's important for us to talk about it. But the most important thing is to find out, does our faith influence our public policy and how? I've never tried to rewrite science textbooks. I've never tried to come out with some way of imposing a doctrinaire Christian perspective in a way that is really against the Constitution. I've never done that.

(full transcript)

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Huckabee on Having Gays in His White House: Absolutely, Why Not?

Via HRC's Back Story comes this clip of Mike Huckabee on last night's Larry King Live.

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On having a gay person in his administration: "Absolutely. Why not? People are competent because -- not with anything to do with their sexual orientation. I have people who are homosexual that work for me in the governor's office. And it was not a qualification. I think you should never (cut off)..."

On his AIDS quarantine remarks: "Well, and I said I think the word isolated. And would I say that today? No, of course not. We know so much more than we did. That was 1992 -- 15 years ago. And I know some would say but we knew it then. But, you know, I talked to medical doctors back then and even who have said this to me now, we said we knew, but we weren't absolutely, positively sure. And the information we were getting was from our government. And, frankly, a lot of people who weren't trusting our government than anymore than are trusting it now. But would I say that today? No, I wouldn't, absolutely not, because we do know better now. In fact, I'm committed, as president, to do more to help on both HIV and AIDS funding than we have done in the past, and even include HIV as part of the Medicaid coverage, because it's consistent with the idea it's better to prevent diseases than it is to treat them."

Back Story has the full transcript, plus news that neither Ryan White's mother or HRC has heard from the Huckabee campaign about his agreement to meet with Jeanne White-Ginder.

Huckabee's remarks contrast starkly with comments from a book he wrote in 1998, which were recently unearthed.

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"In a 1998 book decrying American culture, Huckabee was no seeker of common ground. He drew stark lines, equating environmentalists with pornographers and homose