« January 2008 | Main | March 2008 »
Ready on Day 1 is either going to be Hillary Clinton's swan song or put her over the top. She returns to the theme in ads airing now in critical Ohio and Texas, where voters go to the polls Tuesday. It's a not-so-subtle dig at Barack Obama's lack of foreign policy experience. Obama is responding by drawing attention to Clinton's vote to go to war in Iraq. And John McCain? He must be lovin' this.
The stars just didn't align for New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The billionaire business
man says he won't run for president as a third-party candidate. Ralph Nader's splash into the race, treated as a man jousting at wind mills with an arrogance bigger than the Big Apple, probably was not a factor after all. In an op-ed I'm Not Running for President for The New York Times, Bloomberg seems to take a position of none of the above with the remaining Democratic and Republican candidates for president. He says an independent is necessary to unite the country. And he can do more work, achieve better progress, from the sidelines.
The political-scape here gets congested. It goes with the territory of hosting the first-in-the-nation primary. 
But sometimes voters really need a scorecard. Case in point: Poor Chris Dodd. He w
on over the powerful firefighters' union but struggled to make an impact. His supporters went to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. But something funny happened along the campaign trail. Quirky footnote: I lost count of the number of times people referred to the distinguished senator as Chris Dodds, as in Gary Dodds, the New Hampshire Democrat found guilty this month of staging his car crash to gain attention to his flailing congressional campaign. Yes, Dodds also had trouble gaining anything resembling traction in New Hampshire. What's in a name, anyway.
Six days from D-Day, Hillary Clinton is staying in attack mode against the phenom known
as Barack Obama. Firing away at her Democratic rival in Ohio and Texas comes with challenges. It shows how close Clinton is to losing it all. It also shows her at her best. What passion, poise and articulation she's demo
nstrated. As she said not so long ago, "This is the fun part." In the 20th and final debate before the next round of nominating contests Tuesday, Clinton continued to attack Obama for mailers criticizing and spinning her position on NAFTA and her health care plan. That Obama took the high road when Clinton attacked him on health care in 11th hour fliers in New Hampshire perhaps says more about Obama and his style of campaigning than about Clinton and her tactics. But by mounting a defensive, and going on the offensive, Clinton is too close to playing the victim card. News outlets mentioned it high in stories that Clinton even complained about getting the first question in so many debates Democrats Clash. Two telling quotes from the candidates, courtesy of the Times:
“I think it’s important that you stand up for yourself,” Mrs. Clinton said about her broadsides against Mr. Obama.
“Senator Clinton, her campaign at least, has constantly sent out negative attacks on us,” Mr. Obama said. “We haven’t whined about it.”
And in other news, missing emails to the White House may never be found, housing prices continue to fall, and Sen. Chris Dodd has endorsed Obama. Birds are circling overhead. Are the wagons circling?
Ralph Nader, the guest who out-stays his welcome, is officially back. Like a crazy great uncle with 
a towering IQ, the legendary consumer advocate announced yesterday he is again a presidential candidate Nader enters race. He's morphed into also-ran status, getting obligatory attention from the national press corps, but his spoiler role in the 2000 election has further made him a political outcast. (Nader helped Gore lose New Hampshire on Nov. 7, 2000. The voting results were Bush/Cheney 273,559 to Gore/Lieberman 266,348, with Nader with 22,198.) That's fine with him; that's a remote location from which he does his best work. Yet, his message appears to lack resonance, even though it's more pressing and timely than ever. Too bad, even with his snazzy Web site, Nader is one messenger being shot on sight.
Mike Huckabee's shtick is aging cheese. After appearing on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" yesterday, he missed several cues to exi
t the stage. Talk about irony. In his cameo, he was asked why he is still in the race when he's no chance of catching John McCain. The former Arkansas governor and Southern Baptist preacher responded, "I'm not a math guy, I'm more of a miracle guy." Tee-hee. He has stayed in the race because it had been a race, even with the powerful Mitt Romney conceding. But the math, the inconvenient math for a guy without a job to return to, suggests Huckabee is holding on too tightly. At this point, the soon-to-be unemployed politician is collecting chits and future speaking engagements. Hey, beats working for a living.
File this under Strange Bedfellows: 
Former New Hampshire Senate President Tom Eaton has endorsed Republican Jennifer Horn for the 2nd Congressional District, the candidate announced this morning. Very interesting. In doing so, Eaton ignores his old colleague, state Sen. Bob Clegg. What's Horn got that Clegg hasn't? "Jennifer is a true conservative," Eaton said. "She is a new face on the campaign trail and is not beholden to any particular group or special interest." It's a straight-up comment on what Eaton wants to see in his congressional nominee, but that can easily be read as a dig at Clegg, whose campaign coffers swelled in recent years thanks to "particular groups" and lobbyists.
NHPTV is already a player, of course, but this announcement from the university system shows the 
organization has a long-awaited opportunity to tap its multi-media potential. Here's the top of the presser:
After nearly a year of research and planning, the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to transfer authority for day-to-day operations of New Hampshire Public Television (NHPTV) from the University of New Hampshire to NHPTV’s own Board of Governors as a wholly owned subsidiary of USNH. The move was made to provide NHPTV, in a rapidly changing media environment, with autonomy and agility as it fulfills its mission as New Hampshire’s statewide public television station
NHPTV has been part of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) since 1960. Its broadcasting license is held, and will continue to be held, by the USNH Board of Trustees. Changes to formally establish NHPTV as a separate 501(c)(3) organization and make other structural moves to become more independent are in the planning stages and will occur over the course of 2008. The changes will not impact programming, station locations or operations. Once completed, NHPTV employees will be part of the non-profit organization instead of UNH or USNH employees.
After months of work by committees that included representatives from the USNH Board and NHPTV Board, it was determined that NHPTV would be better able to address current and future opportunities under the direct management of its own board and as a non-profit organization. This change is coming just a year before February 19, 2009, the date when all American broadcasters are required to switch from analog to digital television broadcasting. This change will provide NHPTV with a second broadcast channel and additional programming and educational opportunities.
“NHPTV is a vibrant organization,” CEO and General Manager Peter A. Frid noted. “This change is an opportunity for NHPTV to more nimbly adapt and respond to viewer needs and interests, and to provide targeted educational programs, partnerships and services to the greater New Hampshire community.”
Democrat Gary Dodds was just convicted of staging his car accident to drum up supp
ort for and attention to his flagging congressional campaign Dodds Guilty on All Counts. Prosecutors say they want to recover expenses incurred in searching for the missing politician, who is said to have soaked his feet in ice water as part of the crime Dodds convicted of post-crash disappearance. Oh, hum, some people have said. But this was and remains a bizarre tale. It featured an alleged affair, alleged financial wrangling, and a supposed secret tunnel out of the Cutts Mansion. It's difficult to turn away from it, like gawking at, well, a car wreck.
Barack Obama has extended his winning streak to 10 states. Ten. It's a good, even number. And it's a bad sign for the former front-runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton Obama wins Wisc., Hawaii. The two look to tomorrow's debate, a clash of the Titans, and the next super Tuesday, March 4. Clinton will mess with this streak of his, but political observers last night pointed to exit polls that indicated Obama did so well yesterday by the magic of momentum. In turn, what will become of these plagiarism charges, fanned even as they are by Clinton operatives? The Clinton camp successfully raised a stink, but a strong breeze is blowing Plagiarism? No, 'just words.'
The Democrats' assault on John McCain is well underway. Almost daily email briefs are being dispatched in an effort to take apart the Republican nominee. By comparing 2008 to 2000, when McCain cast himself as a maverick, the DNC castigates McCain as being
in lockstep with President Bush and his administration. The latest blast is what Democrats call the McCain Myth Buster, a comparison of McCain and Donald Rumsfeld's strategies on Iraq (it's one and the same, to Democrats). Another DNC missive asked, A Third Bush Term? There are real questions, now that Bush 43 and Bush 41 have backed McCain. How will the president play out on the march to Election Day? Suffice to say, it won't be the chill factor that Al Gore gave to Bill Clinton. And speaking of impeachments, the NH GOP takes exc
eption to a state legislative hearing today on a resolution to impeach President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. "Today's hearing is another sign that the angry, extreme left-wing has taken over the New Hampshire Democratic Party," GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen said in a statement. He called it a disgrace, an embarrassment and a waste of taxpayers' time and money to score a cheap political point. It's a flash of what's to come, at least in New Hampshire, where Republicans are running on a theme of Democrats running amok to the misfortune of the economy, taxpayers and families. Or, as the River Fergus would say, that "angry left wing." There is a bona fide left wing in the state Democratic Party. And it's not even a lonely wing. The challenge for the GOP: You won't find John Lynch or Jeanne Shaheen much in residence there. But who knows. It's still early in the election cycle. And the spin cycle.
Vanity knows no limits when it comes to politicians. No,this is not about John 
Edwards and his $400 haircut. Turns out, President Franklin Pierce had hair issues, too. The New Hampshire man lumped in among the worst American presidents apparently had his share of bad hair days. But he liked his hair like so, according to the New Hampshire Historical Society.
Here's their skinny on his unruly locks.
The 14th president was affectionately known as "Handsome Frank."
Sounds like DNC Chairman Howard Dean may buckle in the near future and seat Florida and Mi
chigan delegates at the convention in Denver this summer Ickes argues for seating delegates. Or so tea leaves whisper today. The story points out that Clinton adviser Harold Ickes, who voted for party rules stripping those states of their delegates for jumping ahead in the DNC nominating calendar, is now battling against the very penalty he helped pass. Ah, the politics of convenience. But it could be the life preserver for his candidate.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Lo and behold, after referencing that libertarian, lock-and-load musical artist Ted Nugent
in my last post, I came across his recent Teditorial. The rock star makes some interesting points, declaring the GOP has sold out its base in a mad quest for independent voters. Some excerpts:
I am not a Republican. I am a conservative. Yes, Scarlet, even an over-the-top, uppity, defiant MotorCity MadMan guitar wrangler can be a real conservative. Get used to it. Claiming to be a Republican signifies allegiance to a political party. Being a conservative denotes a commitment to a self-evident, truth-based philosophy and disciplined lifestyle. A conservative believes in and fights for limited government and individual rights to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In today's big-government juggernaut, it is truly progressive to be a conservative.
The base of the Republican Party used to be composed of staunch conservatives who championed limited government. Though the Republican tent was large and accommodating, there was no room for people who did not, at a minimum, subscribe to limited government and lower, dare I say, fairer taxes. In a quest to achieve political victories, the Republican Party seemingly has abandoned its conservative base in search of independent voters. Conservatives have quietly been marginalized by the Republican Party. Yet the Republican Party believes conservatives will rally around the Republican Party at the ballot box because conservatives have no other place to go - a mistaken assumption.
The full Teditorial, posted on his site Feb. 13, is here. If nothing else, it's a fresh perspective, unlike most campaign stops, events that synchronize the same candidate tunes over and over like so much elevator music. I know political reporters who actually liked 10000 Maniacs until Jeanne Shaheen's campaigns played the he
ll out of These Are Days. With that in mind, here's a letter:
Dear Mike Huckabee: please rock the establishment in your final days as a candidate. Forget the band Boston. To hell with U2. Fire up some Nugent. His discography seems oddly fitting for politicking, including Love Grenade, Take No Prisoners, Decade of Destruction and, of course, Cat Scratch Fever.
Thank you. And may God Bless America.
PS: Did you really like the Huckaburger?
Mike Huckabee ought to be singing "I've lost that loving feeling," instead of "More Than a Feeling." The fleeting Republica
n presidential hopeful, his campaign fizzling out, is under attack by the founder of the band Boston Huckabee not in harmony with Boston. Tom Scholz is whining about the former Arkansas governor using "More Than a Feeling." The aging rocker said, according to the AP report, "By using my song, and my band's name Boston, you have taken something of mine and used it to promote ideas to which I am opposed. In other words, I think I've been ripped off, dude!" Where's Ted "I'm not a Republican/I'm a conservative" Nugent when we need him?
Will Jeanne Shaheen "pimp out" her husband as she campaigns for U.S. Senate? Pardon the cheeky word play, but some New Hampshire Democrats are still irate at Billy Shaheen, who jokingly referred to himself a
s the First Hunk, for pondering aloud to a Washington Post reporter that Republicans would attack Barack Obama for using drugs as a youth. Or so former state Sen. Burt Cohen, D-New Castle, has said in recent commentaries. Mr. Shaheen, a charismatic speaker and a seasoned pol himself, quit as Hillary Clinton's co-chair after dredging up the drug question. On his wife's many campaigns, he served as a kind of master of ceremonies. He was a face of the campaign. After this Clinton-Obama feuding, will he continue to be such a valuable surrogate? In some form or function, and after some nifty fence mending, you can take it to the bank.
Stories of McCain surging to the nomination and Obama sweeping contests take a back se
at today to the congressional testimony of Roger Clemens. The cable news networks are carrying this live. The possible future Hall of Fame pitcher just told a House committee that he has never taken steroids. His former trainer, Brian McNamee, says he had no reason to lie and every reason not to. "I am not proud to testify against a man I once admired," McNamee said. Once admired. The kicker: He says he underestimated the number of times he injected 'roids into the bum of The Rocket.
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg. ~Abraham Lincoln
Is it just me, or is Jeb Bradley having a very good year? The American Legion Post 27 just presented him with an appreciation for working for veterans. And, during the seemingly endless press coverage of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project in Manchester, the former congressman was getting props left and right. During that shindig at the Verizon Wireless Arena, a couple diff
e
rent speakers offered thanks to Congressman Bradley. There was no mention of Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, the Democrat from Rochester who upset Bradley in 2006 to claim the 1st District. As Bradley and John Stephen prepare for a battle for the GOP nomination, Bradley's running like an incumbent. Both men are everywhere. Stephen is doing his best to stay in the spotlight John Stephen: to budget responsibly .... In a crowded election season, both men face a constant struggle to be heard.
One by one, Democrats fled the race for U.S. Senate to make way for former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. It provides for an epic rematch with Sen. John E. Sununu. Jay Buckey dropped out today, following Katrina Swett and Ste
ve Marchand. Already the buzz is about why Democrats would want to stick with an old warhorse or a seasoned pro. (See reader comments on Shaheen's only primary rival drops out.) That is, as opposed to a fresh face and what could be the future of their party. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know? Not quite. Her experience? Not quite. Here's why Shaheen remains a Democratic Party star: Money. She's got a fat Rolodex. It's stuffed with national contacts, thanks to the likes of groups like EMILY's List. The dial-for-dollars list goes on and on. It will be telling to see how much campaign cash Shaheen and Sununu actually raise from within New Hampshire. One thing's certain, this is shaping up to be the most expensive U.S. Senate race in state history.
Citing a lack of financial resources, Jay Buckey announced this morning he is ending his campaign for the Democratic 
nomination for the U.S. Senate. Democrats Katrina Swett and Steve Marchand have already jumped out of the race, giving C. Jeanne Shaheen a clear shot for a rematch with Republican incumbent John E. Sununu. In a letter to supporters, the former astronaut said he was proud his campaign brought the need for an Apollo-style energy program to the forefront of the Senate debate in New Hampshire. He pledged to continue to work on energy policy, universal health care, and the economy. "My best wishes to former Governor Jeanne Shaheen in her campaign," he said. "If we work together here in New Hampshire, we can elect a Democrat to the Senate in November and help bring change to America."
The next presidential primary, Granite Staters may not have to put up with those damn robocalls. The National Political Do No Contact Registry is making inroads. CEO and 
Founder Shaun Dakin reports the first member of Congress has taken the "Do Not Robocall" pledge. It's Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-NC. A bill, "Protecting Voters at Home and at the Polls: Limiting Abusive Robocalls and Vote Caging Practices," gets a Senate hearing Wednesday. "It is a travesty that people can sign up for the Do Not Call list for commercial calls but political calls are exempt,” Foxx said in a statement. Call this progress.
The Clinton camp complains the press is too enamored with Barack Obama, just as some in the GOP complain of all the pro-John McCain reporting. With McCain, it's partly due to the great access. With Obama, it's more like the buzz around a new soft drink, a must-see movie or a magical glimpse into the future. But Clinton earned favorable coverage in New Hampshire, even winning a couple of newspaper endorsements. And in the metro media, some columnists continue to type out near rally cries. See today's Boston Herald Sexist coverage of Hillary brings women to her corner. And just check out this Globe column Who is crying now?
One narrative of the 2008 battle for the White House is this unquenchable thirst for change. Another, we see again, is the importance of the New Hampshire Primary as a testing ground and a turning point. Underdog Mike Huckabee won Kansas today, besting the presumptive GOP nominee John McCain. But he is only staving off the inevitable a little while longer. Barack Obama today notched victories in Nebraska and Washing
ton, keeping stride with Hillary Rodham Clinton, the establishment Democrat. More than three dozen states have held nominating contests so far, including many that have complained of having had limited influence in the past. That argument is out the window this year, which bodes well for Granite Staters out to preserve their first-in-the-nation status. As we have seen, there can be a national primary without souring the appeal and without diminishing the value of New Hampshire hosting the first primary. And, in a dose of perspective, McCain and Clinton would be nowhere today without having won New Hampshire.
Leave it to Mitt Romney's hometown paper to tell it like it is. The Boston Herald today sums up the former governor's departure from the presidential race with the banner headline: Mitt Happens. It's one of dozens of postmortems for Romney a day after he called it quits. It was a classy exit, one in which the candidate clearly aims to be a future candidate. The first step on that campaign trail, however, has got to be sticking to his current platform. You can bet he has learned from his mistakes, namely his id
eological shifts since mounting a moderate GOP candidacy against Ted Kennedy. His first presidential campaign still warm, we all pick over the carcass to see wh
at was right and wrong with it.
Pundits said: His position changes doomed his chance for the party nomination. His attacks on Mike Huckabee and John McCain backfired. His strategy of focusing on early victories fell flat. The Republican wing of the Republican party, influenced as it is by evangelicals, will not stand for a Mormon. And on and on. Despite the result, Romney ran a tough campaign. In the end, voters happened to like somebody better.
It happens.
The man said to look and act the most presidential among the Republican candidates has quit the race. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney today announced he would end his campaign. He said he wanted to unite the GO
P for the general election against either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. The move leaves three main contenders -- John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul -- but no one can catch McCain at this point, and the nomination is effectively his. In prepared remarks to a conservative group, Romney cited his accomplishments and the inevitability of McCain with the senator's great lead in dele
gates. "Of course," Romney said, "because size does matter, he’s doing quite a bit better with his number of delegates." Toward the end of his speech, he delivered two bombs:
"Soon, the face of liberalism in America will have a new name. Whether it is Barack or Hillary, the result would be the same if they were to win the Presidency."
And,
"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country."
A drawn-out nominating contest might be good for democracy, but bad for Democrats. Or, so DNC Chairman Howard Dean seems to say. Check out this blurb from a story toda
y in The New York 
Times Obama and Clinton Brace for a Long Run :
“I think we will have a nominee sometime in the middle of March or April,” Mr. Dean said Wednesday on the NY1 cable news channel, “but if we don’t, then we’re going to have to get the candidates together and make some kind of an arrangement. Because I don’t think we can afford to have a brokered convention; that would not be good news for either party.”
An adviser to Mr. Dean said Wednesday that he had not discussed the idea with either candidate.
“He was essentially laying down a marker that if need be, he is prepared to step in and try to help resolve the situation,” the adviser said.
Some kind of an arrangement? Sounds like the party bosses are restless. What's Dean going to do, have Clinton and Obama draw straws? Here's an idea: Rock, paper, scissors.
Today's press strikes a sour note for campaign aides allegedly running afoul of the law. First, there's a former press secretary for John McCain facing alleged assault One-time McCain worker arrested. Then, an aide to Gov. Deval Patrick faces accusations Key aide to Patrick accused of sex assault. And, six months after he quit, the DA has dropped charges against former Mitt Romney operations director Jay Garrity Former Romney aide faces no charges, who was accused of impersonating a police officer. But the investigation remains open.
So much for presidential nominees emerging by Feb. 5. Super Tuesday was that for John McCain, but the GOP contest slogs on with Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee still trying to nip at his lead. McCain has 613 delegates to Romney's 269 and Huckabee's 190, according to the AP roundup this morning. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have a longer battle, with the delegate count 845 to 765, respectively. So much for the early and front-loaded nominating calendar. Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks.
To the spoiler go the victories? Or to the victor go the spoils? Whatever the case, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has snatched a victory away from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. He won West Virgina, but only after the supporters of Sen. John McCain, who was hovering in a distant third, lent their pull to Huckabee on a second ballot. Huckabee now has 61 delegates.
Will he or won’t he? State Sen. Bob Clegg of Hudson may be a Republican candidate for New Hampshire’s 2nd congressional district. Clegg’s invited the media to lunch tomorrow in Concord and then a reception in his home town. Well, will he or won’t he? The scuttlebutt has long been that he will run, and that he’s been hungry for higher office for some time. Clegg’s won some more friends in high places, too, after playing unofficial tour guide for presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. He saw a winner in Huckabee before most, back when most people were saying, “Hucka-who?” The announcement comes at noon in the map room of the New Hampshire Political Library. An appropriate enough place for an industrious politician to chart a course to Capitol Hill. UPDATE: Of course he's in. Clegg announced he would run as a fiscal and social conservative. Big surprise there. This will be interesting. One of his likely GOP rivals is already calling him a Concord insider. And Clegg, while flashing an authenticity, is running much to the right of the last Republican to capture the 2nd District, the Hon. Charlie Bass.
I don't know what surprises me more: That I never made that trip to Guinan's Pub & Country Store, or that I feel like I've been t
here before. So, upon learning the Little Chapel on the River closed this week, I felt like I'd lost an old friend without having a chance to say good-bye. As a son of a publican, the news stunned me. I fired off emails to my sister and brothers -- all fellow bartenders, servers and chief bottle washers over the years. Words sometimes fail to sum up the challenges, the bad times and the good times of serving in a family business. But Gwendolyn Bounds really captured it in her book on the landmark in Garrison, N.Y. I learned of its closing Thursday night, hours before the very last last call. The funny thing is, I was visiting Gwen's web site as I was scouting a visit to Guinan's next week on my way back from Ithaca. A significant detour for one living on the New Hampshire coast, but one plenty worthwhile. In my head, I compared this journey to my visit last summer to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Instead, I'm left to appraise the Hall of Fame pubs of our world, particularly those mom-and-pop operations that are run on stubborn grit, faith, love and a little luck. Tonight, I swing by my brothers' pub, where I'll raise a glass to another church closing. In so doing, I'll be raising a glass to the Guinan family, without whom to so many that old public house would never have been a home.
As I was saying Huckabee factor could sap Romney in South ... former Arkansas Gov. Mike Hucka
bee will siphon plenty of votes away from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Tuesday's national primary. The double take of the day, though, has got to be Romney conceding the Northeast to John McCain. Unbelievable.
Just when you thought it was safe to return to the theater ...
The Maine GOP is holding its presidential caucuses today, tomorrow and Sunday -- the eighth 
presidential contest and a blip on the map before Super Tuesday. As the candidates have tangled elsewhere, the Vacation State comes almost as an afterthought. When's the last time you heard a poll from Maine? At the top of a quick Net search this morning, I found two separate stories about the appeal of Libertarian-leaning Ron Paul. John McCain has had a strong base here, thanks in part to military installations in Maine, such as the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. But we shall see. Maine's politics are a piece of work (more later). The Democrat vote is Feb. 10. And, in a flashback for first-in-the-nation voters, Barack Obama has an ad blitz on a couple of New Hampshire radio stations in a bid for votes in York County, Maine.
