Washington, D.C.

Clark to skip N.H. debate

Wesley Clark, who bypassed Iowa to focus on New Hampshire and other primary states, will skip a Democratic presidential debate next month in the Granite State to attend a fund-raiser in New York.

The debate is slated for Dec. 9, and the eight other candidates have changed their schedules to attend.

“I hope the people of New Hampshire will understand,” Clark told reporters Friday. “I certainly mean no disrespect.”

Washington, D.C.

New Lieberman ad takes swipe at Dean

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, trailing his major rivals in New Hampshire, takes a few soft swipes at front-runner Howard Dean in a new television ad.

“I don’t think it’s right to have raised a divisive symbol like the confederate flag. Or to give up on principles like limiting the amount of money in campaigns,” Lieberman says.

He doesn’t name Dean, but the subject is clear. The former Vermont governor recently came under fire for saying he wanted to be the candidate of Southern whites who drive pickup trucks with the Confederate flag. Dean also rejected public financing and the accompanying spending limits.