Frank Fahey of Claremont has a penchant for tough questions.

Last weekend, Fahey's question of Republican presidential candidate John McCain made the top of a New York Times article. Fahey, according to the Times, said that he voted for McCain in 2000 and considered the Arizona senator "an American hero." But he was curious about the "perception" that McCain had become increasingly aligned with President Bush since 2000, the Times reporter wrote. And how would McCain respond to political observers who "pretty much sang the death knell of the McCain campaign" last week, he asked.

McCain began his response with a joke: "I should have called on your wife."

Two decades ago, Fahey was involved in another presidential exchange, but that one didn't result in laughter. When Joe Biden was running for president in 1987, he held an event in Claremont. Fahey asked Biden about his academic credentials, Fahey's wife, Jean, confirmed yesterday. Biden proceeded to challenge Fahey to compare IQs: "I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do," said Biden, who proceeded to tout his academic accomplishments (graduating in the top half of his Syracuse University College of Law class).

Beyond the irritated nature of Biden's response, his answer was incorrect: Newspaper reports at the time showed that in his final year of law school, Biden was ranked 76th in his class of 85. Biden eventually dropped out of the 1988 presidential race amid charges of plagiarism. His Claremont comments were broadcast on C-SPAN.

"At the time, it was a very innocent question," Jean Fahey said. "He was asking where he placed in his law school, and Biden reacted very confrontationally."

The bright side

The recent bad news coming out of John McCain's campaign has a bright side for New Hampshire staffers. News of Mike Dennehy's promotion to senior national adviser last week has been followed by speculation that New Hampshire communications director Jill Hazelbaker will become the campaign's top spokeswoman later this week, following the departure of the current national press team.

Hazelbaker came to McCain's campaign after running communications for Tom Keane Jr.'s unsuccessful bid for a New Jersey Senate seat last year. Before that, she worked on a handful of Republican campaigns and for Mercury Public Affairs, a communications firm that frequently advises Republican politicians.

If Hazelbaker gets the top job, she'll likely leave New Hampshire for D.C., said a Republican close to the campaign. But she may continue to manage New Hampshire press relations from afar.

Ladies love cool . . .

It seems no presidential candidate is safe from the lyrical affections of scantily clad starlets on YouTube. After the smash debut of "I've got a Crush on Obama," a three-minute video clip that garnered 2.3 million hits in a month, "Obama Girl" is back, and this time she's defending her crush from "Giuliani Girl" and her crew.

While the first Obama Girl video was sort of sweet and silly - a breathy ode to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama - the Obama/Giuliani girl standoff is like a horror flick that uses a lame plotline as a cover for a film about watching girls jump around in their underwear.

After a cleavage-baring debate in which Giuliani Girl swears she's "gonna be wife No. 4" and Obama Girl explains she "likes my man like I like my coffee," the action comes to a head with a pillow fight between the two camps. The video, posted Monday, had more than 110,000 hits by yesterday morning.

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani takes a bit of a beating in the video, with references to his first marriage to his cousin and his appearance in drag at a New York City roast. The video also mocks Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich. When a slight woman in a Kucinich tank top appears on screen, Giuliani Girl points at her and bursts out laughing. The much taller Giuliani Girl then covers up "Kucinich Girl" with a "Rudy" sign. (next page »)