The Billy Shaheen saga keeps rolling on in New Hampshire as the candidate contradicted top campaign aides and perhaps herself by insisting she called her national co-chairman and asked him to quit. 

  But pollster Mark Penn told MSNBC's Chris Matthews last week that the opposite was true.

  Matthews: Did you tell him to step down?

  Penn: The senator made that clear.  No, he stepped down. And he made clear.

   Matthews: Did you tell him to step down?  It took 24 hours for him to do it.  Do you think he did it in time?

   Penn: No. No.

   Inexplicably, Clinton's statements kept the bad news going into its sixth day about Shaheen raising concern over Barack Obama's candor in talking about his youthful use of illegal drugs.

    Then there's ex-Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerry who gave serial references to Obama's connections with Muslims as a complement, he repeatedly said. He finally added Obama having gone to a ``Madrassas'' school as a boy would also be helpful.

    Wow, talk about faint praise.

    There's Mr. Bill who has taken to charging that Democrats should not ``roll the dice'' with an inexpeienced Obama. AP's Ron Fournier did an excellent analysis on Monday on Bill Clinton's rhetoric in 1992 as the fresh, inexperience in Washington candidate and now, Hillary's spear thrower lobbing them at Obama for being too wet around the ears.

    Will Bill Clinton take out the long knife for Obama while he stumps for Hillary tomorrow in the Lakes Region?

     Clinton supporter and Portsmouth State Rep. Jim Splaine unleashed a stinging commentary on her candidate's campaign on the liberal, Blue New Hampshire blog.

    ``Show your courage, we've seen that before.  Be yourself.   Just yourself.  We'll like what we see,'' Splaine wrote.

      Finally, there was Obama in Iowa acknowledging his staff went through the Clinton Presidential Library to search for Hillary papers.

      And Obama has trained his sights in Iowa on John Edwards with ``contrast'' direct mail as polls clearly show Edwards is in the way if Obama is to wound Clinton in the first caucus state.

      Yes, Virginia, we're going down to the river and everybody is getting very wet.

   -30-