Anyone can see Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson needs a lifeline in New Hampshire and he got one today with the naming of Charles Arlinghaus as a volunteer adviser to the effort.

   ``He's gotten a late start of course but I've been an admirer of Fred Thompson going quite a while back. I truly believe he's someone who can unite economic and social conservatives,'' Arlinghaus said during a telephone interview.

  If Obama National Campaign Manager David Plouffe is panic-stricken about Hillary Clinton's big lead in New Hampshire polls, he's got one of the better poker faces in the business.