I spent some time in Portsmouth, New Hampshire this weekend. Portsmouth is a quaint little town with some great shops. I was very tempted to buy one of these beauties.

I thought it would look swell in my darkroom. Then I could type my blog posts on it! Hey, does anyone know where I can buy a mimeograph machine?

I expected Portsmouth to be inundated with candidates, but there was only one Edwards rally in the morning, which I missed. They did leave behind their detritus.

The coffee shop across the street from these signs was so crowded on Saturday evening that I was forced to share a table. As soon as I sat down, my seatmate asked, “So, are you a Hillary fan?”

“Hmm, why didn’t you ask if I were a Mitt fan? Or a Mike fan?”

He looked alarmed for a minute, and then I saw him take inventory: female, unveiled, alone in a public place without benefit of male escort: probably a Democrat, Independent, or call girl. (And with that coat, definitely not a call girl.) “Well, what do I know?” he said. “I’m from Massachusetts.”

“Me, too,” I said, and then drank to the freedom to cross state lines without written permission from my husband, at least until President Huckabee or President Romney takes office. What, you think it can’t happen here? Let me introduce you to a woman who was wearing a mini-skirt and smoking a cigarette on the streets of Tunis in 1974:

(No, I don’t know what the underwear’s all about, but I can tell you she’s not shopping at Victoria’s Secret.)

I caught a significant chunk of the Republican debates on ABC later that evening. I see that Romney has affected Dear Leader’s smirk, and I thought he could not have looked more condescending if he tried. Even his wife seemed to be slumped in her chair as though thinking, “Honey, wipe that look off your face!” The only one who came off worse than Romney was his attacker-in-chief, McCain. What was with that maniacal laugh every time he cracked a joke at Romney’s expense? I thought McCain definitely appeared deranged. His cackle is going to be the Dean-like “rebel yell” of 2008.