huckabee snl

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was in the city last night, appearing on “Saturday Night Live.”

Huckabee showed up during the show’s “Weekend Update” segment, joking about his refusal to drop out of the White House race, despite lagging far behind John McCain.

“Mike Huckabee does not overstay his welcome. When it’s time for me to go, I’ll know, and I’ll exit out with class and grace,” said Huckabee, before staying seated at the “Update” desk even though SNL’s Seth Meyers made it clear it was time for him to leave.

McCain spoke last night at a Republican Governors Association dinner in Washington, telling the crowd that he’s a “federalist,” and believes strongly in states rights. McCain is also responding to Barack Obama’s accusations that some of McCain’s key aides are lobbyists, and that his health care plans reflect the agenda of the drug and insurance industries.

A McCain spokeswoman says Obama’s attacks are meant to distract attention from his lack of experience and plans for tax hikes.

Meanwhile, the New York Times’ public editor has some harsh words for the paper’s article that McCain may have been romantically linked to a female lobbyist.

Times ombudsman Clark Hoyt says the paper should have had backed up the allegations with either proof or more convincing circumstantial evidence than statements from anonymous McCain aides.

In today’s edition, Hoyt writes, “…if you cannot provide readers with some independent evidence, I think it is wrong to report the suppositions or concerns of anonymous aides about whether the boss is getting into the wrong bed.”

Times editors told Hoyt they published the story anyway because the romance wasn’t the focal point, McCain’s lack of attention to public appearances were. Hoyt disagreed with that saying the paper should have been aware that anything sex-related would become the point of the story.

On the Democratic side, the rhetoric is heating up between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton held rallies yesterday in Ohio, where she ripped Obama’s campaign over a mailing sent out to voters.

She claims the mailing unfairly attacked her position on universal health care.

“Enough with the speeches and the big rallies and then using tactics that are right out of Karl Rove’s playbook – this is wrong, so shame on you Barack Obama,” said Clinton. “It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public. That’s what I expect from you. Meet me in Ohio; let’s have a debate about your tactics and your behavior in the campaign.”

Stumping in Columbus, Obama said he stands by the accuracy of the mailings.

“What this mailer does is point out this difference that she herself surfaced and describes what the mandate that she’s calling for would mean, which is that the government would force you to buy healthcare. That’s indisputable. So the notion that somehow we’re engaging in nefarious tactics, I think, is pretty hard to swallow,” he said.

Ohio voters are set to go to the polls on March 4th, with 141 delegates at stake.

Attempting to make it a three-party race, Ralph Nader has announced that he is throwing his hat into the presidential ring again.

It’s the fifth White House bid for the consumer advocate and environmentalist. Nader is remembered by many as the man who acted as a spoiler for Al Gore in 2000 when we won 2.7 percent of the vote.

He also ran in 2004.

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