Campaign Trail

The race for the Republican presidential nomination turned nasty this week, as Mitt Romney's former hairstylist, Francois Lockes, accused the GOP front-runner of using hair color to grey his temples. "Monsieur Romney est inauthentique," Mr. Lockes, a French citizen, told reporters. "Le candidat would shave his head pour un vote!" The Romney campaign denied the accusation. "Frank the barber is a disgruntled former employee who was fired for trying to spike Mitt's chamomile tea with caffeine," said a Romney spokesperson.

Richard Grenell had the right resume to be Mitt Romney's spokesman on foreign policy -- a stint as communications director for four of the Bush administration's U.N. ambassadors; a degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; his own international PR firm and frequent stints on TV as an expert on international issues. Too bad for him he has a boyfriend. Mr. Grenell was the first openly gay spokesman for a presidential candidate, but he never got to speak. Before he even officially started the job, enraged homophobes in the so-called pro-family community spooked Mr. Romney's campaign staff.

Bluer than Democrat-rich Baltimore! Able to distract morning commuters with a single wave! Look! On the street corner with Jody Landers! It's actual fun in this year's mayoral campaign! Blue Man, a mysterious figure in a full-body Spandex suit, has swooped in from who-knows-where to help former City Councilman Joseph T. "Jody" Landers with his weekday morning car waves. There's no telling if the seeming superhero can help Landers in September's Democratic primary, but he has already succeeded in injecting some zip into an otherwise snoozy race.

Although Mitt Romneyis now on the brink of nomination as the 2012 Republican presidential standard-bearer, the question remains as to why so much doubt lingers about him. A central concern seems to be that he's just too rich to understand the problems of the rest of us. It's not that he's the first political figure to run for presidency rolling in dough. Thomas Jefferson,Franklin D. Roosevelt,John F. Kennedy and both George Bushes all won the office despite the misfortune of never having to worry where their next square meal was coming from.

Within the next two weeks Time magazine will publish lengthy excerpts from Colin Powell's memoirs, Barbara Walters will interview him for a prime time television show, and the general will begin a nationwide promotional tour at a book store in Virginia.That tour is going to be treated by most who follow it closely -- journalists, voters, candidates for president -- as the equivalent of the presidential campaign trail. Technically and legally it won't be. He may not have made up his mind yet if he wants to run. Even if he has, his publisher wouldn't let him admit it, thus limiting his ability to get free broadcast appearances (since other candidates might then demand the same thing)

Robert E. Comes, winner of the Democratic primary for sheriff, said he is ready to face incumbent Sheriff Dominick J. Mele, who is organizing a write-in effort, on the campaign trail again.Comes said his campaign staff is planning to run an aggressive race, complete with a new campaign headquarters, door-to-door campaigning and a fund-raiser."We're going to campaign as usual," Comes said. "We're going to continue campaigning as we did through the primary. . . . I'll be visible. The (campaign)

Paul Rappaport was campaigning at last month's Howard County Fair in his bid for lieutenant governor when he crossed paths with another politician -- his wife.The fair was one of a few times that Paul and Margaret Rappaport -- one of a handful of married couples seeking elected offices in Maryland this year -- have seen each other, either on the campaign trail or at their Ellicott City home.Mrs. Rappaport, seeking a second term as Howard County's clerk of the Circuit Court, described herself and her husband as the proverbial ships that pass in the night.

WASHINGTON - Addressing a room of heroic police officers and their families, Vice President Al Gore proclaimed yesterday that "America is safer than it has been in a generation," and vowed to hire more officers and prosecutors to keep it that way. "While others flee from danger, your mission is to track it down," he told the officers who were being honored by the National Association of Police Organizations, a coalition of police unions. "Some say the age of heroes is over. I say, `No way.'" It was Gore's second day on the campaign trail since ending a North Carolina vacation that coincided with the Republican National Convention.

ATLANTIC, Iowa -- The other George Bush -- the one who doesn't use the W -- showed up in conservative farm country in his first campaign appearance for his son yesterday, sounding one part political professional and one part proud papa. The former president has not wanted to get in Texas Gov. George W. Bush's way and had kept off the stump -- having come to Iowa just once before during the campaign, for a series of Republican fund-raisers. But yesterday, he did his duty for his eldest son, describing him as a man raised with solid values who lived politics at his father's side.

Four weeks after heart bypass surgery, B. Daniel Riley said he's ready to get back on the campaign trail. Riley, who served in the House of Delegates from 1998 to 2002, found out during a regular checkup last month that one of his veins was heavily clogged and that he would need an aortic valve replaced. Now resting at home, he said he experiences shortness of breath but feels great. "I've been following doctor's orders," he said. Riley is competing against a crowded Democratic primary field in his bid to return to Annapolis.

Banker John Delaney knew that Maryland's ruling Democrats had someone else in mind to become the state's next 6th District congressman. But the 48-year-old multimillionaire from Potomac jumped into the race anyway. And despite early missteps, Delaney's campaign appears to be gaining momentum with just over a week to go before the April 3 Democratic primary. In the past month, he has won endorsements from former President Bill Clinton and The Washington Post , among others.

Was that a State of the Union address or was it President Barack Obama's first big campaign speech of 2012? It certainly sounded like the latter, but given the state of Washington, what else could we expect? His opening lines, a tribute to the soldiers who returned home from Iraq, was a reminder of a promise kept from his first campaign - and it was followed by a reference to the killing of Osama bin Laden under his watch, and that by a dig at how little has been accomplished by a deeply divided Congress.

1. A team that's been plagued all year by inconsistency may, after Thursday night, have finally sharpened its focus for good. If we've learned anything about the Ravens this year, it's that it's dangerous to make any kind of definitive statements about them after wins or losses. Just when you're ready celebrate their dominance, they regress. And just when you're ready to write them off as serious contenders, they shine. So I'm fully aware that what I'm about to say has a very real chance of looking ridiculous if they saunter into Cleveland 10 days from now and stumble against one of the NFL's worst teams.

The race for the Republican presidential nomination turned nasty this week, as Mitt Romney's former hairstylist, Francois Lockes, accused the GOP front-runner of using hair color to grey his temples. "Monsieur Romney est inauthentique," Mr. Lockes, a French citizen, told reporters. "Le candidat would shave his head pour un vote!" The Romney campaign denied the accusation. "Frank the barber is a disgruntled former employee who was fired for trying to spike Mitt's chamomile tea with caffeine," said a Romney spokesperson.

Bluer than Democrat-rich Baltimore! Able to distract morning commuters with a single wave! Look! On the street corner with Jody Landers! It's actual fun in this year's mayoral campaign! Blue Man, a mysterious figure in a full-body Spandex suit, has swooped in from who-knows-where to help former City Councilman Joseph T. "Jody" Landers with his weekday morning car waves. There's no telling if the seeming superhero can help Landers in September's Democratic primary, but he has already succeeded in injecting some zip into an otherwise snoozy race.

Last week after "sting" video surfaced of counselors at the Michele Bachmann's Minnesota clinic appearing to practice a discredited form of 'therapy" intended to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals, I predicted the film would haunt her on the campaign trail. That haunting has already begun -- and it is only one of several problems she is now having to contend with. Once the video made it onto ABC  News last week, Bachmann was under fire. The video, which was shotwith hidden cameras by a gay advocacy group,  appeared in reports by veteran investigative correspondent Brian Ross.

More noteworthy than the "Women of Steele" coalition launched yesterday by Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's U.S. Senate campaign was the appearance by his side of the shy woman who introduced the candidate to his audience. Reading from prepared remarks to a room of 40 or so admirers in Annapolis, Andrea Steele, the lieutenant governor's wife, explained that she was initially none too thrilled at the prospect of her husband's Senate bid. "When Michael first announced that he was going to run, I have to admit I had some reservations," she said, prompting laughter from her husband and knowing supporters.

Ben Cardin held off about as long as possible for a modern politician, but he finally caved to intense pressure. He launched a Facebook page. "Back in 1966, when I first ran for the Maryland House of Delegates, there was no Facebook, no Twitter, no YouTube -- not even the Internet," he writes in an e-mail that just popped up on my computer. "All we had to get our message out were yard signs, fliers, volunteers and a whole lot of determination. "But while the way we communicate has changed a lot, my dedication to improving the lives of the people of Maryland hasn’t.

Maryland is no stranger to movies and TV, but with the filming of the HBO political drama "Game Change" here, our small state has taken on its toughest role ever — Alaska. Yet production designer Michael Corenblith and set decorator Tiffany Zappulla weren't intimidated. Challenged to film a scene at the Alaska State Fair for the docudrama about the 2008 presidential election, they headed to Six Flags America near Bowie. They found a rollercoaster that looks just like the one up north and tracked down a 9-foot stuffed grizzly from an antiques store in Easton to evoke the vibe of a real Alaskan midway.