President Bill Clinton

WASHINGTON -- If you haven't heard of a Maryland woman named Kathy Casey-Kirschling, you will. The federal government picked her as the nation's first baby boomer (she's said to have been born one second past midnight on New Year's Day, 1946) and started giving her publicity. Recently, the Social Security Administration posted a YouTube video of Casey-Kirschling applying for old-age benefits. Viewers of "First Baby Boomer files for Social Security" can watch her put on reading glasses.

REPORTING on the state of the union without being distracted by the ongoing impeachment trial is a task that tests even President Bill Clinton's ability to compartmentalize.Yet that is the challenge Mr. Clinton took on last night when he addressed the nation from the House chamber just hours after his lawyers defended him against impeachment charges across Capitol Hill.In a spirited end to a historic day, a relaxed president stood before accusers and defenders to declare that the nation is in fine shape.

OTTAWA -- Canadians on both sides of the nation's deep linguistic divide say they were stunned by President Clinton's unexpectedly passionate appeal here for national unity and federalism.Clinton traveled to the flash point of separatism in North America and, without mentioning Quebec nationalism, argued Friday that "the United States and Canada are among the most fortunate countries in the world because we have such diversity."If every major "racial and ethnic and religious group" won independence, "we might have 800 countries in the world and have a very difficult time having a functioning economy," Clinton said, addressing a forum on federalism that earlier in the week had become a platform for complaints by Quebec separatists.

Things change.In a public reconciliation, Gov. Parris N. Glendening and President Bill Clinton made a joint appearance yesterday at a Montgomery County elementary school and had nothing but compliments for one another."

IT'S STILL dark in Manhattan, but on the morning of President Bill Clinton's televised testimony, Lucianne Goldberg is up and tapping away at her computer, sending e-mail, monitoring the flashing lights on her telephone console, drinking coffee and smoking the first of her Larks from an 18-carat Dunhill holder from Harrods."

The National Governors Conference met in Boston this week. The next president of the United States may well have been there.I say that because the state house is now the training ground for the White House:President Bill Clinton was Governor Clinton when he was elected president. President Ronald Reagan was ex-Governor Reagan when he was. President Jimmy Carter was ex-Governor Carter when he was.So three of the last four presidents learned to be chief executive by being chief executive. That's a new development in the post-New Deal, post-World War II America.

The death of Virginia Kelley, President Bill Clinton's mother, is especially stunning because she was such a survivor. It is a shame to observe that this lively woman did not live to see her son complete his first year in office.She married five times, twice to the same man (Mr. Clinton's stepfather). Three of her husbands died, one in a car accident, one of alcoholism, one of diabetes. One son went to jail for drug possession. These are heavy blows for anyone to bear.It is common to hear that she bore up because she's a strong woman.

Washington. -- "Balancing the budget," according to Ronald Reagan, that sage of the homespun one-liner, "is a little like protecting your virtue: You just have to learn to say 'No'."But it seems that being so negative doesn't come naturally to either presidents or national politicians. So, even as Congress wields the budget knife with more vigor than President Bill Clinton dared to suggest, one has to wonder just how successful the latest attempt to cut the deficit will be.A little history: The last time the federal budget was balanced was in 1969.

As America's young president took office, he inherited a awkward commitment from his predecessor. The outgoing administration initiated a policy to confront an aggressive foreign adversary. The new president was dubious about the plan, but endorsed it because he feared cries of weakness from the opposition party.Against his own better judgment, John F. Kennedy approved the invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs. The attack, which was supposed to unleash a massive rebellion against Fidel Castro, instead embarrassed the United States at a particularly difficult time -- and may have encouraged the Soviets to place nuclear missiles in Cuba.

WASHINGTON -- President Bill Clinton put another piece of his economic jigsaw puzzle in place yesterday, easing bank lending regulations to spur the flow of credit to small and medium-sized businesses, the main source of new jobs."

Should homeowners be allowed to erect wind turbines on top of their roofs? Yes 66% No 27% Not sure 7% (816 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Was former President Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea to free two American journalists wise diplomacy or a reward for the country's bad behavior? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

Quaid and Moore set to play the Clintons Dennis Quaid is lined up to play former President Bill Clinton with Julianne Moore as Hillary Clinton for a movie, The Special Relationship, that HBO is working on. The special relationship is between President Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will be played by Michael Sheen. Spokeswoman Tobe Becker says HBO hasn't fully given the green light to the film. Facing eviction Isaiah Washington's landlord has started an eviction procedure against the former Grey's Anatomy star, claiming he owes $100,000 in rent.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton promised yesterday a new diplomacy that would give America "more partners and fewer adversaries," and signaled her intention to reach out to Iran and continue the uphill struggle for Middle East peace. At a five-hour Senate confirmation hearing, Clinton said she and President-elect Barack Obama would overhaul the approach of the Bush administration with a rejuvenated emphasis on diplomatic engagement, alliance-building and development.

Clintons to join Bloomberg in ringing in the new year Tonight, Sen. Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton will be in Times Square, helping New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg lower the glittery New Year's Eve ball. The Clintons will lead hundreds of thousands of revelers in the final 60-second countdown and push the ceremonial button that lowers the ball. Up to a million people are expected tonight to wait for the clock to strike midnight, with the forecast calling for snow and temperatures in the low 30s. Portions of the event will be televised live on ABC and other networks.

Cordell Hull was a veteran lawmaker with a worldwide reputation when Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him secretary of state in 1933, in part to win needed support from Hull's army of Democratic admirers. But the dignified Tennessean was never close to FDR. As time passed he was "muscled out by others in the administration," said Michael Hunt, a diplomatic historian at the University of North Carolina. Barack Obama's election as president has drawn other comparisons with Roosevelt, especially for the economic crisis he inherits.

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton's name will be placed into nomination at the Democratic National Convention later this month, ending months of speculation about how her candidacy -- and supporters - would be represented there. "I am convinced that honoring Sen. Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong, united fashion," Barack Obama said in a statement issued jointly by their two press offices.

The dream ticket is already looking like a nightmare for Barack Obama. But that doesn't mean it won't materialize. Talk of a pairing with Hillary Clinton accelerated last week, just as Obama was putting her away at the close of the longest primary season ever. Clinton's bid to claim a piece of the ticket was regarded as brazen by some experienced Democratic politicians. It could prevent another Democratic woman from eclipsing her and even sabotage Obama's chances of winning, advancing a Clinton comeback by four years, to 2012 instead of 2016.

WASHINGTON - It has been hard for Hillary Clinton to step down, and even tougher for Lanny J. Davis, the longtime Clinton defender from Maryland who is the force behind an online petition to persuade Barack Obama to make her his running mate. The nascent effort has been widely criticized, and Obama said that "everybody just needs to settle down" about his selection. The Clinton campaign tried to tamp down the movement yesterday, declaring that she is not seeking the vice presidency. But Davis remains unapologetic about pushing the discussion and said critics who accuse him of pressuring Obama misrepresent what he is trying to accomplish.

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination last night, a breakthrough in the evolution of American politics that sets the stage for a precedent-shattering matchup against Republican John McCain. Obama, who will become the first black nominee of a major party, gained a delegate majority on the final day of the longest, most expensive and closely contested nomination struggle in decades. "Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another," Obama said last night as he turned his attention to the fall campaign.

WASHINGTON - On the eve of the last two Democratic primaries, aides for Sen. Hillary Clinton appeared yesterday to be making plans to scale down her campaign, giving her time to decide in the coming days whether to end it or to stage a comeback. While Sen. Barack Obama plans to spend election night in St. Paul, Minn., where Republicans will hold their convention, Clinton intends to return home to New York. Her campaign has scheduled no events beyond a speech tomorrow in Washington. Clinton aides considered and rejected a plan to have her campaign later this week in states that will be important in the general election.