I met Benazir Bhutto in Oxford, England, in June of 1976. My wife and I were on an extended bicycle tour, and pulled into Oxford one warm evening. We saw a notice about a debate scheduled that night at the Oxford Union about whether the United Kingdom should retain its “special relationship’’ with the United States.

We showed up but were told that we couldn’t get in because we weren’t members. A pretty young woman standing behind us in line asked what the problem was. We told her that we wanted to see the debate and were from the U.S.

“Where are you from?’’ she asked.

When we replied Boston, she said she had just finished studies at Harvard, and of course we could watch the debate. Benazir Bhutto, it turned out, was president of the Oxford Union then.

She took us to a party afterwards, where she introduced us to a friend whose father was a member of Parliament. He told us to look up his father when we got to London so we could view “Question Time,’’ the weekly ritual (now familiar to many Americans thanks to C-SPAN) where the prime minister has to withstand often withering questioning from opposition members of Parliament. We saw then-PM James Callaghan take it on the chin from Tory Leader Margaret Thatcher. I’ve often thought since that I wish the colonies had adopted that particular Old World custom.

We paid attention to Bhutto’s political career ever since, and were amazed when she became the first woman ever to run the government of an Islamic country, and saddened when her father was hanged. Hearing recordings of her voice yesterday after her assassination brought back memories of the kind woman who helped out a couple of strangers 31 years ago.

Voters in Iowa are likely growing tired by now of the political commercials, telephone calls and mailings that have been bombarding the state in advance of the Jan. 3 presidential caucuses. And it will no doubt continue right up to the last minute.

In fact, Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced today that she will make “her final closing argument to Iowans,” on Jan. 2 with a two-minute taped television message that will air during every 6PM newscast throughout the state.  

Here’s the order in which Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will appear on the Feb. 5 primary ballot in New York, according to the state Board of Elections. The board plans to certify the ballots on Dec. 31. Geez, is that Monday already?

Hillary Rodham Clinton gets some home cooking and pulled the top spot for Democrats. Ron Paul gets the top spot for Republicans. (The picks are made randomly by the board.)

Democrats:
Hillary Clinton
Bill Richardson
Joe Biden
John Edwards
Barack Obama
Dennis Kucinich

Republicans:
Ron Paul
Alan Keyes
Duncan Hunter
Tom Tancredo
Rudy Giuliani
Mitt Romney
Mike Huckabee
John McCain
Fred Thompson

The governor just send out a New Year’s letter in an email to supporters through his re-election campaign.

Not much about the scandals that have rocked his administration, but a lot of well wishing and hope for the future.

“For me, this time of year is a time for reflection,” he writes. “As I think about the year that has passed, I can’t help but remember that moment nearly a year ago when I woke up on a cold New Year’s morning and joined hundreds of friends and supporters on a jog through the crisp Albany air.”

“They say that invention is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. That pre-dawn jog and the year that followed had more than its share of both. Along the way, we’ve learned hard lessons and made real strides to renew the promise of New York for families in every corner of this state who want a better life.”

He also talks about what he views are his successes: “Together, we’ve been able to expand access to health insurance and lower class size for children across New York State. We’ve begun to tackle out-of-control property taxes and bring jobs and economic vitality back to cities across upstate. We’ve made investments in stem cell research that may someday yield new cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes and Lou Gehrig’s disease. ”

You can read the full letter after the jump.

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The state Racing and Wagering Board today approved dates in 2008 for the New York Racing Association to run racing temporarily at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga.

But the 30-day approval is contigent on NYRA working out a deal with the state’s racing oversight board, which will take over racing on Jan. 1 when NYRA’s current contract expires.

State leaders have yet to reach an agreement on who will run the three tracks permanently and NYRA has not agreed yet to operate the tracks under the oversight board’s control.

The Racing and Wagering Board said it would give NYRA a temporary deal to run the races so racing can continue until a permanent solution is found.

New York supporters of John McCain’s presidential candidacy filed a list of 174 delegates at the state Board of Elections office in Albany who are backing the Arizona Republican.

The list includes Phil Boyle, a state assemblyman from Long Island; former U.S. Rep. Amo Houghton from Corning; and state Assemblyman Dan Burling of Wyoming County.

Others include former state Comptroller candidate Chris Callaghan; and John Fleming, executive assistant to Yonker’s Mayor Phil Amicone.

“They are part of a grassroots team of men and women volunteers who believe that John McCain’s courageous service, experienced leadership and bold ideas uniquely qualify him to lead America in these perilous times,” said Ed Cox, McCain’s New York chairman, son-in-law of the late President Nixon and a former candidate for the U.S. Senate in New York.

The Board of Elections said McCain is the first GOP candidate to file a list of delegates. The board is supposed to receive all the candidates’ delegates by year’s end to verify their voting status.

However, Republicans have a winner-take-all system in New York primaries, so voters will vote for the candidate, not delegates.

Democrats, meanwhile, vote for the candidate and then delegates to send to the party’s convention in mid-2008.

The state Board of Elections has posted on its website a list of delegates who have filed petitions to represent the Democratic candidates in the New York primary on Feb. 5.

Unlike the GOP primary, where voters vote only for the candidates, the Democratic primary allows voters to vote for both the candidates themselves in a statewide primary and the delegates and alternate delegates who run in each congressional district.

Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton has locked up most of the region’s top Democratic officials to serve as her delegates. Among them are Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano, Westchester County Clerk Tim Idoni, state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers, and Rockland Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell.

See the entire list here.

With his poll numbers sagging, Rudy Giuliani seems to be returning to the topics that dominated the early — and less turbulent — days of his candidacy: terrorism and Sept. 11th.

In a new ad that will begin airing nationally on FOX News and in Florida and New Hampshire on Friday, Giuliani speaks of the Sept. 11th attacks and how they created a new “greatest generation,” in America.

“When you challenge Americans, there’s no country that stands up stronger and better than the United States of America,” Giuliani says in the ad. “When you try and take something away from us like freedom, my goodness, Americans are going to be one in resisting you. So, the Islamic terrorists would make a terrible mistake if they confuse our democracy for weakness.”

See the ad, entitled “Freedom,” here.

New York politicians have begun to weigh in on today’s assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said in a statement:

â€Å“The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a tragic event for Pakistan and for democracy in Pakistan. Her murderers must be brought to justice and Pakistan must continue the path back to democracy and the rule of law. Her death is a reminder that terrorism anywhere—whether in New York, London, Tel-Aviv or Rawalpindi—is an enemy of freedom. We must redouble our efforts to win the Terrorists’ War on Us.â€?

And New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg just issued these remarks:

â€Å“Today all New Yorkers, including the more than 100,000 who can trace their heritage to Pakistan, are saddened to learn about the assassination of Pakistan’s Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Hers was a voice for democracy, and the silencing of it – by such brutal means – is a shock to us all. Ms. Bhutto’s death – and the deaths of the many other Pakistanis who were killed today simply for expressing their views – is a great loss for friends of democracy and for everyone who is united in the fight against terror. It’s also a grim reminder that many people consider the freedoms we cherish a threat. The perpetrators of this violent act must be brought to justice, and it is my hope that President Musharraf will follow through on free and fair elections in January as a testament to Ms. Bhutto’s legacy.â€?

ADDED: Sen. Hillary Clinton issued this statement late this morning:

â€Å“I am profoundly saddened and outraged by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a leader of tremendous political and personal courage. I came to know Mrs. Bhutto over many years, during her tenures as Prime Minister and during her years in exile. Mrs. Bhutto’s concern for her country, and her family, propelled her to risk her life on behalf of the Pakistani people. She returned to Pakistan to fight for democracy despite threats and previous attempts on her life and now she has made the ultimate sacrifice. Her death is a tragedy for her country and a terrible reminder of the work that remains to bring peace, stability, and hope to regions of the globe too often paralyzed by fear, hatred, and violence. Let us pray that her legacy will be a brighter, more hopeful future for the people she loved and the country she served. My family and I extend our condolences and deepest sympathies to the victims and their families and to the people of Pakistan.â€?

That’s the cost Gov. Eliot Spitzer has decided to pay back for the one hour on Dec. 6 that he held a private fundraiser in Buffalo as part of a state trip.

Spitzer visited Buffalo on Dec. 5 and 6, which was mainly for state business. He also held fundraisers in Buffalo and Rochester.

But in an August decision by the now-defunct Ethics Commission, use of state aircraft can only be for a public purpose. Officials must pay back any cost of using state resources that is deemed political.

The Public Integrity Commission ruled in this case that since the governor ended his public business on the evening of Dec. 5, he didn’t need to pay back anything for the trip. He did not use state aircraft on the second day of the trip.

Still, Spitzer decided to pay back $140—the cost of one hour out of 22 that he was fundraising on Dec. 6. That’s equal to 1/22 of the $3,100 cost of a charter flight from Buffalo to Albany.