Obviously, not everybody has seen the YouTube video of an off-key Hillary Clinton trying to sing the national anthem.

According to a national survey by Ladies’ Home Journal, Clinton was chosen as the candidate who would be the most fun to bring to a New Year’s karaoke party. She was favored by 24 percent of those surveyed.

Barack Obama placed second, at 15 percent, as the most fun party-goer. Opera fan Rudy Giuliani was the top Republican karaoke guest, scoring only 8 percent.

Clinton also won the “most likely to keep her New Year’s resolution,” scoring 21 percent, according to the magazine.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation said today that it has formed a new office within the department to focus on invasive species, such as zebra mussels, that are threatening the state’s ecosystem.

Zebra mussels, for instance, have been a major problem in the Finger Lakes, the likely impact of global shipping.

The new Office of Invasive Species  will bring together biologists and other experts to develop ways to combat the problem. Eurasian water milfoil and Sirex wood wasps are other critters that will be studied, the DEC said.

“Invasive species compete with, prey upon and can substantially alter the environmental of our native species of plants, fish and wildlife,” said DEC Commissioner Peter Grannis.

Earlier this year, Gov. Spitzer signed a law that creates a state Invasive Species Council, made up of nine state agencies and an advisory committee. The state budget also included $5 million for invasive species programs around the state.

Hillary Clinton received some good news over her campaign’s brief Christmas respite – a new poll showing her with a commanding lead over Barack Obama in Iowa.

The American Research Group poll, conducted December 20-23, showed Clinton leading the Illinois senator by 15 percentage points, 34 to 19 percent. Obama was in a statistical tie for second place with John Edwards, who has 20 percent of the vote. Read more here.

Meanwhile, The New York Times has a story today that raises questions about one of Clinton’s biggest selling points – her experience. Read more about that here.

Rudy Giuliani spent part of his Christmas Eve in Harlem, reading to children, handing out presents and, once again, proclaiming himself in good health.

â€Å“I’m perfectly healthy. I don’t have cancer,â€? Giuliani told reporters after reading â€Å“A Visit From St. Nicholasâ€? to more than a dozen children at Hale House, a residence for needy children.

According to an Associated Press account, more journalists than children crammed into the tiny room.

Giuliani was briefly hospitalized last week in St. Louis after suffering what he called a severe headache. After canceling some some events last week, he was back campaigning in New Hampshire over the weekend.

For his visit to Hale House, Giuliani wore red socks and a red Christmas tie adorned with stockings. He paused frequently during his reading to ask questions and point to large colorful pictures of Santa and his reindeer. At one point, he even sounded off with a: “Ho, ho, ho.”

Giuliani has read the Christmas story — better known as â€Å“Twas the Night Before Christmasâ€? — to children at the Hale House for 14 years. He promised that if he’s elected president, he would still return to read the Clement Clarke Moore classic.

Meanwhlile, the New York Times, in a story today points out that things have not been going so well lately for Giuliani.

Gov. Spitzer and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today announced that more than $18 million will be split between 13,686 New Yorkers as the result of a $325 million national settlement with Ameriquest Mortgage Co. over predatory loan practices.

The company was accused of encouraging homeowners to refinance mortgages that either misrepresented and failed to disclose loan terms, charged excessive loan origination fees and inflated appraisals to qualify borrowers for loans, according to the joint press release Spitzer and Cuomo put out.

It’s the only news release so far today—a real quiet day at the Capitol—from the always active press offices of Spitzer and Cuomo.

There has been much speculation about the relationship between the state’s two leading Democrats, especially after Cuomo in July released a damming report in July that showed Spitzer’s aides were conspiring to release travel records on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
But aides said the staffs still work well together, and Spitzer even attended Cuomo’s birthday party a few weeks ago.

It’s Christmas Eve, which in addition to last minute shopping, also means that the presidential candidates take a brief respite from the torrid campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Hillary Clinton is no different. Her campaign schedule lists her in Chappaqua today and tomorrow with “No public campaign events.”

The senator gets back into campaign mode on Wednesday, when she launches the “Big Challenges, Real Solutions – Time To Pick A Presidentâ€? tour through Iowa. It begins with a 2:30 p.m. appearance at the Mount Pleasant Community High School.

An Albany rendition of the 12 days of Christmas, minus the singing. (Sorry, we tried to post this Friday, but had technical difficulties.)

Download:

The Air Transit Association of America filed an appeal against the state Friday, a day after a federal judge shot down the industry group’s challenge of New York’s airline passengers’ â€Å“bill of rightsâ€? law. The legislation, which takes effect Jan. 1, requires airlines to provide food, water, proper ventilation and functioning toilets when a plane has been sitting on an airport tarmac for more than three hours.

New York is the first state in the nation to adopt a passengers’ bill of rights. The impetus was a Feb. 14 ice storm that left JetBlue Airways passengers stranded on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport for more than nine hours. Toilets were clogged, there was poor ventilation, and the airline couldn’t accommodate hungry and thirsty passengers. A handful of other states and Congress are considering similar legislation.

The Air Transit Association, which represents the nation’s leading airlines, argued in court this week that the federal Airline Deregulation Act prohibits states from regulating air carriers’ prices, routes and services. The airlines said the law would be costly and require them to hire more staff, purchase additional equipment, burn more fuel and reduce cabin storage space. Violations carry fines of up to $1,000 per passenger.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn dismissed the lawsuit Thursday, ruling that states have power to regulate matters of health and safety. The Airline Deregulation Act was set up to promote competition and foster lower costs and more efficiency among existing and new carriers, Kahn wrote in his ruling.

It’s no understatement to say that Westchester’s Board of Legislators and, most especially, it’s Chairman Bill Ryan have been getting a lot of bad press lately. Most of it stems from the board’s aborted effort to boost Ryan’s pay to $124,200.

So that may explain why the board’s leadership halted plans this week to hire its own Albany lobbying firm. A $55,000 contract with the firm of Davidoff Malito and Hutcher was set to go before the county’s Board of Acquisition and Contract on Thursday but was pulled before the meeting.

If approved, the contract would have marked the first time in several years that the board hired its own lobbyists to represent its interests at the state Capitol.

The contract was also nearly double what County Executive Andrew Spano’s administration pays for its lobbying firm.The Spano administration contracts with the firm headed by former Sheldon Silver aide Patricia Lynch.

Ryan, when asked about the contract today, said the firm was still negotiating with board Majority Leader Martin Rogowsky.

A day after the state Board of Elections received a tongue-lashing from U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe, the state Association of Counties is voicing its displeasure with the state agency’s tardiness in complying with the Help America Vote Act, a federal election-modernization law. New York was supposed to have new voting machines by Jan. 1, 2006. It received an extension until this fall, but it missed that one too, prompting a renewed call from the U.S. Justice Department for action.

Sharpe ordered the board to submit a new plan for compliance by Jan. 4 and to have machines that are accessible to the disabled at every polling place by the fall.

It’s possible that counties might have to scrap those machines and buy new ones that meet higher standards for the following election. Stephen Acquario, executive director of the Association of Counties, said he is concerned about how the state’s inaction will affect New York’s â€Å“already beleaguered taxpayers.â€? Property taxes are at an all-time high, and counties should not have to pay for the state’s inability to meet deadlines, he said.

â€Å“The state’s inability to implement the election reforms and Judge Sharpe’s decision are likely to put all of our county governments in the difficult position of having to purchase both temporary ballot-marking devices and then later buy the HAVA-compliant election machines,â€? he said. â€Å“The limited amount of federal funding (nearly $200 million) will not cover the costs of both of these actions.â€?