The eight democratic presidential contenders took center stage in South Carolina last night for the campaign's first primary debate. While people expected an explosion of emotion, we received a trickle of decidedly lackluster contentions over contentious issues such as the war in Iraq, health care and the unfortunately timely topic of gun control.

The war dominated the debate, with Hillary Clinton insisting she regrets her vote to send our troops to Iraq, but insisting, "I take responsibility." Well, yes, we should think so. All the candidates expressed their intentions to end the increasingly protracted battle. Though vying for the same job, the Democrats kept things civil, with only Edwards taking a light jab at Clinton over her vote. (To be fair, he also took a jab over his well-coiffed, $400 hair, for which his campaign paid until recently.) Barack Obama told the audience - including predictably boring moderator, Brian Williams - that he's proud to have opposed the war from the get-go.

Civil unions came up briefly, with Williams lobbing the old "civil unions v. gay marriage" question to Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut. Skirting the issue, Dobbs started by imploring conservatives to imagine how they would feel if their children were gay and the government restricted their rights. Gay love deserves political approval, but not in the form of gay marriage. Way to court the center, Dodd.

Over all, the debates played like the run for class president, with each candidate playing up their positives and making themselves look as respectable as possible. Those of you looking for blood-letting - keep in mind the games have only begun. We're sure things will get ugly any day now.

Democratic hopefuls show political heft [MSNBC]
Democratic Presidential Debate Amazingly Maintains Status Quo [HuffPo]
Democrat's debate focuses on Iraq [Savannah Now]

We were absolutely astonished to receive an email from Jack E. Jett last night. As you know, we had a little fun with his Mike Jones interview, so we really didn't expect to be hearing from our favorite homo-journo television performer.

We hesitated before opening it, fearing some nasty tirade. Then we remembered that Jett's a totally sweatheart - a fact made all the more evident by his offering of an interview with Jeff Gannon.

We've had such a scandalous year, it's easy to forget Gannon's contribution to the annals of queer history: Gannon infiltrated the White House, questioned the President's conservative values, only to be revealved as an imposter and rentboy. While he no longer gets invited to the White House, Gannon's spirit lives thrives on his conservative blog.

After the jump, the boys discuss everything from politics to Anderson Cooper to Gannon's drink of choice. Seriously, it's packed to the brim. (Oh, it's worth noting that we've only edited two things: we uncensored the word "ass" and inserted the hypothetical "were". Way cutting edge.)

Thanks, Jack. We heart you like whoa.

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• In California, the State Assembly passes legislation banning discrimination in public schools based on sexual orienation. This measure, of course, is the lesser result of a previous push to also force schools to include notable gay historical figures in textbooks. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could still veto the bill. [SJ Mercury News]

• In Israel, Jerusalem is set to play host to another pride demonstration. After WorldPride's mixed results and controversy, the city's Open House for Pride and Tolerance decided over the weekend it would hold its own gay pride ceremony in the capital. [Free Republic]

• The Democratic National Committee yesterday passed new regulations to increase LGBT representation at its national convention. Starting with the 2008 event, new delegate selection rules will increase the number of gays and lesbians attending the convention. [Gay Wired]

• In Madrid, four mathematicians were awarded with the Fields Medal, which is given away every four years. Grigory Perelman, a recipient of the honor for his work in solving a "key piece" of the infamous Poincaré conjectur, did not want the award. [NYT]

• The case for circumcision: It can cut female-to-male transmission of HIV by 60 percent. "Scientists estimate that over the next 20 years, circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa could prevent 6 million infections and 3 million deaths." [Slate]

Sen. Joe Lieberman has reminded us again why he needs to get the boot from the Senate with a new retro cartoon ad that unveils his campaign's new strategy against challenger Ned Lamont. We call the strategy "Queer the Opposition," which is what the ad is doing by portraying Lamont as a little bear with a high-pitched voice wearing a pink Polo shirt (a "bear cub"?).

Ostensibly the point of the ad is to paint Lamont as a follower of Lowell Weicker, the former Senator who lost to Joe Lieberman in 1988, but the underlying message, which somehow comes across far clearer than the verbal one, is that Lamont is a sissy, and you shouldn't vote for sissies.

We urge all of our sissy readers to contact Joe Lieberman if you're as displeased with this ad as we are. You can call (860) 549-8463 or email him here.

Also, if you believe in progressive values, please consider donating money to Ned Lamont's campaign. His victory in November would be a big step towards setting the Democratic Party back on the right track.

Watch the campaign commercial after the jump.

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Don't you trust this face? It's so... flawless: kind of like Dolly Parton. Whether or not her smooth, expressionless face instills confidence in you, Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's bold actions on behalf of progressive values should do it. Right? Right?? Okay, maybe not, but Nancy has signed on to co-sponsor a bill that would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which we suspect might be damage control for Howard Dean's big flub on the 700 Club where he said the Democrats don't support gay marriage (which is just what everyone was thinking all along. Poor Howard, always the whipping boy.). We think his mistake made Nancy very unhappy and very mad (see, that is her "mad" face above) and she was compelled to take action.

Pelosi seeks end to 'don't ask, don't tell' [SFGate]

• What if our mom had kidnapped us to keep our dad from turning us gay? Our life would have turned out so differently. We might be married with kids and certainly not writing this fabulous blog. That would be awful! Thank goodness that the awful Florida woman who kidnapped her son for precisely that reason is no longer allowed any contact with her son. [365 Gay]

• Howard Dean fired the gay outreach director of the Democratic National Committee yesterday in what some see as an act of retaliation for harsh words offered up in April by the man's partner. Howard has been having a hard time with the gays lately, who have criticized him and the Committee for not doing more to counter all the anti-gay-marriage ballot initiatives that are floating in the air for the 2006 elections. [Washington Blade]

• Homophobic Russian asshole update: 39 of them have been arrested after causing violence for two days outside a gay club in Moscow. [Pink News]

• In Ireland a new study has revealed that there are 10,000 gay citizens who would marry if they were allowed by the law. Just think how good it would be for the traditional family if all those people could tie knot. [GCN]

• Opponents of samesex marriage shouldn't get their panties in a bunch. In the places where the gays can marry legally, not very many of them are choosing to do it. [AP]

• Twenty West Point cadets, 14 of whom are straight, anonymously donated $670 to the Soulforce Equality Ride. The "cuteness" of one of the one of the female riders was a reason cited for the donation. Those randy army ladies can be such rascals. [Ex-gay Watch]

• Even with the internal support, twenty-one Soulforce riders were detained briefly yesterday and then released with tickets after trying to demonstrate at West Point to protest Don't Ask, Don't Tell. [365 Gay]

• An openly gay former staffer for President Clinton has called for a boycott of donations to the Democratic party until they make a commitment to countering anti-gay initiatives. We will gladly participate since we are completely broke anyway. [Washington Blade]