Howard Dean announced Thursday that he's been engaging in a little foreign diplomacy:

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean has been meeting with world leaders to repair "the extraordinary damage" that the Bush administration has done to America's image and to prepare the way for a new Democratic president.

"I am trying to build relationships with other governments in preparation for a Democratic takeover," Dean told me. "I want to make clear that there is an opposition in America and that we are ready to take power and that when we do, we are going to have much better relationships with them."

Report: Hamas talks with U.S. Democrats

RAFAH, Gaza, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Hamas officials have smuggled more than $66 million into Gaza and have met with U.S. Democrats at a secret location, it was reported Wednesday.

The money covered the salaries of 69 percent of the Palestinian Authority's 160,000 civil servants, authority Planning Minister Samir Abu Aisheh said.

This was the first time a senior Hamas official revealed the sum smuggled into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The United States lists Hamas as a terrorist organization funded by Iran, Palestinian expatriates and private benefactors in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.

Meanwhile, the Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency reported Hamas representatives recently had secret talks with U.S. Democratic Party officials in anticipation of the party regaining congressional power in Washington.