The Washington Post has produced a series of short videos about a selection of key campaign issues for 2006: stem cell research, the minimum wage, the economy, immigration, gay marriage, and Iraq (those last two are still in the works). Nothing new, at least in what I've seen so far, but certainly interesting as a primer.

In the past few weeks, Dick Armey has taken shots at Tom Tancredo, James Dobson, and Tom DeLay. I don't know what he's running for, but whatever it is, I wish he'd do it more often.

This is my impression of every Mets fan who calls into a sports radio show in the next two months: "I don't [beep] understand. Was Beltran not [beep] watching when Floyd was up? Was he in the [beep] john? Huh? Did he not think Wainwright would ever use that pitch again? Because I don't care who you are, I don't care what kind of [beep] series you're having. You DON'T [BEEP] LOOK AT THAT PITCH ON 0-and-[BEEP]-2! With two outs in the bottom of the [beep] ninth! [Beep]! Let's go back to Little League, Carlos! Let's go back to Little League. Because that was [beep]. [Beep beep beep]."

The embarrassment to the RNC that is North Carolina Republican Vernon Robinson (a man already popular 'round these parts for his take-no-prisoners approach to political advertising) comes out swinging in his first debate with beleaguered incumbent Rep. Brad Miller:

Robinson, who has run a series of brash advertisements about Miller, charged that the Democratic congressman wants to import homosexuals to the United States and that Miller supported scientific studies that would pay teenage girls to watch pornography.

"Those are San Francisco values, not North Carolina values," said Robinson, repeating a common theme of his campaign.

Hard to argue with logic like that.

Mike Huckabee, on Imus yesterday (according to Wake-Up Call): "I don't know everything about foreign policy, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." Hard not to like the guy, isn't it? Even if he is crazy.

John Tierney, always eager to make himself look like an asshole, argues that Wal-Mart - by beneficently purchasing the wares of underpaid factory workers - has done more to alleviate poverty than Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank ever did. I'd hold it against him, but I think he was just trying to start a fistfight with Paul Krugman.

(To be fair to Tierney, that summary slightly bastardizes his argument. But to be correspondingly fair to me, Tierney bastardized economics before I bastardized Tierney.)

Name: Mike Grunwald and Jim VandeHei
Class: Mrs. Flannigan, English 4, Washington Post High School
Assignment: In the context of a news article (not an editorial piece), describe Dennis Hastert as vividly as possible in 50 words or less.

Hastert doesn't seem capable of intense anything; he has a conservative voting record but a moderate temperament. He looks like a cross between actor Wilford Brimley and Jabba the Hutt, and his unassuming Midwestern public demeanor makes for dull television.

"But we're sure he's a lovely person."