Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman buddy up at the Munich Security Conference, prompting self to do some hasty Photoshoppery:

Get it? It's Dino and a rhino.

It's a blessing and a curse, folks. A blessing and a curse.

The Alabamienne* unmasked.

* - See Jessica Cutler.

I can't believe I didn't bet.

(Though, as I pointed out to a friend, had I bet, the Steelers would almost certainly have lost.)

The highlights of The Hotline's terrific roundup of political Super Bowl predictions:

• Sen. Evan Bayh: Steelers.
• David Brooks: Steelers, 35-10.
• Charlie Cook: Steelers by six.
• Sen. John McCain: Pittsburgh by ten.
• Mike McCurry: "My heart says Steelers but my wallet says take Seattle and the points."
• Keith Olberman: Steelers "by a touchdown or more."
• Gov. Ed Rendell: Steelers, 27-10.
• Sen. Rick Santorum: Steelers, 31-10.
• Sen. Arlen Specter: Steelers are "going to whoop them."

See the trend? (Granted, the trend is a bit more pronounced thanks to the fact that I just kept Seattle picks off the list [with the exception of Mike McCurry], but still, the trend is there.) And for the record, my prediction: Seattle comes out hot in the first, and the Steelers go into halftime trailing by seven. A big second half for Roethlisberger turns it around, and Bettis puts the game away with a four-yard touchdown run in the middle of the fourth quarter. Steelers by eleven.

Seriously?

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman continued to tickle political speculators Thursday, revealing that he met with three high-profile Democratic U.S. senators about a possible run for the Senate.

I know he's a heap of fun and a barrel of laughs and all that, but... seriously?

The Cabinet comes out swinging.

Energy

Bush vowed to fund research into better batteries for hybrid vehicles and more production of the alternative fuel ethanol, setting a goal of replacing "more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025."

He pledged to "move beyond a petroleum-based economy and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past."

Yesterday, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said: "This was purely an example."

"Yeah, you know that fifty-minute speech the President gave last night? You weren't supposed to, like, take that literally."

Defense

Reporter: One clarification on "the long war." Is Iraq going to be a long war?
Rumsfeld: No, I don't believe it is. We're training up these folks and passing over responsibility every day. Another piece of real estate was passed over yesterday and -
Reporter: Didn't you say -
Admiral Edmund Giambastiani¹: The size of Kentucky - the size of Kentucky -
Rumsfeld: Was passed over? Is that right?
Giambastiani: On the 26th of January.
Reporter: Say that again.
Giambastiani: On the 26th of January, two areas - one, Diwaniyah and the other one called - I don't know if I have the pronunciation correct - Wasit - W-A-S-I-T in English. They're about the size of the state of Kentucky, were passed over to the Iraqi 8th Army.

"Long war? Iraq? I don't think you're fully comprehending the significance of the Kentucky-sized pieces. There's, uh, Diwaniyah. That's one. One Kentucky. And Whatsit? Whosit? Something else, that's two Kentuckys. You see what I'm saying? Two Kentuckys, people. Christ, it's like pulling teeth."

1 - Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs

This is excellent.

But in Washington, [Bernanke] is barely on some people's radar screens. Indeed, here is what Senator George Allen of Virginia, who is considering a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, said when asked his opinion of the Bernanke nomination.

"For what?"

Told that Mr. Bernanke was up for the Fed chairman's job, Mr. Allen hedged a little, said he had not been focused on it, and wondered aloud when the hearings would be. Told that the Senate Banking Committee hearings had concluded in November, the senator responded: "You mean I missed them all? I paid no attention to them."

(Thanks to Wake-Up Call.)

What do you think pissed Rep. Bill Young's (R-Fl.) wife off more? That she was being asked to leave the State of the Union, or that she now has something in common with Cindy Sheehan?

"They said I was protesting," she said in a telephone interview late Tuesday. "I said, 'Read my shirt, it is not a protest.' They said, 'We consider that a protest.' I said, 'Then you are an idiot.'"

She said she was so angry that "I got real colorful with them."

Update (8:57pm, 2/1): If Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer was an emoticon, he'd be that sheepish one:

On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said neither woman should have been removed from the chamber. "We made a mistake," he told CNN.

He said an apology was made to Bill and Beverly Young, and the congressman has been told that Capitol officers will receive better training. He said they are operating under outdated guidance on House rules regarding demonstrations.

Another Update (3:48pm, 2/2): Beverly Young is turning out to be quite the Anna Benson, isn't she?

After a night of fingerprinting and booking and lockup, Sheehan departed the city. But Young had not, and her response as she enjoyed hugs from supporters yesterday after the apology was to call Gainer "an idiot." Witnesses said her words for him were much saltier the night before.

She was enjoying hugs from supporters?

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to present your brand new, freshly minted House majority leader: Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio)!

He's doing it for the power, sure; he's doing it for the cushy office, past which all the tourists must file; and he's doing it for those daily chin-wags with the chinful Denny Hastert. But most of all - and this is what moves me - most of all, he's doing it for the kids. For the kids!

The Ex-'Burgher has been posting Tecmo Super Bowl playoff previews for a couple of weeks now, and it's worked out pretty well for the Steelers, so he's back with a simulation of Super Bowl XL, his best work yet. The verdict: Steelers 29, Seahawks 14.

As pointed out by both Last Call and Wonkette: people on the Internet are fast.

The State of the State of the Union
20 hours late

I would have live-blogged this, but for the following three things:
1. I lack the initiative.
2. Can't really stress that first reason enough. And,
3. (The kicker:) Very few people actually read this blog. So it wouldn't have been worth the hassle.

Away we go:

Blue tie. The speech hasn’t even started yet, and I’m already behind the 8-ball in the predictions quiz.

Top billing to Coretta Scott King was a nice choice.

"The state of the union is strong, and together we will make it stronger." 0 for 2.

"The terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear." Which I guess makes them aptly named.

"America rejects the false comfort of isolationism." Take that, traditional conservatives!

"Those of us in public office have a duty to speak with candor." We don't do it, of course, but we at least respect the fact that a lot of people expect it.

Anyone else notice that he seems to be relying more heavily on the teleprompter on his right side (the Democratic side [and the Sam Alito side]) than the one on his left hand side (the Republican side)?

"Freedom is on the march." I didn't particularly admire the rhetoric of that sentence the first time he used it, and that was several years ago. Yet still it continues to thrive. I've got a great mental picture of George W. Bush, 93 years old, while watching the holonews with his virtual great-grandson, saying approvingly of the invasion of Australia by PepsiMobilChina, "Freedom is on the march, little George! Freedom is on the march."

"I urge Congress to act responsibly, and make the tax cuts permanent." Finally got one right!

What the speech text said: "This year my budget will cut it again, and reduce or eliminate more than 140 programs that are performing poorly or not fulfilling essential priorities." What the President said: "This year my budget will cut it again, and reduce or eliminate more than 140 programs... that are performing poorly or not fulfilling essential priorities." A little pause can make all the difference in the world.

"Our government has a responsibility to provide health care for the poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility." Really? (I half-expected the applause following this particular line to fade out as Members mentally processed the second clause of that sentence.)

Topline priority for the Advanced Energy Initiative? Investing in more coal-fired plants. You can't make this stuff up, folks.

Closing strong: nearly finished, and we've just hit the highlight of the speech: the President calls on Congress - with a reference to "the Creator," no less - to prohibit the creation of "human-animal hybrids." I surrender.