WASHINGTON - Pundits say the darnedest things on TV. Take, for example, the genius who said in January that "the president has a fairly easy" re-election ahead of him.

WASHINGTON - It is axiomatic in these political times that The Candidate must submit to comedic humiliation - with grace, humor and the skin of an armadillo.

This has not been a great season for the Christmas tree. First there was the short-lived federal effort to add 15 cents to the price of a tree to support promotion of the industry - a fee derided by opponents as a "Christmas tree tax.

WASHINGTON - Atop the House chamber Wednesday morning, the flag fluttered in the breeze. In his office underneath the Capitol dome, House Speaker John Boehner twisted in the wind.

WASHINGTON - Callista Gingrich has done something she might come to regret - succumbed to the Twitter fairy and opened the door to unwelcome scrutiny.

WASHINGTON - Here in the capital, there is a whole new etiquette at stoplights. Upon arriving at a red light, drivers apply the brakes, pick up their mobile devices, and begin reading and sending emails.

The Republicans' final debate preceding the Iowa caucuses is suddenly uncompelling. There is nothing to do but write about Christopher Hitchens, whose death has made the world immeasurably less interesting.

WASHINGTON - It has become commonplace to say that Washington is broken, but rarely does one get to see all the broken parts perform live and in concert as they did on the Senate floor Wednesday morning.

WASHINGTON - Oh, quelle gaffe. Rarely has such a small, innocuous, truth-based remark garnered so much attention from the chattering classes as Mitt Romney's proposed $10,000 bet with Rick Perry during this past weekend's Republican primary debate.

WASHINGTON - The conservative radio host Michael Savage this week presented an unusual offer to Newt Gingrich. "Newt Gingrich is unelectable," Savage said of the improbable new front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.