Dear Readers: You probably don’t receive those goofy e-mails with the ICYMI subject lines (In Case You Missed It) from both parties, but I do. It gets a little old, but it is effective, so today I am borrowing it for my post. ICYMI, these are some great news tidbits that have been overlooked but are sure to please.
1) Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was irked about Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize but didn’t seem to want to say so. Instead, he told Bloomberg, “Because I thought Buddhist monks dying deserve the award in no way, in my view, diminishes the accomplishments that he’s made.” Don’t count McCain out in Iowa — he’s locking up the Buddhist vote.
2) Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) said in his interview, which aired this morning on NBC’s “Today Show,” that not only did Mitt Romney throw him under the proverbial bus but that “he backed up and ran over me again.” That Craig is in fighting form, appealing the judge’s rejection to withdraw his guilty plea and just loving that job he plans to keep. Which begs the question: Is this guy close friends with Alberto Gonzales?
3) Turns out Ann Romney, who has multiple sclerosis, and Elizabeth Edwards, who has breast cancer, occasionally talk about life as a spouse of a presidential candidate while struggling with illness. Sorry to sound like Hillary Clinton here, but it is impressive that while their husbands must convince voters the sky will fall if their opponent is elected, the women manage to remain sane and even friendly. You go, girls.
4) ICYM his running marathon of Hillary references, Rudy Giuliani came up with a great line he will want to patent: “Hillary has just begun to spend your money.” He brings out a notepad to consult a mock list, for emphasis. That guy is clever.
5) Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is campaigning hard for the underage and unregistered. According to a story in The Wall Street Journal last week, he is courting “Barack Stars,” 17-year-old enthusiasts who will turn 18 before the November election and are therefore eligible to vote in the caucuses in January, despite not having registered yet to vote. These people are hard to find since they do not appear on voter registration lists, and Obama’s rivals have yet to discover them. If Obama ever pulls it out in Iowa, he will owe it to the teen scene.
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What are we overlooking here in Washington? Send your favorite political tidbits and questions to askab@digital-staging.thehill.com for my weekly Q & A.