SUPER-MOI IS BACK: The Houston Chronicle gives the very bad news:

Victor Morales, the Dallas-area schoolteacher known for his low-budget bid to upset Sen. Phil Gramm in 1996, plans to run as a Democrat for a congressional seat in South Texas. Morales, 56, of Crandall, said he will file his candidacy paperwork for House District 28 this week in Austin.

He stands to be the third Democrat to enter the race in the largely Democratic district that extends from the San Antonio area to Laredo.

Incumbent Henry Cuellar of Laredo is running for a second term, and ex-Rep. Ciro Rodriguez of San Antonio has said he will try to regain the seat he lost after being beaten by Cuellar in a disputed primary in 2004.

Rodriguez is the only one of the three who lives in the district. There are no residency requirements for congressional seats.

The walking disaster returns. Remember 2002, when he hopelessly threw his hat into the U.S. Senate primary, forcing sane people to waste resources on an unneeded runoff? (Looks like he's setting up to do precisely that again, in a district he does not even reside in.) Remember how he told the press after that defeat that he would never ever run as a Democrat again, and would consider other parties instead? (Why weren't we so lucky?) Remember his clueless campaign for the Senate in 1996, when he refused to cooperate with other Democratic candidates or the party, and them condemned them for not supporting him when he lost? (And lost as badly as Gene Kelly, who didn't even campaign, which seems to indicate Victor's campaigning actually hurts his vote totals.) Remember how his local campaign shed disgusted volunteers like water off a dog's back? This man's ego is not just Texas-sized, but galactic. He does not play well with others, he never listens to advice from people who do have any experience, and he thinks everything is about him. It's not. What a waste of ink on the ballot.

TAKING OUT THE "X":

War in Iraq, war against terrorism, war in Afghanistan, move over -- today, House GOP leaders have decided there is a more pressing war to attend to: the fictional war against Christmas, which apparently requires protection for Christmas symbols. And what happened when Democrats asked that the symbols of Chanukah be protected along with the symbols of Christmas? The House GOP simply said "no." ...

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA): "Madam Speaker, this resolution purports to protect the symbols of Christmas, but what really needs to be protected are not the symbols of Christmas, but rather the spirit of Christmas. The spirit of Christmas demands generosity and goodwill towards others. Instead of legislation that respects the spirit of Christmas, Congress in just these past few weeks has passed a budget that includes mean-spirited attacks on the least of us. For those who are hungry, we are cutting food stamps. For those who are sick, we are cutting Medicaid. For those who are in prison, we are imposing senseless mandatory minimums. For others we are ignoring increases in heating costs and cutting student loans. At the same time we are cutting those programs to help the least of us, we are cutting taxes for the wealthiest in society. Madam Speaker, we ought to express our passion for Christmas through deeds, not words; and we should not be distracted from our responsibility to uphold the spirit of Christmas as we consider the effects our actions on the Federal budget will have on the least of us during this holiday season. For these reasons I oppose this resolution."

YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A GOD:

U.S. Sen. Trent Lott is suing his insurance company over his beachfront Pascagoula home, which was leveled by Hurricane Katrina.

DESPERATELY SEEKING SCAPEGOATS:

The role of Vice President Dick Cheney as the administration's point man in security policy appears over, according to administration sources. Over the last two months Mr. Cheney has been granted decreasing access to the Oval Office....

"There's a lack of trust that the president has in Cheney and it's connected with Iraq," a source said.

The sources said Mr. Bush has privately blamed Mr. Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for the U.S.-led war in Iraq. They said the president has told his senior aides that the vice president and defense secretary provided misleading assessments on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, as well as the capabilities of the regime of Saddam Hussein.

And a strong dash of hubris:

Mr. Bush is not expected to replace Mr. Cheney unless the vice president follows the fate of his former chief of staff.

Since the Veep is elected for a four-year term and cannot be fired, his response would likely be Shakespearean:

GLENDOWER I can call spirits from the vasty deep.
HOTSPUR Why, so can I, or so can any man;
But will they come when you do call for them?