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Zeitgeist Checklist, Escalation/Surge EditionWhat Washington is talking about this week.

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Rebutton That Shirt, Dennis Kucinich!

8. Last week: 3 Weeks on list: 10 [DOWN ARROW]2008. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., announces his presidential candidacy by calling Don Imus, a venue befitting his long-shot candidacy. Next week, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., plans to enter the race by telling the guy behind the counter at his local Arby's. But the big campaign news is all the media attention that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., gets after he's photographed shirtless. The Zeitgeist sincerely hopes that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson didn't read that last sentence.

Kerry Could Use Some Help, Too
9. [NEW THIS WEEK]Sports That Americans Like. Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn are elected to baseball's Hall of Fame, but suspected steroid user Mark McGwire is shunned for stonewalling a congressional inquiry by refusing to talk about the past. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice immediately hires McGwire as a consultant.

It Wasn't the Knicks?
10. [NEW THIS WEEK]Homeland Security. Urbanites scramble for indoor cover after a foul odor wafts through New York City. They calm down after extensive monitoring rules out a chemical or biological attack, and ultimately identifies the odor as New York City.

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Michael Grunwald, a staff reporter for the Washington Post, is the author of The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise.
Illustrations by Vivian Selbo.
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