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Zeitgeist Checklist: Gonzales Death-Watch EditionWhat Washington is talking about this week.

By Christopher BeamUpdated Saturday, March 17, 2007, at 12:08 AM ET

(Continued from page 1)

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Less Stuff Exploding Than Usual
6. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 38 [SAME] Iraq. Violence is down in Baghdad! Violence is down in Baghdad! Despite the improvements, officers express cautious optimism—you know, the kind of optimism you express when you have "only" 102 bombings in the past month. Another good sign: The Shiite militia led by Muqtada Sadr is lying low—cooperating, even—as U.S. troops make security sweeps. That said, it's hard to forget who's boss in a place called Sadr City.

The Motorcade Diaries II: Escape From Guatemala
7. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 2 [DOWN ARROW] Latin America. President Bush completes his pan-American Hugo Chavez Rebuttal Tour 2007. His theme: improving education, funding health care, restoring faith in the United States. His method: slashing Latin American aid by 8 percent. In Mexico, President Felipe Calderón chides the United States for ignoring Mexico, except when it wants to build a 900-mile fence along the border. As a gesture, Calderón promises to fight drug-running, but only if Americans stop all the drug-snorting, -shooting, -inhaling, -licking, and -eating that makes the drug-running possible. Bush's visit to Colombia lasts all of seven hours—just long enough to spark a riot.

Fire Sale
8. Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 19 [DOWN ARROW] 2008. Eleven official and potential candidates jockey for endorsement at the International Association of Fire Fighters' presidential forum. Crowd favorites included John "son of a mill worker" Edwards and Hillary "daughter of a textile businessman who made sure factory owners treated their workers equitably" Clinton. Former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R) promises "to defeat these people that the media people have considered to be the leading candidates," prompting media people everywhere to frantically Google "James S. Gilmore." Notably absent is Rudy Giuliani, whom union leaders have slammed in the past for his treatment of fire fighters after 9/11. He doesn't need them, anyhow: His campaign is used to putting out fires.

Godless Man Miraculously Elected
9. New This Week [UP ARROW] Religion. California Rep. Pete Stark becomes the highest-ranking elected official to confess he does not believe in God. Thirty-four years in Congress will do that to you. Humanist groups credit Stark for flouting taboo. Just wait till they find out Hillary Clinton is a woman.

Plame Game
10. New This Week [UP ARROW] Espionage. Real-life Bond girl Valerie Plame, the face that launched a thousand subpoenas, testifies before Congress. She wants to set the record straight that she was working undercover when "fall guy" Scooter Libby and others leaked her identity to members of the press. As for why she waited so long to speak out, she could tell Congress, but then she'd have to kill them.