http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...v=rss_politics

Romance is in the air today across the land. But in Washington, the buzz continues about "The Kiss." No, not Gustav Klimt's famous painting. It's the big fat one an exuberant President Bush planted on Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's right cheek as he waded through the Capitol crowd after the State of the Union a couple of weeks ago.

The Connecticut Democrat said he didn't mind it and thought Bush was thanking him for his support of the administration's foreign policy. Or maybe it was for Lieberman's not dismissing outright Bush's Social Security proposal.



What could "The Kiss" mean? Speculation abounds. (Gerald Herbert -- AP)

_____In the Loop_____

• Going From Jail to Mars, and Beyond (The Washington Post, Feb 11, 2005)
• Smithsonian, OMB -- Plagued by Reds (The Washington Post, Feb 9, 2005)
• Rx for Doctors: A Dose of Humanity (The Washington Post, Feb 7, 2005)
• Gutierrez Denied First Aide (The Washington Post, Feb 2, 2005)
• Street, City, Zip -- and More (The Washington Post, Jan 31, 2005)
• More In the Loop






Add In the Loop to your personal home page.





Monday's Question:

The Democratic National Committee selected former presidential candidate Howard Dean as its new chairman on Saturday. Which former president or presidential hopeful has served as chairman of his party?
Barry M. Goldwater
Gary Hart
George H.W. Bush
Jimmy Carter







_____Free E-mail Newsletters_____

• Daily Politics News & Analysis
See a Sample | Sign Up Now
• Campaign Report
See a Sample | Sign Up Now
• Federal Insider
See a Sample | Sign Up Now
• Breaking News Alerts
See a Sample | Sign Up Now




Or maybe it was something else. There's been K Street chatter, our colleague Jeffrey H. Birnbaum tells us, that Lieberman could be on an administration list to replace Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in the next year or so.

That would be convenient for Lieberman, whose term is up in 2006, and could give Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) an opportunity to appoint a Republican to the seat for at least a few months before the election, inching the GOP closer to a filibuster-proof Senate.

Or maybe it's just love?

__________________
I'll get nicer when you get smarter.