• Diane Feinstein is richer than you. [SFluxe]
  
• Tom Kean has a plan to lower gas prices, if he could just get that damn computer to work. [Hotline Blog]

• Orrin Hatch has backed some pretty strange legislation, but what else do you expect from a guy who wears triple-starched tab collar shirts? [FireHatch]

The talented folks at From the Roots, with the help of Photoshop, bring us this picture:

As we previously discussed, it seems that Thomas H. Kean Jr. — the New Jersey state senator (and son of the popular former governor), now a candidate for the U.S. Senate — intentionally got himself stuck in traffic. This allowed Kean to arrive late to a fundraiser hosted by Dick Cheney, so he wouldn’t have to be photographed with the unpopular veep.

There is, of course, another possible explanation for Kean’s late arrival. Perhaps Kean followed these driving directions — which would explain why it took him so long.

A third hypothesis to explain Kean’s absence: he didn’t want to get shot in the face. Can you blame him?

We Made the Photo That Tom Kean Jr Feared [From the Roots:: Pulling the Bush Out]
The Official Tom Kean Jr. Google Driving Directions for Central New Jersey (Cheney fundraiser edition) [Attytood]

Earlier: Poor Cheney, Stood Up Again, Had Only His Unimaginable Power and Billions of Dollars to Console Him

Brilliant political move of the day: Getting intentionally caught in traffic to avoid being photographed with the Vice President.

For his part, Mr. Kean said he had been in Trenton all day, voting on important bills, because “I would not miss votes in order to make a political event.” As soon as the Senate wrapped up, around 4 p.m., he traveled north “as quickly as I could.” But instead of taking the New Jersey Turnpike, like any regular commuter between Trenton and Newark, he and his driver chose Route 1, which is usually crawling with bumper-to-bumper traffic at that hour.

Mr. Kean said he did so because there were delays on the Turnpike in the morning. But at 6 p.m., there were no reported delays between Exit 7A, not far from Trenton, and the George Washington Bridge, according to the Turnpike’s Web site.

This “rank-and-file Republicans distancing themselves from the Administration” story will be way more fun if it keeps being this literal. We want to see Congressmen losing their car keys (whoops! can’t attend that fundraiser!) and would-be governors not answering their phones (“no, I didn’t get that text, Mr. President — I musta turned my phone off when I went to that… meeting”).

Republicans are the new college students. “What, you don’t talk to us for a month and now we’re supposed to send you a check? When do we get to meet this girl you’ve been seeing? Are we too embarrassing to meet your ‘cool’ new friends?”

Cheney at Fund-Raiser, but Not With the Candidate [NYT]

• Roberts supports privacy rights, wavers on Roe; Schumer is "pleasantly surprised." Gary Bauer: "A careful reading of the transcript shows he committed to nothing once [Roberts] is on the court. We are left with what we always had. . . a new conservative majority." [WP, WP, NYT, NYT, WSJ, LAT, USAT]
• Bush: "Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government, and to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong." [WP, NYT]
• Roberts remained posed and cautious: "He listened. He smiled. He nodded." Brownstein: He "exuded the quiet confidence of a man who knew that he was ahead in the game during a lengthy but mostly sedate confirmation hearing Tuesday. . . Roberts' performance marked a bright spot for a White House battered by criticism of its response to Hurricane Katrina, and demonstrated the inherent vitality of presidential power." [NYT, LAT, NYT]
• FAA knew Al Qaeda wanted "to hijack a commercial jet and slam it into a U.S. landmark" in 1998 and knew vulnerability of airports. Kean: "[Katrina] is not a terrorist incident, but it brings into play all of the same issues and shortcomings. . . Whoever is responsible for acting in these places hasn't acted. Are they going to do it now? What else has to happen for people to act?" [NYT, WP]
• Democrats, led by Hillary, seek investigation of government's response to Katrina. [NYT]
• Homeland Security officials will oversee distribution of Katrina relief funds to ensure responsible spending. [WSJ, NYT]
• Texas grand jury issues more indictments in DeLay case. [WP, LAT]