* Thanks to the Iraq war and the rich getting richer, there's a budget surplus projected for 2012. [WP]

* Senators facing reelection in 2008 increase pace of their waddling to escape reporters and pesky questions about Iraq. [WP]

* Walnuts McCain white washes his record of staff-bashing with new "Good Dude Doctrine." [NYT]

* Barack Obama realizes he doesn't have a guitar that only plays Purple Rain, chooses to focus campaign on message rather than rock star status. [WP]

* Immigrants and lawbreakers are first to face The Great DNA Harvest. [NYT]

* Traffic jam fetishists to rally against Administration's "congestion initiative" funding. [WSJ]

* John Edwards has that not-so-fresh feeling. [NYT]

* "The nonbinding resolution would have no more force of law than the one approved Thursday commending the Miss America Organization ." [LAT]