Our Hill Intern Hotties contest is in full swing. Click here to vote on the women; click here to vote on the men.

Some of the nominees, either directly or through intermediaries, have requested that they (or their pictures) be removed from this contest. We regret to inform them that we cannot honor such requests. If we honored some of these requests, we'd have to honor all of them; and if we honored all of them, we'd no longer have a contest. So, in the interest of fairness, the field of competitors will remain unchanged. (It's also too late to add nominees; but thanks to all of you for belated nominations.)

More importantly, at this point the contest is about much more than the nominees. It's about the democratic will of the people, in search of hotness on the Hill. To remove a contestant would disenfranchise the voters who have already voiced their support for a candidate. And we, just like Miss Angela, oppose disenfranchisement.

If you're a nominee who fears that being in this contest will cause you to be taken less seriously, get you fired from your internship, or harm your budding political career, your fears are baseless. First, as we have repeatedly emphasized, all of the nominees were nominated by people other than themselves -- so a competitor cannot be faulted for winding up on the list of hotties. They didn't put themselves there; rather, their hotness did.

Second, your success in a Hill beauty pageant can only enhance your political future. Politics is largely about name recognition, and this contest gets your name out there. Moreover, studies have repeatedly shown that attractive people fare better than unattractive ones in their careers -- even if hotness has nothing to do with their job responsibilities.

Consider this example. In July 2004, a young federal appeals court judge named John G. Roberts was nominated as a Superhottie of the Federal Judiciary. Judge Roberts wound up taking fifth place in the competition -- an impressive showing.

Almost exactly one year later, Judge Roberts was nominated to the United States Supreme Court. On September 29, 2005, he was sworn in as the 17th chief justice of the United States.

Coincidence? We think not.

So, to all you Hill Intern hotties out there, just roll with the punches. Instead of ungratefully bemoaning your nomination as a hottie, revel in it. You may someday owe your U.S. Senate seat to your incredible good looks!

Earlier:Prior coverage of Hill Intern Hotties (scroll down).