Hank Johnson: Wimp

The out-of-nowhere politician who upset Rep. Cynthia McKinney has promised not to beat up the cop whom she smacked with a cell phone.

"I apologized to him for any embarrassment the incident may have caused him or his family, and he appreciated that," Johnson added. "I told him if he ever asked me to comply, that I would, that he wouldn't have to worry about that."

Johnson, 52, is among more than 50 new members in town this week to learn the ropes of a becoming a member of Congress. He is one of three new black members and the only new practicing Buddhist.

A Buddhist? Jesus Christ.

In all seriousness, the fuss about Nancy Pelosi's intervention in the House majority leader race (most amusingly overplayed here) obscures an interesting fact about the new Democrats - by the end of the year they might have purged two of their most unqualified members. McKinney's gone, and Rep. William Jefferson (of $90,000-in-the-freezer fame) is expected to lose a runoff for his House seat. There are still plenty of corrupt Democrats to promote, but thus far they're doing a better job of purging the caucus than Dennis Hastert used to.