The sad thing about this week's ScuttleButton puzzle is that Edward Snowden has already revealed the answer.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Tuesday or Wednesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle.

Re-elect Nixon in '72 — President Nixon carried 49 states against Democratic challenger George McGovern.

Member/Kennedy for President Club — Sen. Ted Kennedy challenged President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in 1980.

Senator D Huddleston — Not sure, but this could be from the Kentucky Democrat who served from 1973-84.

Praise Allah — The Islam prayer (officially, "Praise be to Allah").

picture button of the Three Stooges' Mo Howard — I soitenly had to include this one.

So, when you combine Re + Member + D + Allah + Mo, you may just very well end up with ...

Remember the Alamo! The famous expression travelers use when looking for a car rental at the airport.

The winner, chosen completely at random, is Jackie Kennedy of Paducah, Ky. Yes, that Jackie Kennedy. She gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

One of the last things Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel did before he resigned to join the Nixon Cabinet was to fill a Senate vacancy caused by the December 1968 death of E.L. Bartlett, a Democrat. Hickel picked a GOP state representative by the name of Ted Stevens. Stevens, who only months before lost a Republican primary bid for a different seat, went on to serve more than 40 years in the Senate, longer than any Republican in history. Appointing Stevens was by any definition a good move.

Less successful was Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's opportunity some 40 years later to fill a Senate seat. With Barack Obama having been elected president, Blagojevich decided to offer the seat to the highest bidder. By doing so, he got himself impeached, removed from office, and sent to prison. It was also the beginning of the end for Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a rising star who ultimately was brought down thanks to his own greed and crashed to Earth (and served time as well).

There are countless stories in which governors took risks in filling Senate vacancies. But the one New Jersey's Chris Christie faces in deciding who should succeed the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg could very well play a role in Christie's future political plans. As in, 2016.

Lautenberg, who had already announced his retirement and who, at 89, was the oldest member of the Senate, died of viral pneumonia on Monday, June 3. His death suddenly put all the focus on Christie. Whom will he pick as his successor? Will it be a Republican? Will it be a placeholder? And when will the special election take place?

These are not insignificant considerations, especially for someone who may have thoughts about 2016. Let's take them one at a time.

Who. We don't have a successor yet. In a Tuesday news conference, Christie said he expected to name a new senator by next week, but he refused to be pinned down as to whether it would be a caretaker (as Mo Cowan is in Massachusetts) or someone who would run for the seat (as Tim Scott will in South Carolina). Among the names being bandied about include Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and state Sens. Joe Kyrillos (the GOP nominee for the Senate in 2012 against Bob Menendez) and Tom Kean Jr. (who lost to Menendez in 2006). There have also been some murmurs about the senior Tom Kean, who served two terms as governor from 1982-89 and who is 78 years old. He would, if appointed, be thought of as a placeholder.

If you're wondering whether or not Christie could conceivably name a Democrat, fuhgeddaboudit. The gov. took a lot of heat from conservatives over his embracing President Obama in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy last fall, just before the presidential election; he is not about to risk his future by appointing a Democrat.

When. This was the tricky part. While there is considerable debate about what the law states, Christie was weighing appointing an interim senator for now and then holding the election in 2014, when Lautenberg's term was to expire. But Democrats cried foul, alarmed that a (probable) Republican would go into next year's election with a year and a half of experience as the incumbent under his or her belt.

The last thing Christie wanted was to have the special election fall on the same day as this year's gov. election, Nov. 5. His hopes of a landslide re-election over Democrat Barbara Buono might be jeopardized if the Democratic Senate candidate happened to be a charismatic figure, someone like Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a candidacy that could bring Democrats to the polls and rob Christie of a mandate (which he would love to tout to voters in Iowa and New Hampshire). Booker would also theoretically help Democratic candidates for the state legislature, which is also at stake in November.

So here's what he announced: A primary on Aug. 13 and the general election on Oct. 16, a Wednesday.

Democrats were furious, saying that having the election in October instead of on the regular November election day would cost the state some $24 million. The money angle may be their main talking point, but in reality their anger is aimed at Christie keeping Booker from appearing on the November ballot and pumping up turnout. Still, Christie's reputation as a fiscal conservative has taken a hit.

Republicans weren't too happy either; they would have preferred to have their appointee serve for 18 months going into the 2014 election.

But the governor stood his ground, denying politics played a part in his decision. He insists New Jersey can't afford to be without a senator, and the sooner one is elected the better off the state will be. (He even got some praise for that from Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who needs every vote he can get.)

Here's what Christie also accomplished. If the primary were to be held as previously scheduled in 2014, it would give pause to several Democrats who didn't particularly care for Booker but who didn't want to give up their safe House seats to challenge him. Now, with a 2013 primary, Reps. Frank Pallone and Rush Holt (and possibly Rob Andrews as well) will not be risking their day jobs to run. Pallone, who has a hefty bank account, is among those Democrats who resent Booker's angling for the Senate while Lautenberg was still wrestling with a decision about running again (or at least angry that Booker didn't, in their minds, have the courtesy to wait for the senator to announce his retirement). Lautenberg himself didn't hide his disdain for Booker. Such a Democratic primary could be nasty and brutal and, possibly, help elect the Republican candidate — something that hasn't happened in New Jersey since 1972.

To get on the August primary ballot, candidates need to file petitions with at least 1,000 signatures by 4 pm Monday.

The Lautenberg record. First elected in 1982, Lautenberg won again in 1988 and 1994. He retired from the Senate after 2000. But in late 2002, Sen. Robert Torricelli (a fellow Democrat but a Lautenberg rival) found himself caught in a campaign finance scandal and resigned his seat. Democrats pleaded for Lautenberg to come out of retirement and run again, which he did. Re-elected in a landslide in 2008, he was the longest serving senator in New Jersey history.

During his long tenure in the Senate, he was a strong proponent of gun control; just last month, while seriously ill, he voted to expand background checks for gun buyers. He also played a pivotal role in the passage of Obama's healthcare bill, the banning of smoking on airplanes, tougher drunk-driving and environmental protection laws.

New member. State Rep. Jason Smith (R) easily won Tuesday's special election in Missouri's 8th Congressional District to succeed Jo Ann Emerson, a Republican who resigned in January to head up the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn. Smith defeated state Rep. Steve Hodges (D) by 67-26 percent. Hodges, who ran stressing his support for gun rights and opposition to abortion, nonetheless was portrayed by Smith as "in the pocket" of President Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, neither of whom are especially popular in this very conservative district. Republicans have held the seat since Emerson's late husband, Bill Emerson, ousted a Democratic incumbent in 1980.

Happy anniversary. On Friday, June 7, Rep. John Dingell becomes the longest-serving member of Congress in history. The Michigan Democrat will have served 57 years, five months and 26 days, eclipsing the previous record holder, the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.).

Dingell was first elected in December 1955, a special election held three months after the death of his father, John Dingell Sr., who had served since 1933.

Political Updates. I post periodic political updates during the week — some serious, some not — on Twitter. You can follow me at @kenrudin.

Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. Last week's show focused on the problems faced by attorneys general in recent history, with special guests George Terwilliger, the acting A.G. during the George H.W. Bush administration, and David Yalof, a political science professor at the University of Connecticut and author of Prosecution Among Friends: Presidents, Attorneys General, and Executive Branch Wrongdoing. You can listen to the segment here:

Podcast. There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner in crime, Ron Elving, and me.

And Don't Forget ScuttleButton. ScuttleButton, America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can usually be found in this spot every Monday or Tuesday. A randomly selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. Last week's puzzle can be seen here. Sure, there's incredible joy in deciphering the answer, but the winner gets not only a TOTN T-shirt, but also a 3-1/2 inch Official No-Prize Button! Is this a great country or what??

Last week's winner: Walt Taylor of Ijamsville, Md.

ON THE CALENDAR:

June 11 — Virginia Democratic primary.

June 25 — Special Senate election in Massachusetts to replace John Kerry, who is now secretary of state.

June 26— Final "Political Junkie" segment on Talk of the Nation. TOTN ends on Thursday, June 27.

Aug. 6 — Seattle mayoral primary.

Aug. 13 — Special New Jersey Senate primary.

Sept. 10 — New York City mayoral primary.

Oct. 16 — Special New Jersey Senate election to succeed the late Frank Lautenberg (D).

Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********

This day in campaign history: Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, just moments after declaring victory in yesterday's Democratic presidential primary in California, is shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year old naturalized American citizen who was born in Jordan. The shooting took place as the senator was leaving the podium at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He had defeated Sen. Eugene McCarthy, a rival for the nomination, 46-42 percent (June 5, 1968). Kennedy died at 1:44 am local time on June 6, some 25 hours after he had been shot. He was 42 years old.

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org

It's time to solve this week's ScuttleButton puzzle.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Tuesday or Wednesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

Jefferson Governor 99 — Then Democratic Congressman William Jefferson unsuccessfully ran for governor of Louisiana in 1999.

Hair Loss? Ask Me! — Whatever.

Wings for Willkie (on plane) America — Wendell Willkie was the Republican nominee for president in 1940, losing to incumbent Franklin Roosevelt.

So, when you combine Jefferson + Hair + Plane, you may just very well end up with ...

Jefferson Airplane. The San Francisco psychedelic rock band from the love & flowers summer of 1967. While drugs and rock music almost destroyed our country back then, it took American ingenuity, and ScuttleButton, to save it decades later.

The winner, chosen completely at random, is Walt Taylor of Frederick, Md. Walt gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

It's taken awhile, but Tea Party activists and social conservatives are finally beginning to get smiles on their faces. Whether that will last through the November election is another story.

After watching their insufficiently conservative (in their view) presidential nominee lose last November, their opposition to taxing-the-rich fall by the wayside thanks to congressional Republican acquiescence, and changes in same-sex marriage and immigration coming faster than they might have wished, some on the right were becoming inconsolable.

Their spirits were lifted, of course, watching the Administration get stuck in controversies over Benghazi and the IRS. And they couldn't help but chuckle as the media, whom they regarded as Obama cheerleaders during the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, reacted harshly to Justice Department tactics over news leaks.

But they were absolutely ecstatic some ten days ago in Virginia, at the state Republican convention. That's where an unabashedly conservative ticket — for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general — was nominated. Ken Cuccinelli, the current A.G. best known nationally for his fierce opposition to abortion and Obamacare, was designated the gubernatorial nominee without opposition. State Sen. Mark Obenshain, whose late father was one of the founders of the Virginia conservative movement, got the nod for atty. gen.

But the real story was in the battle for lt. gov. E.W. Jackson, an African-American minister, former Marine and Harvard Law grad, with no money to speak of and who was given little chance, wound up winning the nomination on the fourth ballot. This is the same E.W. Jackson who ran for the Senate last year and finished last in a field of four in the primary with just five percent of the vote.

This year he was expected to finish once again out of the running, but he gave a speech that knocked the socks off the convention delegates. If Mitt Romney (and John McCain before him) were suspect conservatives — "squishes" — with no real ideological footing, Jackson is the real deal. His take-no-prisoners rhetoric delighted the convention delegates. Cuccinelli, running for governor, may want to soften his own pitch, focusing more on jobs and the economy than hot-button issues, in order to win over independents and moderates in November. Jackson? No way.

If primaries attract more voters from the mainstream, the purpose of having party conventions decide the nominee is to attract true believers, and that's who showed up in Richmond two Saturdays ago to nominate Jackson. And these activists are not the type to heed the warnings from national party leaders, who urge moderation and inclusiveness.

Besides, that's not Jackson's style.

He has in the past said that gays were "very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally," and compared homosexuality to pedophilia. He has said that Planned Parenthood has been "far more lethal" to blacks "than the KKK." Obama, Jackson says, sees the world "from a Muslim perspective."

Social conservatives love it.

And so do Democrats.

They are convinced that Jackson will frighten away swing voters and doom Cuccinnelli's chances as well. Even though the governor and lt. gov. are elected separately, you know the "Cuccinelli-Jackson ticket" will be the battle cry of the Dems in their effort to elect Terry McAuliffe, who has problems of his own, governor.

Some Republicans are noticeably concerned. Michael Steele, the party's first and only national black chairman, is one of them. "The Republicans I'm talking to are saying, 'What the hell are they doing in Virginia?'" he was quoted as saying in the Washington Post. "Is this '101 ways to lose an election?'" Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush, said that Jackson's "antigay slurs are indefensible." National Journal's Alex Roarty writes that Fleischer's comment "is indicative of the fact" that Jackson's campaign "is already under siege, so much so that some operatives are speculating he might yet drop out of the race."

Don't bet on it. Even more so than last year with Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin — another Republican whose incendiary comments defined his candidacy but who refused to drop out of the race — Jackson is not about to apologize for or soft-pedal his views.

And that puts Cuccinelli in a bind. His path to succeeding term-limited Gov. Bob McDonnell could be threatened if he distances himself from Jackson and in the process alienates himself with his party's base. Either way, he is going to be peppered throughout the campaign with demands for him to either repudiate or embrace Jackson's comments.

The IRS and politics. Nobody thinks that the controversy over the Internal Revenue Service and its pattern of singling out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status is going away any time soon. And that suits Tea Party folks, who have been railing against the IRS for years, just fine. That the agency may have violated the rules for ideological purposes is just one issue Republicans would love to focus on in the 2014 midterm elections.

President Obama has said it is "outrageous" and "unacceptable" to have agency officials play politics, and he's right. It's also correct to point out that many former presidents have used the IRS for political purposes; think FDR during the New Deal or Nixon during Watergate.

But only one former IRS commissioner in memory has ever run for public office. T. Coleman Andrews, IRS commish under Eisenhower, resigned his post in 1955, citing his opposition to the income tax. The following year he challenged Ike as a candidate for president on the States Rights Party ticket, calling for repeal of the tax. The ticket of Andrews and former California Congressman Thomas Werdel finished with 111,000 votes nationwide.

Political Updates. I post periodic political updates during the week — some serious, some not — on Twitter. You can follow me at @kenrudin. Here are some questions from this week's e-mailbag:

Q: I know you don't like to make predictions well in advance, but how about a quick yes/no on the chances the Republicans will win a majority in the Senate next year. — W. Franks, Alexandria, Va.

A: Don't hold me to this, but as of this writing, I say no. Republicans need a net gain of six seats to get to 51, and I don't see where they do it. As of now I have the GOP winning open seats in South Dakota and West Virginia, where Tim Johnson and Jay Rockefeller respectively are retiring. Arkansas and Louisiana are possibles, and maybe North Carolina too. But that's five. Anyway, check back with me in a couple of months, when we'll have a clearer picture of who's running and who's not.

Q: There are three Hispanic senators currently serving together — Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Robert Menendez. Is that the most there has been at one time? — Sandy James, Denver, Colo.

A: There were also three serving together between Jan. 2006 and Jan. 2009: Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and Menendez, who was appointed to his seat in January 2006. Salazar left in Jan. 2009 to join the Obama Cabinet as Interior Secretary, cutting the number to two, and Martinez resigned in August to become a lobbyist, leaving Menendez the only Latino in the Senate ... until the elections of Rubio in 2010 and Cruz in 2012.

Before them, there were only three total, and all were from New Mexico: Octaviano Larrazolo (R), a former governor who was elected to fill a vacancy in 1928 but illness prevented him from seeking a full term; Dennis Chavez (D), who served from 1935 until his death in 1962; and Joseph Montoya (D), first elected in 1964 and defeated in a third-term bid in 1976.

Q: In this week's trivia question about which former mayor won the most votes in presidential primaries, you also asked a follow up about which former Republican mayor had that honor. You never gave the answer. Was it Dick Lugar or John Lindsay? — Anthony Stevens, Raleigh, N.C.

A: Neither. It was James Rhodes, the former mayor of Columbus, who was Ohio's favorite son presidential candidate in 1964 (when he got 615,000 votes) and '68 (614,000 votes). Lugar, the ex-mayor of Indianapolis, attracted just 127,111 votes in his 1996 White House bid. By the time Lindsay ran for president, in 1972, he was still the mayor of New York City and had already switched to the Democratic Party; he won a total of 196,406 votes that year.

Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. Last week's show focused on the Obama/IRS controversy, with special guests Jack Pitney, a politics professor at Claremont-McKenna College in Calif., and Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster and president of the Polling Company Incorporated. You can listen to the segment here:

Podcast. There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner in crime, Ron Elving, and me.

And Don't Forget ScuttleButton. ScuttleButton, America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can usually be found in this spot every Monday or Tuesday. A randomly selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. You still have time to submit your answer to last week's contest, which you can see here. Sure, there's incredible joy in deciphering the answer, but the winner gets not only a TOTN T-shirt, but also a 3-1/2 inch Official No-Prize Button! Is this a great country or what??

Last week's winner: Steve Coughlan of Amherst, N.H.

ON THE CALENDAR:

June 4 — Special election in Missouri's 8th CD to replace Jo Ann Emerson (R), who resigned. Also: New Jersey gov. primaries.

June 11 — Virginia Democratic primary.

June 25 — Special Senate election in Massachusetts to replace John Kerry, who is now secretary of state.

June 26— Final "Political Junkie" segment on Talk of the Nation. TOTN ends on Thursday, June 27.

Aug. 6 — Seattle mayoral primary.

Sept. 10 — New York City mayoral primary.

Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********

This day in campaign history: Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, says at a Los Angeles news conference that if he loses to Sen. Eugene McCarthy in next week's California primary he might end his candidacy. Kennedy calls his defeat by McCarthy in yesterday's Oregon primary a "setback to my prospects ... which I could ill afford." Most observers feel that the real winner yesterday was Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who is competing with Kennedy and McCarthy for the nomination but is not on the ballot in any primary (May 29, 1968).

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org

Just a reminder that there is a possibility ScuttleButton may disappear from the NPR Web site in the next month or so. So if I were you, I'd sign up for the Political Junkie mailing list (info below) to make sure you'll be in the know as to where these irreplaceable and delightful features wind up.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Tuesday or Wednesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

OTB/One Term Beame — OTB actually stood for "Off Track Betting" in NYC. But, for this button, it meant wanting Mayor Abe Beame to lose in 1977, which he did, in the Democratic primary.

Me & McG — George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic nominee against President Nixon.

Stand Up! Wallace in '68 — George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama, sought the presidency as a third-party candidate in 1968.

Scotty Baesler for Congress 1996 — Baesler, a Kentucky Democrat, was first elected in the state's 6th District in 1992, serving six years until leaving for a Senate run, which he lost to Republican Jim Bunning.

So, when you combine Beame + Me + Up + Scotty, you may just very well end up with ...

Beam Me Up Scotty. A line never actually said by Captain Kirk to his top engineer, "Scotty" Scott, in any of the Star Trek TV shows or movies.

The winner, chosen completely at random, is Betsy Hilt of Nashville, Tenn. Betsy gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

And don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, which focuses on this year's elections in Virginia. Click here to read the column.

They can wiretap my phone and snoop through my e-mail all they want, but I will never reveal the answer to this week's ScuttleButton puzzle. At least until next week.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Tuesday or Wednesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

Appeal for Neal (caricature of Mr. Conan) Keep TOTN — Alas, it's not going to happen. But it's a great button!

Senator D Huddleston — Can't remember if I've ever used this in a ScuttleButton puzzle before, but Walter "Dee" Huddleston was a two-term Democrat from Kentucky who lost his 1984 re-election bid to Mitch McConnell.

Barb/Muskie Delegate — 1972 Democratic delegate button pledged to presidential hopeful Ed Muskie.

David Duke/U.S. Senate — The former white supremacist ran for the Senate as a Republican from Louisiana.

So, when you combine Conan + D + Barb + Aryan, you may just very well end up with ...

Conan the Barbarian. The 1982 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The winner, chosen completely at random, is Steve Coughlan of Amherst, N.H. Steve gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

And don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, which focuses on some memorable races for mayor of Los Angeles. Click here to read the column.

Horace Greeley may have suggested at one point that going west might be a good idea, but he probably wouldn't be happy to see what's going on with Los Angeles as of late. The Dodgers are in last place in the National League West, the Angels are hovering near the bottom of the American League West, and the Lakers' appearance in the playoffs was brutally short. Even Jimmy Fallon and NBC are bringing The Tonight Show back to Manhattan, deserting some place called Burbank after 40 years.

But if there is anything involving Los Angeles that always seems to get short shrift, it's their election for mayor. Many political junkies can quote you chapter and verse about the classic battles for City Hall in, say, New York or Chicago, but rarely does L.A. come into the conversation. And that certainly is true of today's (May 21) election.

Certainly, it's an election with historic potential. Wendy Greuel, the city controller, is one of the two candidates in the runoff, and if she wins she'll become the city's first female mayor. (New York can't even boast that, though that outcome is a possibility later this year.) Her opponent, city Councilmember Eric Garcetti, is 42 years old; if elected, he'd be the youngest mayor in more than a century. He'd also be the city's first elected Jewish (or half-Jewish) mayor; his mom is Jewish.

(L.A. once did have a Jewish mayor, Bernard Cohn, but as the Los Angeles Times' Patt Morrison points out in a fun column, he was "an appointee who served only a couple of weeks in 1878 after the elected mayor died." Still, Morrison adds, he "managed to stay in the headlines for years, once the world learned that he had kept his Jewish wife and three children on one end of town and his Catholic Latina mistress and six more children on the other.")

But I digress. Los Angeles mayoral elections are officially non-partisan; Greuel and Garcetti happen to be Democrats. And, quite frankly, neither is exactly lighting up the joint. They are both earnest, sincere, non-ideological candidates, neither of which seems certain as to how to handle the growing deficit, let alone tell voters which way they intend to take the city. No one is confusing their imagination and vision with what catapulted Antonio Villaraigosa into office eight years ago. Some of Villaraigosa's goals were met, while many — such as planting a million new trees — were not. The term-limited mayor leaves with his outsized personality and charisma still intact, but with a sense that a lot still needs to get done.

Perhaps this is the perfect time for a Garcetti or a Greuel to take over. Neither has promised much, so maybe there will be less likelihood of a voter letdown. But it's just hard to get worked up about it all.

Looking back. Not every L.A. mayoral race has put voters to sleep, but it would be a fair wager that voters would prefer a dull contest to the vitriol and ugliness of what happened in 1969. Back then, two-term Mayor Sam Yorty had long been on the outs with his fellow Democrats, having challenged Gov. Pat Brown in the 1966 primary and ultimately endorsing Republican Ronald Reagan in the fall. He was an all-out hawk on Vietnam and felt that the civil rights movement was being hijacked by Communists; his rhetoric during the Watts riots of 1965 was filled with distrust and innuendo. In the '69 contest, Thomas Bradley, a black city councilman, clobbered Yorty in the initial election, 42-26 percent. But Yorty made overtly racial appeals in the runoff and won by more than 50,000 votes out of some 800,000-plus cast.

(Check out this great 1969 archival footage of the first primary from ABC News and the runoff campaign from CBS News, courtesy of YouTube.)

Four years later, with Yorty's act wearing thin, Bradley led Yorty in the initial election and beat him in the runoff by 100,000 votes, including a majority of white voters, becoming the city's first African-American mayor.

Bradley is the longest-serving mayor in L.A. history, winning a total of five terms (including a rout of Yorty in 1981). In 1989, Bradley got a majority in the first round and didn't need to go into a runoff, and that hadn't happened with any L.A. mayor in decades. Like Yorty, Bradley sought the governorship twice, but Yorty never managed to win his party's nomination. Bradley was the Democratic nominee in both 1982 and 1986, losing each time to George Deukmejian (R); in '82 he was within an eyelash of becoming governor.

But his fifth term, which was marred by charges of police brutality and a worsening of race relations, all but collapsed in the riots that followed the 1992 trial in which L.A. police officers were acquitted of the beating of Rodney King, riots that led to deaths and massive property damage ... and a great loss to Bradley's leadership and legacy. He retired a broken man in 1993.

Then came Richard Riordan, a Republican who stressed his business experience and his promise to crack down on crime, a clear reference to what had happened to the city in the latter years of Bradley's tenure. Riordan became the first GOP mayor since Norris Poulson was ousted by Yorty in '61, and was re-elected in a 1997 landslide.

2001 brought James Hahn to city hall. Hahn was a long time government insider, serving as city controller as well as city attorney. Perhaps equally important was that he was the son of the legendary Kenneth Hahn, a longtime county supervisor who was well known as a civil rights champion and beloved in the black community. Jimmy Hahn was elected by some 40,000 votes, defeating Villaraigosa, who had been the speaker of the state Assembly. But Hahn made the controversial decision to replace Police Chief Bernard Parks, an African-American, and that cost him dearly with black voters. Villaraigosa, with the kind of charisma Hahn never had, walloped him in the 2005 rematch. He became the city's first Latino mayor since Cristobal Aguilar, who served from 1871-72.

And that brings us to today's runoff. Polls show Garcetti ahead, as he has been since the March 5 initial primary, in which he finished with 33 percent to Greuel's 29 percent.

Pittsburgh primary. As has been the case since the early 1930s, the winner of today's Democratic primary will become Pittsburgh's next mayor. Luke Ravenstahl, who became mayor in 2006 following the death of the incumbent and who got national attention for becoming, at age 26, the youngest mayor in the city's history, is not seeking re-election. With four candidates on the ballot, Tuesday's primary is basically between city Councilman Bill Peduto, who has often sparred with Ravenstahl, and Jack Wagner, a former state Auditor General who ran for governor

Pudding On the Ritz. In two previous Political Junkie columns (July 2, 2012 and Nov. 1, 2005) a question appeared concerning the meaning of an obscure campaign button — "I Like Judge Sutton and Rice Pudding Too!" I of course had no idea what it was in reference to either. But now the mystery has been solved. Milo Pyne of Durham, N.C., put a picture of the button on Facebook, asking for answers, and got his answer: "One of the local papers [in Nashville, Tenn.], the Banner I think, used to ask local attorneys to rate the judges. One comment made was that Judge Sutton had 'rice pudding for brains.' I remember my dad nearly fell out of the chair laughing at that because he'd had dealings with him and agreed completely."

No news is too trivial for Political Junkie.

By the way, there were several objections to my trivia answer on the May 1 Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. The question was, "Who was the most recent vice presidential candidate who, while out of office, later ran for the Senate?" My answer: Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 VP candidate, ran for the Senate from New York in 1992 and again in '98. Several people — Zachary Doering, Cathy Reynolds of Toledo, Ohio; Tim Cross of Williamsburg, Va.; Barbara Gunderson of Albany, N.Y.; Bill Simenson of Minneapolis, Minn.; Robert Smith of Denver, Colo.; Brent Rogers of Sydney, Australia; and Zachary Doering all thought the answer should have been Walter Mondale, an ex-VP who ran for the Senate from Minnesota in 2002 after the death of Paul Wellstone. But I specifically said that I was looking for the most recent VP candidate, not the one who ran for the Senate most recently. And Mondale was a VP candidate in 1976 and '80.

OK, so you guys don't get a t-shirt, but you do get honorable mention.

Political Updates. I post periodic political updates during the week — some serious, some not — on Twitter. You can follow me at @kenrudin.

Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. Last week's show focused on the growing list of Obama controversies, everything from the Benghazi talking points to the IRS focusing on conservative groups to the Justice Department combing through the phone records of Associated Press reporters. Special guest: former DNC chair Howard Dean. You can listen to the segment here:

Podcast. There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner in crime, Ron Elving, and me. I was out last week; the link below is the previous week's offering.

And Don't Forget ScuttleButton. ScuttleButton, America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can usually be found in this spot every Monday or Tuesday. A randomly selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. You still have time to submit your answer to last week's contest, which you can see here. Sure, there's incredible joy in deciphering the answer, but the winner gets not only a TOTN T-shirt, but also a 3-1/2 inch Official No-Prize Button! Is this a great country or what??

Last week's winner: Michael Ruffin of Fitzgerald, Ga.

ON THE CALENDAR:

May 21 — Los Angeles mayoral runoff. Also: Pittsburgh mayoral primary.

June 4 — Special election in Missouri's 8th CD to replace Jo Ann Emerson (R), who resigned. Also: New Jersey gov. primaries.

June 25 — Special Senate election in Massachusetts to replace John Kerry, who is now secretary of state.

June 26— Final "Political Junkie" segment on Talk of the Nation. TOTN ends on Thursday, June 27.

Aug. 6 — Seattle mayoral primary.

Sept. 10 — New York City mayoral primary.

Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********

This day in political history: President Richard Nixon nominates Warren Burger as Chief Justice of the United States. Burger, a 61-year old native of Minnesota and a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, would replace Earl Warren, chief justice since 1953, who is retiring. Burger is seen as a "strict constructionist" and a a conservative, compared to Warren, described as an "activist" and liberal Supreme Court justice (May 21, 1969). The Senate will confirm Burger June 9 on a 74-3 vote. The three opponents, all Democrats: Gaylord Nelson (Wis.), Eugene McCarthy (Minn.) and Stephen Young (Ohio).

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org

We know how the president feels about it. "We don't have time to be playing these kinds of political games in Washington," Barack Obama said on Monday, in what many took to be a full attack on ScuttleButton, America's favorite political game.

I beg to differ. I say we DO have time to play these kind of political games, especially when a tee-shirt and Political Junkie button are at stake. With Talk of the Nation going off the air in ks a month-and a half and the future of ScuttleButton at risk, I say this is the BEST time to be playing. Because once they outlaw ScuttleButton, only outlaws will have ScuttleButton.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday — or, as they call today, "Wednesday" — I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

APPA/Association for the Preservation of Political Americana — My ID badge at this 1974 button convention in New Jersey was signed by Bill Miller, the special guest and Barry Goldwater's running mate in 1964.

Before It's Too Late Vote Wallace In '68 — Former Alabama Gov. George Wallace ran for president as a third-party candidate in 1968.

Sheehan for Congress — James Sheehan was the Republican candidate against Rep. Andy Maguire in New Jersey's 7th CD in 1976.

Take the Chisholm Trail to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. — Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.) sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972.

So, when you combine APPA + Late + Sheehan + Trail, you may just very well end up with ...

The Appalachian Trail. Where Mark Sanford said he was in 2009 while he was actually meeting his mistress in Argentina.

The winner, chosen completely at random, is Michael Ruffin of Fitzgerald, Ga. Michael gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

Disgraced but asking for redemption.

I'm describing me, of course, after a spate of uneven ScuttleButton puzzles. Though, I must admit, I liked last week's offering.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday — or, as they call today, "Wednesday" — I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

Feinstein for Vice President — Then-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein was a Democratic VP hopeful in 1984.

Perot for President — Billionaire Ross Perot made an independent bid for the White House in 1992 and again, as a third-party candidate, four years later.

No Roberts Yes Roe ... Impeach Earl Warren ... Stop Souter — Three buttons in opposition to Supreme Court justices. And remember, whenever I arrange buttons horizontally, the answer I'm looking for is plural.

So, when you combine Dianne + Ross + 3 Supreme Court justices, you may just very well end up with ...

Diana Ross & the Supremes. Stop! in the name of ScuttleButton.

The winner, chosen completely at random, is ... Kelly Cherry-Leigh of Washington, D.C. Kelly gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

And don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, which talks about how history favors Joe Biden should he seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 ... but how history never accounted for a (potential) rival like Hillary Clinton. Click here to read the column.

It's pretty much a truism in American political history: If the president is not running again and the vice president wants his party's nomination, it's his for the asking.

That was the case in 1960, with President Eisenhower term-limited and Vice President Richard Nixon's path to the GOP nomination unimpeded.

It was also true in 1968, when President Johnson decided not to run again and his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, won the Democratic nomination despite not having entered a single primary. The quests of Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy ended in assassination in Los Angeles and violence in Chicago, but considering the way things were back in '68, Humphrey may have had the nomination locked up from the beginning.

And while the situations were not exactly the same, George H.W. Bush in 1988, Al Gore in 2000 and Walter Mondale, a former vice president, in 1984 had built-in advantages within the party that helped them get their respective party's nominations.

Some vice presidents, for one reason or another, have decided they didn't want the career advancement. Dan Quayle, a former V.P., skipped the 1996 race entirely (though he did make an ultimately unsuccessful bid for 2000). Dick Cheney made it clear from the beginning that he had no desire to succeed George W. Bush in 2008. Spiro Agnew, of course, had legal distractions that kept him out of the 1976 campaign.

The only vice president in recent history who wanted to get his party's nomination and succeed his retiring boss — but failed — was Alben Barkley. The number two under Harry Truman and a former Senate majority leader, Barkley made himself available for the nomination after Truman surprised the nation by taking himself out of the running in 1952, after losing the New Hampshire primary. But Barkley, who was 74 years old and in office for four decades, was dismissed as "too old" by many in the party, and that was the judgment from organized labor as well. The Democrats ultimately chose Adlai Stevenson.

By most accounts, Joe Biden would love to succeed Barack Obama. He of course has some of the problems that crippled Barkley; he will also be 74 years old in the next campaign. No one that old has ever been elected president. Ronald Reagan was 73 when he ran for a second term in 1984, a campaign where his age became a key issue. Bob Dole was 73 when he challenged President Clinton in 1996 and John McCain was 72 when he ran against Obama in 2008.

Biden has also run for president twice before, in the 1988 and 2008 cycles, and didn't exactly bowl anyone over in either attempt. The first time he didn't even survive 1987, and the second he was gone before New Hampshire.

Plus, he will have been in public office for 44 consecutive years. There are a lot of young(er) and ambitious Democrats mulling 2016, and while some may stay out should Hillary Clinton get in, there's no indication that any of them — Andrew Cuomo, Martin O'Malley? — would back away from taking on Biden.

Did I just mention Hillary Clinton? That may be Biden's biggest roadblock of all.

Just as the conventional wisdom says Biden wants to run in 2016, the same C.W. says Clinton is running as well. While handicapping a presidential race three years in advance is foolhardy, and while nobody wins the nomination because of conventional wisdom, by nearly every measure it seems like the Democratic nomination is hers for the taking. Yes, we did say the same thing two cycles ago, when she was the odds-on favorite for 2008 only to be overtaken by Obama in a classic battle that went down to the wire. But now, the argument goes, it's "her turn." She made the gallant attempt in '08 and served loyally as Obama's secretary of state for the next four years, and now it's time for her to be rewarded for her efforts. Her approval numbers are sky high, far better than they were in 2007-08, and are consistently higher than Biden's. As Obama broke a glass ceiling with his 2008 election, so would Clinton in 2016.

I just paused and checked the calendar — yes, it's only May of 2013 — and reminded myself that there is a silliness to all of this. Biden may not run. Clinton may not run. A lot may happen before we get to 2016 (ya think?). Heck, they may even cancel the election.

My only point is that yes, it is a rarity for a sitting vice president to be denied the nomination if he wants it. As incumbent V.P.s, Nixon, Humphrey, Bush Sr. and Gore all led their party into November. Now we are approaching the likelihood that another sitting vice president hopes to do the same. But this time the odds don't look good.

Sanford Surge in Carolina? Public Policy Polling, the Democratic-leaning firm that showed Elizabeth Colbert Busch up nine points over Mark Sanford two weeks ago, now shows the special election in South Carolina's First Congressional District "too close to call." But PPP's findings clearly indicate Sanford with the momentum: the former Republican governor leads 47-46 percent.

"Sanford has gotten back into the race by nationalizing it and painting Colbert Busch as a liberal. A plurality of voters in the district- 47%- say they think Colbert Busch is a liberal compared to 43% who characterize her as ideologically 'about right.' Colbert Busch's favorability rating has dropped a net 19 points compared to 2 weeks ago, from +25 then at 56/31 to +6 now at 50/44. ...

If SC-1 voters went to the polls on Tuesday and voted for the candidate they personally liked better, Colbert Busch would be the definite winner. That's why Sanford's campaign has tried to shift the focus toward national Democrats who are unpopular in the district, and that's been a key in helping him to make this race competitive again. ...

The other key development in this race over the last two weeks is that Republicans are returning to the electorate. On our last poll, conducted right after the trespassing charges against Sanford became public, we found that the likely electorate had voted for Mitt Romney by only 5 points in a district that he actually won by 18. That suggested many Republican voters were depressed and planning to stay home. On our final poll we find an electorate that's Romney +13- that's still more Democratic than the turnout from last fall, but it's a lot better for Sanford than it was a couple weeks ago."

The election is today.

Political Updates. I post periodic political updates during the week — some serious, some not — on Twitter. You can follow me at @kenrudin.

Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. Last week's show, with guest host John Donvan, focused on the Sanford-Colbert Busch race in South Carolina. You can listen to the segment here:

Podcast. There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner in crime, Ron Elving, and me.

And Don't Forget ScuttleButton. ScuttleButton, America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can usually be found in this spot every Monday or Tuesday. A randomly selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. You still have time to submit your answer to last week's contest, which you can see here. Sure, there's incredible joy in deciphering the answer, but the winner gets not only a TOTN T-shirt, but also a 3-1/2 inch Official No-Prize Button! Is this a great country or what??

Last week's winner: Dale Smith of Franklin, Tenn.

ON THE CALENDAR:

May 7 — Special election in S.C. 01.

May 21 — Los Angeles mayoral runoff. Also: Pittsburgh mayoral primary.

June 4 — Special election in Missouri's 8th CD to replace Jo Ann Emerson (R), who resigned. Also: New Jersey gov. primaries.

June 25 — Special Senate election in Massachusetts to replace John Kerry, who is now secretary of state.

June 26— Final "Political Junkie" segment on Talk of the Nation. TOTN ends on Thursday, June 27.

Aug. 6 — Seattle mayoral primary.

Sept. 10 — New York City mayoral primary.

Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********

This day in campaign history: New York Gov. Herbert Lehman (D), in office nearly ten years, announces he will not seek a fifth term in November. As the state's lt. gov., he ran to succeed Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, when FDR left to run for president; Lehman won four terms, the last one a narrow victory over Manhattan District Attorney Thomas Dewey in 1938 (May 7, 1942). Dewey will win the election in November. New York had two-year gov. terms until '38, when it was increased to four years.

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org

The headlines have not been especially kind to Senate Democrats lately as they, for the second consecutive cycle, head into an election with a numerical disadvantage and more open seats to defend.

But looking at an election by simply counting the number of seats up that year or where incumbents are retiring misses the point. In 2012, the mantra was the Republican Party was going to win a Senate majority because the numbers so clearly favored them; they needed a net gain of just four, and of the 33 seats up that year, 23 were held by the Democrats. Plus, of the 10 senators retiring voluntarily, only three were Republicans. So the opportunities for GOP pickups were there.

The reality, of course, was different. Of the six Democratic and one Dem-leaning Independent incumbents who were retiring, Republicans were able to pick up only one of the seats — Ben Nelson's in Nebraska. Once, they were talking about winning the seats of the departing Dan Akaka (Haw.), Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Jim Webb (Va.) and Herb Kohl (Wis.), as well as knocking off incumbents Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Jon Tester (Mont.). None of that happened. In fact, despite the favorable numbers, the GOP actually lost seats (a net of two) that year.

With Democrats (including two indies) currently holding 55 of the 100 Senate seats, the Republican task in 2014 is a bit greater; now the GOP needs a net pickup of six.

But, once again, the numbers favor them; of the 35 seats up next year, 21 are held by the Democrats, only 14 by the Republicans. And again, the key number is the retirements: of the eight quitting, six are Democrats.

Will that translate into sizable Republican gains? Who knows? Sometimes, in "wave" election years, competitive seats usually go in one direction; think of the big anti-Republican years of 2006 and 2008 and the big anti-Democratic year of 2010. The fact is, we still have a ways to go before we know what the political landscape will look like next year, and whether or not the "six year itch" — a midterm election six years into the president's term — will really play into voters' decisions. In the meantime, here's an early-bird look at the open Democratic seats:

IOWA (Tom Harkin retiring): The landscape looks much better for Democrats here than it does for Republicans. While the Dems (including Harkin) have lined up early and easily behind Rep. Bruce Braley, the GOP is still searching for a candidate. Initially the buzz was that Republicans would undertake an ideological battle between two sitting House members, establishment choice Tom Latham and Tea Party fave Steve King. Then Latham said he wouldn't run. Then King gave some indication that he was wavering as well, though sources say he is still considering running. Entreaties to Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds went nowhere; Branstad had been seen as a Latham backer. Now the focus seems to be on David Young, the chief of staff to Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has been sending out feelers to donors and party officials. Other possibilities include state Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey and Secretary of State Matt Schultz; some GOPers say they haven't given up on Latham. Until then ... Leans Democratic.

MICHIGAN (Carl Levin retiring): Democrats seem to be rallying around three-term Rep. Gary Peters, who had been mulling a run for governor when Levin announced his retirement. Peters is expected to formally declare his candidacy tomorrow (May 1), a decision that seemingly was made easier now that Debbie Dingell, wife of Rep. John Dingell and a DNC powerhouse, said she would not run. For the Republicans, Rep. Justin Amash, a Tea Party favorite, is looking at it, along with fellow Rep. Mike Rogers and former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. Republicans haven't won a Senate seat in Michigan since Spencer Abraham in 1994, but they note that they defeated Peters in 2002 when he ran for state attorney general. Democrat favored.

MONTANA (Max Baucus retiring): Republicans must be going into the 2014 elections a bit dispirited, having been convinced they would oust Sen. Jon Tester (D) last year, only to come up short. Now they are facing another opportunity, but Democrats insist that Baucus' retirement and the likelihood that former Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) will run actually strengthens their chances. It might. Republicans would love to entice another former governor, Marc Racicot, into the race. The two Republicans already in the race in what would have been an uphill challenge to Baucus are not well-known at all. Meanwhile, ex-Rep. Denny Rehberg, who lost to Tester in 2012, indicates he might be inclined to run again, saying he is "not ruling anything out." Tossup.

NEW JERSEY (Frank Lautenberg retiring): The action here will likely be determined in the Democratic primary. And there's no guarantee that there will be one. By all accounts, Newark Mayor Cory Booker is the odds-on favorite for the Democratic nomination. He is a prodigious fundraiser with a great story and a winning personality. What he doesn't necessarily have is a success at running Newark, N.J.'s largest city. Lautenberg has not hidden his contempt for Booker, who talked about running for the seat before the senator officially announced his retirement. Lautenberg has said that Booker would be better off doing more mayor-type stuff and less fundraising around the country. The question for Rep. Frank Pallone (D), who has long wanted to be in the Senate, is whether it's worth taking on an icon like Booker in a primary. Pallone has some $3.7 million in his House bank account, money he can legally transfer to a Senate campaign. And he would be expected to have the backing of county party organizations that remain loyal to Lautenberg. Republicans haven't won a Senate seat here since 1972. Safe Democratic.

SOUTH DAKOTA (Tim Johnson retiring): Republicans have long been confident they can win this seat, with or without Johnson in the race. Their apparent nominee was long thought to be former Gov. Mike Rounds, but there remains the possibility that two-term Rep. Kristi Noem, the state's at-large member of the House who is thought to be more conservative, could join the race as well. On the Democratic side, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who was ousted by Noem in 2010 after three terms and has kind of faded from view shortly thereafter, has reappeared as a potential candidate. Complicating her decision are the plans of Johnson's son, U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson, who is also thought to be interested in the seat but will, along with the rest of the Democrats, wait to see what Herseth Sandlin is planning. Republican favored.

WEST VIRGINIA (Jay Rockefeller retiring): This state is the longest Senate losing streak for the GOP in the country; Republicans haven't won a Senate seat here since a 1956 special election, and they promptly lost it two years later. But they have a real shot in Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R), a savvy 7-term House member who is the daughter of former Gov. Arch Moore. One thing that could jeopardize the party's chances is a primary challenge to Capito from conservatives that could weaken her in November. It's too soon to gauge the strength of Pat McGeehan, a former state delegate, who has joined the race. Democrats are still without a candidate; names currently bandied about include Secretary of State Natalie Tennant and state Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis. One Democrat who had earlier been making noises about running, Rep. Nick Rahall, is now expected to seek re-election to his House seat. Republican favored.

As for the two open Republican seats, the feeling is that Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) will run for the seat being vacated by fellow Republican Mike Johanns, and if he does he probably wins. There is less certainty about Georgia, where Saxby Chambliss (R) is leaving after two terms. Already two Republican congressmen, Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey, have announced their candidacies. A third, Jack Kingston, is thought to be close to joining them and a fourth, Tom Price, is considering it, as are other Republicans. Broun is a no-nonsense conservative who has a strong following in the Tea Party and has been endorsed by Ron Paul. But he also has a history of wading into topics with controversial and inflammatory statements, and Democrats say they would win the seat if he were the GOP nominee. But first they need a candidate, and there's no certainty their top choice, Rep. John Barrow, a Blue Dog in good standing, will run. Another Democratic possibility is Michelle Nunn, the daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn.

The early guess here is that Republicans keep their two open seats.

S.C. 01. The debate was intense and personal. A "slugfest," Politico called it, and that's pretty accurate. Elizabeth Colbert Busch and Mark Sanford went at it for 75 minutes on Monday night, in advance of their May 7 election.

And that leads into this week's Political Junkie Poll. The question is NOT whom you would vote for; it's which candidate do you think will win.

Political Updates. I post periodic political updates during the week — some serious, some not — on Twitter. You can follow me at @kenrudin.

Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. Last week's show focused on tough decisions that lawmakers must make, with two former House members as special guests, Marjorie Margolies (D-Pa.) and Chris Cannon (R-Utah). You can listen to the segment here:

Podcast. There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner in crime, Ron Elving, and me.

And Don't Forget ScuttleButton. ScuttleButton, America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can usually be found in this spot every Monday or Tuesday. A randomly selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. You still have time to submit your answer to last week's contest, which you can see here. Sure, there's incredible joy in deciphering the answer, but the winner gets not only a TOTN T-shirt, but also a 3-1/2 inch Official No-Prize Button! Is this a great country or what??

Last week's winner: Jerica Mercado of Blackfoot, Idaho.

ON THE CALENDAR:

April 30 — Special Massachusetts Senate primary.

May 7 — Special election in S.C. 01.

May 21 — Los Angeles mayoral runoff. Also: Pittsburgh mayoral primary.

June 4 — Special election in Missouri's 8th CD to replace Jo Ann Emerson (R), who resigned.

June 25 — Special Senate election in Massachusetts to replace John Kerry, who is now secretary of state.

June 26— Final "Political Junkie" segment on Talk of the Nation. TOTN ends on Thursday, June 27.

Aug. 6 — Seattle mayoral primary.

Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********

This day in campaign history: Former Sen. Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts becomes the first Democrat to formally declare he is a candidate for his party's 1992 presidential nomination. Tsongas, who served two terms in the House and one in the Senate before retiring after 1984, when he was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system, says he will focus on the nation's economy, calling himself a "pro-business liberal" (April 30, 1991).

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org

An openly gay basketball player? Next thing you know, there will be openly clever ScuttleButton puzzles.

Only not this week.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

Hicks for Halloween (pic of a witch on a broomstick) — Louise Day Hicks, a vocal anti-busing leader, ran for mayor of Boston in 1967 and 1971, losing each time to Kevin White. In between she served in Congress.

Rocky Or Nobody — The wearer of this button wanted Nelson Rockefeller for President in 1968 and no one else.

Gandy Governor — Evelyn Gandy sought the Democratic nomination twice in Mississippi, losing the 1979 and 1983 primaries.

I (heart) NY — Campaign from the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, circa 1970s.

So, when you combine Witch + Nobody + Gandy + NY, you may just very well end up with ...

Which Nobody Can Deny. Witch just happens to be the next line to last week's answer, For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.

The winner, chosen completely at random, is ... Dale Smith of Franklin, Tenn. Dale gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

And don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, which focuses on the open Senate seats at stake in 2014 and other assorted goodies. Click here to read the column.

Lots of people have been inquiring about the future of ScuttleButton. While I wish I had an answer — I don't, not yet — I'd like to suggest that you sign up for the Political Junkie/ScuttleButton mailing list. That way, I will be able to share the information once I have it (see info below).

And what exactly IS ScuttleButton, you may ask?

It is, of course, that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

Save Voorhees Campus/N.Y.C. Community College — The budget cuts in the 1970s threatened many New York City institutions, including its city colleges.

A — An oft-used ScuttleButton favorite, this button was obtained at an Anarchist Party bookstore in NYC in the 1970s.

Vernon Jolley U.S. Congress — Jolley was the Democratic nominee against Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) in 1986.

Goode/Democrat for Mayor — Wilson Goode was elected mayor of Philadelphia in 1983, becoming the first African-American mayor of that city.

Buck Fella — Button of unknown identity.

So, when you combine Voorhees + A + Jolley + Goode + Fella, you may just very well end up with ...

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow. The old popular song.

The winner, chosen completely at random, is ... Jerica Mercado of Blackfoot, Idaho. Jerica gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

Hopefully, the disappointment/frustration of that April Fool's ScuttleButton has subsided and now you're ready for the real stuff.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — many days after the puzzle first goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.

Here are the infamous buttons used in the April Fool's puzzle:

Re-elect Roy Dyson/The Best Man for Our Bay Country — Dyson was a Democratic member of the House from Maryland.

Wooo! Wooo! (picture of train) — Nothing more than that.

Let's Get It Straight/Vote For Davis in the 8th — Need more information about this button.

Kennedy Is Sex, But McCarthy Is Love — One difference between two Democratic presidential candidates from 1968.

So don't even bother adding these up. They don't amount to anything other than the fact that the puzzle was posted on April 1st.

And yet, some figured it out. And the randomly selected winner is Lori Rose of Greenbackville, Va., who wrote, "After struggling for hours with this week's puzzle I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there is no solution-April Fool's prank??"

It was indeed. Lori gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!

And don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, which focuses on the Mark Sanford and Anthony Weiner attempts for political redemption. Click here to read the column.

In the past three decades or so, when writing about political sex scandals became an art form, the tendency has always been to lump everyone together. There are many differences between, say, what Anthony Weiner did and what Mark Sanford did. And, while we're at it, what John Edwards and Mark Foley and Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich and Marion Barry and Gary Hart and Wilbur Mills and Buz Lukens and Kwame Kilpatrick and Larry Craig and Eliot Spitzer and John Ensign and Barney Frank and all the others have done as well. Yet, when one writes about "sex scandals" and "politicians," you'll often see all these fine gentlemen included in the article, despite the differing circumstances.

But in some ways it's not that much of a stretch to link Sanford with Weiner, considering the fact that they are two high profile pols who in recent years humiliated their wives, abandoned by their supporters and who are now either seeking "redemption" (the current buzzword) with the voters or contemplating doing so.

While their actions are quite different in scope — Sanford fell in love with another woman and Weiner sent lewd pictures of himself on Twitter — both followed a similar pattern. Immediately their inclination was to lie. Sanford was "hiking on the Appalachian Trail;" Weiner's Twitter account was "hacked." And when their stories fell apart, they switched to tearful, icky, TMI Total Confessional. Sanford managed to serve out his term, even though he was censured by the state legislature for using government funds to hide his affair. For Weiner, it took just one month to go from adamantly denying he had sent the racy photos (or feigning ignorance as to whether the pictures were really of him) to resigning his House seat in June of 2011.

They also both totally humiliated their wives and shamed their families. Sanford's affair led to divorce; he is now engaged to his Argentinian firecracker. Weiner's wife, who was pregnant at the time the notorious Tweets were being sent out, is staying put. Sanford was in love with the "other woman," which was/is not the case with Weiner.

It's one thing to ask for forgiveness and seek redemption from the voters; Sanford and Weiner seem to be reading from the same script. But it's another to give them a reason to vote for you. The task may be a little easier for Sanford. First of all, the stars began to align in his favor when the representative from South Carolina's First Congressional District, Tim Scott, was appointed to the Senate to fill a vacancy. In a Republican district that went 58 percent for Mitt Romney last year, Sanford was easily the most well-known and best-financed Republican in the race to succeed Scott. Besides, he held the very same seat for three terms before he retired in 2000 (and then went on to serve eight years as governor). He still has a decent shot at winning the May 7 general election.

It's a tougher road for Weiner, whose scandal is unlikely to ever be forgotten (and even if that were possible, there will always be the front page of the New York Post to remind you of it). And even if Weiner can ignore the shameful and embarrassing treatment he is assured of getting from the city tabloids, he still has to get by a serious list of other Democrats who want to be mayor, one that includes the speaker of the city council, two citywide-elected officials (the public advocate and comptroller), and the unsuccessful 2009 Democratic nominee, among others. He has already reportedly spent a hundred thousand dollars in polling for a potential run and has more than $4 million in the bank that could be used for a campaign. And his recent comments, highlighted by Sunday's New York Times Magazine cover story, made it clear that his itching for City Hall has not diminished one bit, not since he first tried in 2005, when he made a strong bid in the Democratic primary.

What he may not realize is that there is no great need for him to return to politics, even among his fellow Dems. Bloomberg Businessweek's Joshua Green writes that Weiner may be blind to how others see him: "One reason Weiner has so few friends is that most members of Congress, including his fellow Democrats, regarded him as chiefly concerned with his own aggrandizement — he spent more time shouting at Republicans on cable television than legislating."

In some ways, Anthony Weiner is a very smart guy. In many ways, he reminds me of Gary Hart. Yes, I know, I warned against sex-scandal linking at the beginning of this post. But there are a lot of similarities between the two. Hart, of course, was the frontrunner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, the "new ideas" candidate, until he was caught spending a weekend in April of 1987 with one Donna Rice, a woman who happened to not be his wife. Humiliated and the subject of endless mockery from late night comedians, Hart dropped out of the race within a month. But then, shockingly, he re-entered the contest in mid-December, saying voters were not hearing about the key issues from the candidates, such as "strategic investment economics," "military reform" or "enlightened engagement." Maybe so, but the straight-faced pronouncement from Hart came seemingly with the belief that voters would be thinking of "strategic investment economics" when they saw him. It was as if he were blinded by his own self-importance.

Hart was gone from the race a few months later, having won not a single delegate.

Similarly, Weiner has started talking about the issues that face New York City. He wants a single-payer health care system. He would raise taxes on the wealthy. He wants to encourage people to commute to work by bike. He wants more "transparency" in the police department.

Will anyone be listening?

Good Looks Department. President Obama wandered into a bit of controversy the other day when he said of Kamala Harris, California's AG, that she "happens to be, by far, the best looking attorney general in the country." Within minutes came the usual head-scratching, with many wondering if Obama's comments were, in the words of GWU Associate Law Professor Naomi Schoenbaum, writing in Slate, "simply a statement of opinion, a gaffe, or a form of benign sexism."

Of course, this is not the first time Obama has gotten into hot water over his comments about women; one may recall his description of Hillary Clinton as "likeable enough" during a 2008 debate. And don't think for a minute that this is solely an Obama issue. How many times, for instance, have you seen references to Sarah Palin's or Scott Brown's looks?

The fact is, nobody can be the "best looking" anything without an official Political Junkie Fake Poll.

Political Updates. I post periodic political updates during the week — some serious, some not — on Twitter. You can follow me at @kenrudin. Here's one sampling from the mailbag:

Q: You wrote that Hillary Clinton will be 69 years old in 2016 and that if she won, she would be the oldest woman ever elected president of the U.S. But wouldn't she also be the youngest, since no woman has ever been president? — Roberta Chandler, Chicago, Ill.

A: Yes, of course. I was just being playful. Sometimes being playful doesn't translate well in print.

Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. Last week's show focused on the prospects for gun and immigration legislation. You can listen to the segment here:

And speaking of TOTN ... Lots of wonderful notes from so many friends expressing their thoughts about Talk of the Nation and, of course, the Wednesday Political Junkie segment ending at the end of June. Your expressions of support mean more to me than you know.

Podcast. There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner in crime, Ron Elving, and me. With Ron on vacation last week, Mara Liasson stepped in to substitute.

And Don't Forget ScuttleButton. ScuttleButton, America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can usually be found in this spot every Monday or Tuesday. A randomly selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. People are still unhappy about the most recent puzzle, which you can see here, and which — given its April 1 posting, turned out to be an April Fool's Joke. A genuine puzzle returns this week. And remember, whether the puzzle is for real or not, the winner still gets not only a Political Junkie T-shirt but also a 3-1/2-inch Official No-Prize Button!

ON THE CALENDAR:

April 24 — Hillary Clinton first post-government paid speech, National Multi Housing Council in Dallas.

April 30 — Special Massachusetts Senate primary.

May 7 — Special election in S.C. 01.

May 21 — Los Angeles mayoral runoff. Also: Pittsburgh mayoral primary.

June 4 — Special election in Missouri's 8th CD to replace Jo Ann Emerson (R), who resigned.

June 25 — Special Senate election in Massachusetts to replace John Kerry, who is now secretary of state.

June 26 — Final "Political Junkie" segment on Talk of the Nation (TOTN).

Aug. 6 — Seattle mayoral primary.

Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********

This day in political history: The House ethics committee says it found "reason to believe" that Speaker Jim Wright violated House rules 69 times over the past ten years, mostly over allegations that the Texas Democrat enriched himself regarding a book-publishing scheme and accepting improper gifts from a Fort Worth developer. Wright insists he is innocent of the charges (April 17, 1989). On May 31, Wright will make a dramatic announcement on the House floor, saying he will resign effective June 6, rather than contest the charges.

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org