ROD BLAGOJEVICH IS YOUR NEW KING OF POP: Failed atavistic Fellini villain Rod Blagojevich has been spotted peddling his clownish Elvis impersonation grift at a parade in downtown Chicago. Shame on you Rod Blagojevich, for this obvious insult to the memory of John Hughes. [Chicago Tribune]

Each week, veteran Condiwatcher Peter Huestis (also known as Princess Sparkle Pony) provides a summary of the searing wit and infinite wisdom of America’s Favorite Princess Diplomat™!

Last week, our plucky favorite asked for just over a thousand new secretaries, skipped off to London and then hooked up with dreamy David Miliband for an OMG SURPRISE trip to Afghanistan, but I had trouble paying attention because I kept getting distracted by touching artistic tributes to Madame Secretary scattered all over the web. Learn more about Condi’s week and the Condicentric art world after the jump!

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Hey, remember when the Clintons lived in the south? Arkansas or somewhere? State where a lot of the Democrats are black? Hillary went back there this week to touch base with the folks and got a big nod from the King himself — Elvis! Or, to be more accurate, “Belvis,” the black Elvis. MORE »

• New DC based reality show tries to drum up buzz from bloggers, who think it’s “a big giant pile of who gives a fucking shit.” [Rock Creek Rambler]

• Mayoral candidates also crash and burn in trying to court bloggers. [Metroblogging DC]
• There’s no better way to remember the king’s last day than downing an obscene amount of cocktails. [Washington Cube]
• At least for a weekend, DC won’t have the highest concentration of nerds on the planet. [Last Second Thoughts]

We just got around to watching the Bushes on Larry King (you caught us, we didn’t see it last night — we were busy, ok?), and the only interesting thing appears to have been Larry’s boots. So, here they are. Larry King’s boots. And George W. Bush implying that King wants him to make out with Joe Lieberman. “Politically kiss him,” which is, from what we understand, kinda like gay-for-pay.

Other random thoughts, after the jump.

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Yeah, while you guys were rebuilding your devastated cities and salvaging your national dignity, we were pretty much doing this. (AP)

It’s Friday. We don’t want to think, you don’t want to read. So we’re gonna take advantage of our AP images subscription to give you some suitable-for-framing pictures of the weirdest Presidential photo-op we’ve seen in some time.

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Looks like we’ve found our new stock Tony Snow image. (AP)

When two world leaders come together to, in the words of expert pooler Joseph Curl, celebrate “the power of freedom and democracy” by “pay[ing] tribute to a drug-addled sex addict who died on the toilet,” magic happens. Continuing our blanket coverage of the goofiest World Summit since Yalta, here are excerpts from today’s AF1 gaggle:

Q Did you hear the Prime Minister say anything this morning, like, I really want to go to the jungle room?

MR. SNOW: No, I haven’t, but I’m sure he’s anticipating it as eagerly as the rest of us are.

Q Is the President wearing anything Elvis-y?

MR. SNOW: No. Neither of them is wearing Elvis-y regalia. That has been only staffers who have been reduced to wearing bad sunglasses.

So much more (”they’re working out or getting drunk — we’re not sure”), after the jump.

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• Reliable Source: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Bushes are visiting Graceland today. [WP]

• Page Six: Bill Clinton dines with Chelsea and her boyfriend, Marc Mezvinsky, at the Central Park Boathouse. [NYP]

As we’ve said a few times, the rumors of trouble in the Bush marriage are certainly plausible to us, but once you throw a Condi affair into the mix, we don’t buy it. CNN’s online photo editors, though, present a much more convincing case. MORE »

• More Koizumi/Bush/Elvis funnies — though Zengerle fails to point out that the Japanese Prime Minister looks remarkably like Jim Jarmusch. Or is that just us? [The Plank]

• There’s some sort of fight going on over in liberal blog-land, involving Kos, TNR, fascism, and now, “velvet gloves.” Keep up the kink and we might actually get interested. [TAPPED]
• Bounce! Bounce! Bounce! [The Corner]
• Counterterrorism blog to those who think Bush will pay attention to Hamdan: O RLY? [Counterterrorism Blog]

“Ok, now this time, you be Nixon.” (AP) MORE »