THE MANY ADVENTURES OF AMERICA’S NAKED SENATOR: Scott Brown, the New Ted Kennedy, and just as slutty: “I would love to go on a bike ride with Lance Armstrong, just for those few hours, just like to say hi, just to like hug him.” Epic transcription, AP. UPDATE: Let’s just use this same post to say that Ben Bernanke was confirmed for his second term, 70-30. Space is precious on the Internet. [AP/NYT]

John Edwards joined Lance Armstrong for some sort of bicycle race across Iowa today. Edwards was the only candidate to accept Armstrong’s invitation to ride in the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Race Across Iowa (or RAGBRAI), because the rest of them are too old or too scared of the thousands of dangerous amateur cyclists looking to run down a celebrity or politician. MORE »

Every week, our Anonymous Lobbyist answers your questions about how laws get made and why they probably shouldn’t. If you have a question about the dirty business of doing business in Washington, ask her.

This week, our lobbyist finds God, then promptly loses Him again. Plus: can you get away with fucking that intern?

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The Daily Briefing is on vacation. MORE »

• Names & Faces: Bush’s bike ride with Lance Armstrong tomorrow is an exclusive Discovery Channel event. . . Story by columnist John McCaslin is published in “Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul.” [WP]
• Inside the Beltway: DNC files FOIA request about Roberts. [WT]
• Liz Smith: Clinton: “I think if there were a president in my party again, no matter who it was, and I was asked to do anything, I would do it. Anything!”. . . Vernon Jordan is certain Hillary could be president. [NYP]
• Page Six: Giuliani is set to play softball in East Hampton with Carl Bernstein, Ken Auletta, and Alec Baldwin. [NYP]

• Bush to ride with Lance Armstrong in Crawford, though without traditional cycling attire: “There are certain things that age brings with it, and not wearing the form-fitting Lycra shorts is one of them, if you know what I mean.” Somehow we think things would have been different under Kerry. . . . McCain takes son and pal out to congratulatory dinner Arlington. . . 41 percent in TIME survey have no idea what to think of “Influential Hispanic” Alberto Gonzales. [WP]
• At George Soros‘ 75th birthday party in Southampton, he “pitched giant air-conditioned tents” (heh) and invited Indian and African performers to entertain guests, moguls found planes grounded, however, and had to take car services to city. [Rush and Malloy]
• That’s one way to distinguish yourself from Hillary: Jeanine Pirro likes silky underthings and margaritas. [Page Six]
• Novelistic take on the War on Terror has Bush asking, “Can we somehow throw a kind of electric blanket around New York?” [Cindy Adams]
• Walter Isaacson keeps Washington’s eyes ” turned west looking to Aspen” with thrill-a-minute dialogues starring the likes of Joe Lieberman. [Liz Smith]