Here is the video of Vladimir Putin kissing a little boy. Like a kitten. On the stomach. Yeah, it’s kind of weird, but what’s weirder is that the Russian press seems to be taking this all very, very seriously. C’mon, guys, loosen up — no one cared when Silvio Berlusconi [didn't] hump that meter maid. MORE »

Cory Booker, the charismatic young black politician who’s often compared to Barack Obama, just won a landslide victory in the Newark mayoral election. Booker’s previous mayoral campaign was the subject of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Street Fight.” We previously chronicled Booker’s campaign in these pages, with specific reference to his blogging at the Huffington Post. MORE »

The Nation’s blog (called, irritatingly, “The Notion”) has a charming little piece about the Italian Elections, a fitting political obituary for Silvio Berlusconi: MORE »

* Names & Faces: Bono says he feels “exploited” by the use of his photo in campaign literature for Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi. [WP]
* Washington Whispers: Playboy and Penthouse are banned from State Department newsstands at the request of Condoleezza Rice. . . Josh Bolten recently cut work to watch a few Washington Nationals games. . . Fidel Castro could die within the next few years, American officials contend. . . Frank Luntz has a favorable view of Mark Warner. . . Rep. Nancy Pelosi misses the chocolate she gave up for lent. [USN&WR]
* Page Six: Site indicates Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) may have kept a “love nest” with his former chief of staff. . . Jenna once woke Bush up and made him call her then-boyfriend Blake Gottesman after they fought. [NYP]
* Lloyd Groves’s Lowdown: Gore blames Bush for failures surrounding Katrina and 9/11 in the “green issue” of Vanity Fair. [NYDN]
* The Scoop: Susan Sarandon wants national elections to be monitored by a third party: “The last one was an embarrassment. Everybody knew there was fraud, but nothing was done about it.” [MSNBC]

* Rep. Cynthia McKinney hits a Capitol Police officer with her cell phone. We’ve been all over this one — our coverage is collected here (scroll down). MORE »

First things first: MORE »

Update: Correction Appended MORE »

* Reliable Source: J. Robert Oppenheimer biographers try to get his reputation restored, but reopening of case is nixed by judge’s son … Oscar Predictions: “Andrew Sullivan… pegs… Philip Seymour Hoffman….” (quote edited for hilarity). [WP]
* Under the Dome: Silvio Berlusconi gets an enthusiastic reception from Italian-American Congressmen, including Pat Leahy, who is a “Grand Official of the Republic of Italy” … Bottles of Pepto-Bismol sent to members of Congress by group protesting changes in state food-safety laws … Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) makes rhetorical leap from Thomas Edison to criticism of ports deal. … Congress about to let smoking ban pass. [The Hill]
* Lloyd Grove: Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) bashes Ports deal. Her husband Bill, meanwhile, praises Dubai as an “ally,” may have a financial stake in seeing them get the deal. [NYDN]

Oh, Silvio. Silvio Silvio Silvio. MORE »

* Reliable Source: Laura and Barbara Bush travel to Rome to visit with the Pope and Silvio Berlusconi before attending the Olympics; Jenna is staying home to teach. . . Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich booed at basketball game. . . Reese Witherspoon stops by Burger King near the White House. [WP]
* Under the Dome: Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) is popular among “jocks-turned-GOP pols”. . . Tony Blair blames troubles on “The West Wing.” [The Hill]
* Inside the Beltway: King Abdullah II “likes to walk around” the Georgetown Safeway. [WT]
* Rush & Molloy: McCain flack complains director of “Why We Fight” documentary “intentionally twisted” the senator’s quotes about Cheney. . . McCain and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) lunch and laugh with Richard Gere. [NYDN]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Bill Weld lunches with John Ashcroft. . . Nora Ephron: “[Chris Matthews] is a perfect example - although obviously exaggerated - of what happens to men in the presence of Senator McCain. They lose their minds. They suck up. They turn absolutely giddy. They ask questions they don’t care about the answers to. It’s Valentine’s Day.” [NYDN]

* Reliable Source: Stephen Colbert to headline White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. . . Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, George Shultz, and Charles Krauthammer partied at Cafe Milano on Friday. . . Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledges abstinence until election in April. [WP]
* Under the Dome: Sen. McCain’s home is a tough sell at $3.75m. . . Sen. Cornyn (R-Texas) lampooned Sen. Kennedy (D-Mass.) with remarks on Alito. . . Comedian Steve Carell runs for Congress in upcoming film. [The Hill]
* Inside Politics: Sen. Ensign (R-Nev.) suffers slight injuries after head-on collision with sleepy driver. . . Bush calls Bill Clinton “my new brother”. . . Tony Blair’s son begins congressional internship today. [WT]
* Page Six: “Enviro-babe and screenwriter” Nora Maccoby likely behind Bush’s State of the Union environmentalism. [NYP]
* Liz Smith: Chip Reid married on Jan. 2. [NYP]
* Rush & Molloy: Bill Clinton uses Davos forum to state, for the record, that he is not married to John McCain. [NYDN]