REP. TOM LANTOS IS DEAD: The California Democrat was the only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in Congress. He was also a super delegate for Hillary ….[AP]

Former State Senator Jackie Speier made official yesterday what had already been assumed: she’s running for Congress again. Accompanied by Congress members Anna Eshoo and Mike Thompson to a park named after her assassinated boss Congressman Leo Ryan, Speier announced that she was officially in the “race” for the seat that the cancer-stricken Lantos will vacate at the end of 2008. She’s already lined up endorsements from 93 other elected officials, including San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom. I guess he got engaged to run for a different higher office. [CQ Politics]

California Congressman Tom Lantos announced today his decision not to seek re-election in 2008 due to a recent diagnosis of esophageal cancer. Lantos is the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the only Holocaust survivor in Congress and kind of actually really nice. Oh, whatever. Esophageal cancer is really nasty people, I can’t snark about it. The likeliest Democratic candidate for the seat is former Congressional staffer and current California State Senator Jackie Speier, who has been trying to snag a Congressional seat since she was wounded accompanying her former boss to Guyana on the fact-finding mission that precipitated the Jonestown massacre. [SFGate]

* “Jesus would be happy” if John Edwards became President, says John Edwards. [Beliefnet]
* U.S. Attorney and Rove tool-man Tim Griffin loves the Arkansas skanks. [Radar]
* Everything Karl Rove knows he learned from Nikita Khrushchev. [Shakespeare's Sister]
* Hillary Clinton fundraiser features many poignant moments, very little food. [Hotline on Call]
* Hillary’s Second Life headquarters not worth wasting shittingdicknipples on. [techPresident]
* Jean Schmidt is holding her moral ground on the “Walter Reed, it ain’t so bad” issue. [Enquirer]
* Tom Lantos’ wife: coming soon to a nightmare near you. [1115]

• Heard on the Hill: Nancy Pelosi, Dennis Hastert accidentally in same place at same time, almost have rumble… Rep. Tom Lantos to Ricky Martin: “Let me just say that while my wife of 56 years considers you devastatingly handsome, I think your true beauty lies inside…. Thank you very much, Ricky.” This is funnier if you know what Lantos looks and sounds like. [Roll Call]
• Yeas and Nays: Tonight is the last episode of The Hill, cast members basking in minor premium cable fame. [Examiner]
• Reliable Source: Prince Andrew: “There is something very special about whiskey”… Maryland Senate campaign getting weirder as Michael Steele films ads with a puppy (not his), Ben Cardin forced to counter that he, too, loves puppies. [WP]
• Under the Dome: Apparently, the American League of Lobbyists declared this “Ethics Awareness Month.” [The Hill]

Jim McGovern (D-MA) becomes the first congressman arrested this year for reasons other than corruption. (AP) MORE »