The Ana Log: Aug. 21, 2006

PUNDIT ON POINTE Maybe Tucker Carlson picked up more from his '03 Britney Spears interview than how awesome the President is. The MSNBC host's preppie élan will froth forth on the next season of Dancing with the Stars. Don't think of it as waltzing on the grave of journalism. Think of it as a step away from getting O'Reilly on Fear Factor.

FILE NOT FOUND On the eve of the Connecticut primary, Senator Joseph Lieberman's website goes as dark as the horse Ned Lamont rode in on. Joe's campaign alleges the outage is a Lamont dirty trick, "almost Rovian"--which makes things awkward when Rove gives Lieberman a sympathy call the next day.

STRIKING SEQUEL After losing her primary, Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney--who tried to rebuild her reputation after smacking a cop on Capitol Hill--blames "the press in this room tonight" for physically hurting her mother and her staff but leaves it an open question as to who's at fault for her sing-along that evening with pop singer Pink's Dear Mr. President.

DID YOU KNOW the Chinese character for "convenient myth" is made up of the characters for "sounds good" and "why fact-check"? In answer to a question about the conflict in the Middle East, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tells NBC audiences that the Chinese character for "crisis" contains the characters for both "danger" and "opportunity." Sinologists dispute that often repeated claim, as do many in the Middle East.