With so much drama in Congress this week it’s a wonder there’s time for any lawmaking. The news of Mark Sanford’s infidelity has provoked far more response tweets than the news of John Ensign’s did, although predictably David Vitter and Newt Gingrich are keeping quiet on this one. Funnily enough, neither Ensign nor Sanford has tweeted since news of their extra-marital affairs came out. No sign of a “cryin for 5 days in B Aires” tweet or a “doug hampton sux,” but we’ll keep an eye out just in case.

In other news, kudos to Mike Pence and Rick Perry for turning their Twitter avatars green in solidarity with the Iranian protesters, even though it makes them look less than healthy. John McCain seems to think he’s a battleship, Claire McCaskill makes a smokin’ brisket and Susan Collins is much less excited by the sight of Nick Jonas than most of the House interns were.

This week in Congress: Claire McCaskill has dinner in a cloakroom; John McCain visits an old haunt while continuing on his world tour (probably still bitter he’s not at the G20) but still gets misty-eyed for home; spring fever seems to be hitting Chuck Grassley, Leonard Boswell mortifies a relative; and Bob Inglis faces facts. Oh, and even though he’s not a Congressman, we’re including Newt Gingrich this week because his tweets are funny if you have a bawdy imagination.

clairecmc: Cloakroom is small. Funny to watch everyone balance paper plates on their laps and stand while eating. Everyone more cheerful when full.
Senator Claire McCaskill, Missouri.

SenJohnMcCain: vote-a-rama goes on... - hang on to your wallet!
Senator John McCain, Arizona.

bobinglis: Spoke on the House Floor this afternoon on the Budget Resolution. Our Republican alternatives are losing--unfortunate but not unexpected.
Representative Bob Inglis, South Carolina.

ChuckGrassley: Can’t bleve it!!! A reporter came all way to Senate floor to ask if I do my own tweetin. Of course I do.
Senator Chuck grassley, Iowa.

If you catch Eric Cantor on C-Span, you’ll likely find him a pleasant enough fellow. Good hair, nice teeth, nothing remarkable. Don’t be fooled. The four-term congressman from Richmond is a budding GOP power broker, someone who one day might win the White House.

That’s according to the people who know Congress best—the top aides on Capitol Hill. Every election year, we survey 1,700 of them—administrative assistants, press secretaries, legislative directors, and chiefs of committee staffs—to get their take on the best and worst members of Congress. Who’s smart? Who’s not? And who looks good in a swimsuit?

For each response, we gave a dollar to charity—the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington or So Others Might Eat.

Aides are remarkably candid in their responses, even putting aside partisanship to dress down stars of their own party. Here are their picks—and pans—for 2008.

Who would make your Best and Worst lists? What category would you like to see? Who do you think is misplaced? Sound off in the comments! And if you like this article, you may want to check out our list of the 150 Most Powerful People in Washington, or our 50 Top Lobbyists.

George Allen didn’t set out to end his political career two years ago today. During a speech to a small crowd near the Kentucky border in the midst of his Senate reelection campaign on August 11, 2006, he uttered what is probably the most famous slur in modern politics; the “macaca” moment was captured on videotape by a tracker from his opponent’s campaign. The rest, they say, is history. Allen, who was at the time the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, lost his Senate bid and his hopes to lead the party to the White House.

How would our political landscape be different today if George Allen had never said “macaca?”

Given the huge influence that online video had, just months after YouTube became popular, it seems fitting to commemorate it today with a round-up of a dozen similar videos that have influenced this presidential election. This is, as I argued earlier this year in my book, The First Campaign, the first presidential campaign of the information age. George Allen was the first victim.

Ever since that fateful “gotcha” moment two years ago, a multifaceted war for eyeballs and votes has played out on YouTube. Just this past week, Paris Hilton entered the online political debate and a compendium of John McCain’s flubs ricocheted around progressive blogs.

Here are my picks for 2008’s dozen most important, influential, or groundbreaking online videos:

Friday afternoon I was making a rare pass through the House side of the Capitol when I came upon the madhouse that was the House gallery. Tourists crammed the hallways waiting to get in. Staffers were racing up the steps to get into the gallery only to be forced in line by the Capitol Police. The House floor itself, dark with the TV lights turned off, was the scene of raucous cheering, clapping, and yelling. Non-members of Congress filled the House floor. Congress obviously wasn’t in session—or was it?

Republicans often get a bad rap when it comes to technology. They have far fewer online success stories and trail behind the Democrats when it comes to online organizing and online fundraising. Yet what I stumbled upon Friday was a small group of wired GOP congressmen who decided to write a new chapter.

Sue Miller’s novel, The Senator’s Wife, gave theWashington Post an inspiration: It asked a wife of a US senator to review it—Connie Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist and wife of Ohio senator Sherrod Brown. With Bill Clinton on the campaign trail, Senate spouses are as much in the news today as the senators themselves.

Among the Club of 100, a handful are single, such as Susan Collins, Maria Cantwell, and Lindsey Graham; Russ Feingold is twice divorced. Among the married, there are some noteworthy spouses.