Well look at that, the stuffy old cranks in our House of Lords are doing "Secret Santa" this year! America really is becoming weak. So far, 58 of 100 senators have signed up for the gift-exchange promoted by Sens. Al Franken and Mike Johann. There's a $10 gift limit, but you just know that Lieberman's going to break the rules and buy someone a Mercedes, like an ass.

So will this fix the Republic? No, says a political science professor who was actually asked about the impact of a Senate Secret Santas:

Paul Sracic, a political science professor at Youngstown State University, does not expect much from the initiative.

"This conflict between the two parties is not just a misunderstanding that can be solved by them getting to know each other a little better," he said.

Interesting hypothesis, but not sure I believe it. David Brooks tells me that President Obama and Rep. Paul Ryan just need to have a nice lunch together to fix most our political ailments, and David Brooks is never wrong.