It was Sen. Bob Corker's turn to take hostages today with this latest "threat": If Democrats bring the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal and DREAM Act to votes tomorrow, as expected, then Republicans may kill the START treaty. Huh?

Remember how Democrats would simply wait until after the election to pass all of their bills, during a pressure-free lame duck session? Did you buy that? Because they're already dropping most agenda items, including a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal.

While Congress may have tackled the TV commercial loudness situation, it's punting pretty much everything else into the post-election lame duck session, when political pressures will supposedly be muted. The current tally of bills they'll consider? Oh, around 20.