I'm less concerned about why JPMorgan lost $2 billion on ScuttleButton futures than I am about you solving this week's puzzle.

ScuttleButton, as you know, is the once a week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday (whatever) I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN. But with a new puzzle up every Monday or Tuesday, depending on my mood, you should get your answer in as soon as possible.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

Change the Scene with Gene — Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy, a strong opponent of the Vietnam War, challenged President Lyndon Johnson for renomination in 1968.

Coe for Governor — Earl Coe lost the 1956 Democratic gubernatorial primary in Washington.

Senator D Huddleston — Where would ScuttleButton be without the perennial use of this button? Huddleston, a Kentucky Democrat, served two terms before losing to Mitch McConnell in 1984.

Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise — An essential condiment.

So, when you combine Scene + Coe + D + Mayo, you may just very well end up with ...

Cinco de Mayo. The Mexican holiday, celebrated on, well, May 5th, that dates back to 1862.

This week's winner, chosen completely at random, is ... Kevin Cross of Baltimore, Md. Kevin gets a TOTN Junkie t-shirt.

Don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, which focuses on President Obama's decision to embrace same-sex marriage. You can read the column here.

The issue of same-sex marriage will long continue to fascinate and infuriate politics watchers everywhere, but this past week was especially impossible to ignore, starting last Sunday, with Vice President Biden's candid statement on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he is "absolutely comfortable" with it, through the Administration's torturous couple of days of attempting to "clarify" Biden's remarks, and culminating on Wednesday's interview for ABC's "Good Morning America, where President Obama "evolved" into embracing gay marriage once and for all.

A dizzying week, to be sure.

But the most head-spinning part of it all was the conclusion by his defenders that Obama made a courageous, breathtaking and historic decision, coming to his position through conscience and not politics. And certainly not because his vice president boxed him into a corner.

To be sure, there is the element of history here; he is the first president to support gay marriage, and that is important in the scheme of things. It comes as a majority of the American people, according to some polls, have already reached that view. But with the president saying that this reflected only his own personal views, and that he supports individual states making their own decisions, what changes? Little, if anything.

Further, to profess surprise about Obama's announcement is silly, given the fact that the administration has made its position long known, repealing the "don't ask/don't tell" policy about gays in the military and ending its support of the Defense of Marriage Act (or, as Obama called it during the GMA interview, "Defense Against Marriage Act"). The surprise is less that he came out for gay marriage than the fact he continued to stick to his position when so many others in his party had long ago abandoned that viewpoint.

And so, after years of watching his position "evolve" but not move, what shall we call his new announcement? Courageous? Or was he put into a no-win position? How about a flip-flop? We always love to point out the discrepancies between Mitt Romney's positions of today, compared to when he was running in Massachusetts for the Senate in 1994 or even governor in 2002. With Obama, we only have to go back to 2008, when he told us he was opposed to same-sex marriage (something he also told us when he was running for the Senate in 2004). Is this not a flip-flop? Is Obama getting away with something that no one seems to let Romney get away with?

In the long run, the three days it took Obama to get from Biden's "absolutely comfortable" to his own "it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married" is not likely to be of consequence, let alone be remembered.

But let's not call Obama's path to his announcement an example of profiles in courage, considering it only came when Biden forced his hand. Media reports indicate Obama was furious with his vice president in getting ahead of the White House on the issue. It's easy to conclude that the president would have been very happy to not have to deal with his "evolving" position until after the November election.

But such a "hiding the ball" strategy would have been dishonest, wrote Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post. The day before the president announced the change in his position, Marcus said the "continued presidential equivocation makes Obama look weak and evasive":

"The longer Obama waits, the worse he looks.

The president's first stall tactic, that he is "evolving" on the issue, doesn't cut it anymore. Even Darwin would have lost patience by now.

His second approach, the not-gonna-make-news-for-you-today cop-out, has also worn thin. ...

At this point, Obama's reticence is looking cowardly."

Similarly, Frank Bruni of the New York Times wrote:

"On this issue, the president isn't leading. He's following. And the gap by which he trails others in his party grows broader and sadder."

But already that's old news. Obama, after expressing his displeasure with Biden's candidness, has come on board. And the political community has gone on to other topics, such as whether Obama's declaration will invigorate the gay community for November or hurt him in swing states or with independents and moderates and African-Americans and Hispanics. Or whether it will force social conservatives to ignore Romney's imperfect record and embrace the Republican's candidacy. Will Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decide to bring a vote to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act to the floor? And what about those Democrats in tough Senate races this year, such as Tim Kaine in Virginia? Will Obama's announcement affect their chances?

For all the evolving the nation seems to be doing on same-sex marriage, let's not forget that every time the issue has been on the ballot, it has gone down to defeat. (As recently as last week, voters in North Carolina — home to the 2012 Democratic convention — overwhelmingly supported a ban on both gay marriage and civil unions). Thirty-eight states now are on record opposing same-sex marriage, either by constitutional amendment or statute. The six states (and the District of Columbia) that do have gay marriage on the books — Iowa, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut — arrived at that conclusion via state legislatures or the courts. Not by the voters.

In any event, the national debate over the issue is certain to continue. It's important to understand where our country is going and how it gets there. But it's also important to know how the president of the United States got there as well.

Sixty years ago. The defeat of Sen. Dick Lugar in last week's Indiana Republican primary was not a surprise, but the margin sure was; state Treasurer Richard Mourdock clobbered him 60-39 percent. (See May 7 Political Junkie column.) The last time a six-term senator was denied renomination in the primaries was in 1952, when Tennessee Democrat Kenneth McKellar was ousted by Congressman Albert Gore Sr.

And speaking of history, flabbergasted may be the best word to explain the 41 percent of the vote a Texas prison inmate, Keith Judd, received last week against President Obama in the West Virginia Democratic primary. No one disputes the fact that Obama has never been popular in the Mountain State. Hillary Clinton defeated him by 41 points in the 2008 primary, and he lost the state in November that year to John McCain by 13. And it's true, incumbent presidents have done worse in the past — Jimmy Carter lost ten primaries to Ted Kennedy in 1980. But never before has an incumbent running essentially "unopposed," as Obama is this year, performed so poorly in a presidential primary.

Anticipating this week's 300th podcast. Back in 2006, Ron Elving, NPR's Senior Washington editor, and I started recording a weekly podcast, called "It's All Politics." We do this every Thursday, and thousands and thousands of people — whom we call "The Listener" — download it each week. This Thursday, we are recording our 300th episode. In terms of numbers, it doesn't approach Herman Cain's 999, but it certainly beats out Rick Perry's three, I mean two, departments he would eliminate.

Last week we asked you to tell us about some of your favorite moments. Here's a brief sampling of what arrived in my in-box.

Andrew Azab:

My favorite opening to the podcast was your intro on one of the weeks where Blago [Rod Blagojevich] was in the news and you and Ron had an expletive- ridden exchange. Bleeping on NPR ... priceless.

Kevin White:

My favorite moment by far of the last year was the comment about Newt Gingrich not being able to win the election one woman at a time. I found that moment to be particularly hilarious. The most entertaining political moment of the last year was Rick Perry's debate gaffe. The most interesting was the congressional deadlock over the Social Security tax cuts.

Alex Zwagerman:

I am a devoted listener to the podcast. I live in the People's Republic of China, where politics is much more opaque. It may surprise you that the It's All Politics Podcast is almost never blocked in China. I say almost... Apart from the times that NPR is blocked as a whole domain, it happened only ONCE on the past five years that the specific podcast was blocked. This was in 2009. I don't remember the exact week, but I was first irritated and then fascinated by the specific and short-lived block. I used a proxy to 'jump over the Great Chinese Firewall' and had to listen to the podcast twice to find the reason of the block. It turned out that Ken (I think) used the verb 'to shanghai' to express how a certain Senator was forced to tow some party line. I know it's not really a moment that you guys brought me, and the fact that I enjoyed that podcast has more to do with the ridiculous behavior of the Chinese Censors, but it was MY moment. Keep up the good work! I spend so much time explaining your puns to my Chinese girlfriend, our life would be so boring if you guys ever quit. Kind regards from Changchun, China.

Joseph Bowler:

My favorite moments of your podcast is the overall theme of neutrality, because it really is all politics. I'm a center right American (how cliche, I know) and the most legitimate news that I find in American politics, outside BBC, comes from your podcast! Keep it up, if one of you passes away, we better have a weekly seance or at least haunt the studio.

Mary Miller:

Ron and Ken (if I may be so informal, since I am The Listener and you may call me "The"): Congratulations on this milestone; gosh, I thought it was at least 600 or so. Time flies. I can't name a particular moment that stood out above all others, but I do find each week's podcast reassuring. No matter how many problems we have as a country and how deep the political dross, as long as we can laugh at ourselves while sorting out what's important, we'll be OK. And every week, you two reaffirm that principle. Keep it up, and thanks from Greenwood, Miss.

Andrea Sahlin:

I liked the "leave of abscess" pun in the 5/10/2012 podcast. I have had a toothache for about a week now, and that made me laugh!

Aaron Page:

Congratulations on 300 podcasts! I'm a 26 year old Democrat living in Chicago and I'm from the great swing state of Virginia. I truly look forward to your podcast each week and greatly enjoy your insightful analyses. I listen to a lot of political commentary and I think you guys are the best out there. I also feel the podcast is as funny as it is informative. Your ending song choices always crack me up, and my favorite moment was when you played "Love Potion #9" and added Herman Cain's voice saying "9-9-9."

Sarah Soebbing:

It is I, the listener, writing to congratulate you on your upcoming 300th episode! Just wanted you to know how much I love your podcast, and to thank you for always helping me see how laughable our political system truly is.

Tristan Acker:

I think Ken and Ron make the best jokes about John Boehner crying. And Ken's puns are oddly endearing and I've been listening long enough that I often find them hilarious. Congrats on 300 episodes.

Chris Ryan:

My favorite It's All Politics moment was a joke Ken made on the show one time. He had borrowed it from someone else, and I believe the year was 1973.

Kim England:

I am a 22 year old restaurant assistant manager in Alameda, Calif. My favorite moments from It's All Politics happens every week when I'm listening to the podcast episode on Friday and laughing out loud while riding my bike to work. This happens more often than once a week, more like once every 4-5 minutes an episode, but it's a great feeling and I love that Ken & Ron can release such endorphins with such finesse. Thanks IAP team! You guys are great!

Robert Hirschman:

I love your program, your so-so-well articulated descriptions of events and points of view, and insights.

Tim O'Connor:

I humbly submit that I must be "The Listener" because I never miss an episode of the It's All Politics Podcast. My favorite podcast moment was Ken nicknaming Buddy Roemer "Nature Boy." We professional wrestling / politics fans (both of us) really got a kick out of this. Much legitimate LOLing.

Kim Wright:

I find it very annoying when people say, "It's impossible to choose my favorite because it's like asking to choose my favorite child." That excuse is used to the point it's lost all its meaning. So, when Ken and Ron asked their listener to choose a favorite podcast as they celebrate their upcoming 300th "It's All Politics" podcast, I can say, in all honesty, it's almost impossible to choose because it's like choosing my favorite child. With that said, my choice is the Sept. 18, 2008 podcast, because it's the first after Wall Street took a tremendous free fall, marking the beginning of what turned out to be the global economic recession, and attention was taken from Sarah Palin as John McCain's presidential running mate. It's also where we heard John McCain change from "The economy is fundamentally sound.", to "...greed on Wall Street has put our economy at risk.", almost exactly two hours later.

Eric Vanhove:

The time that Ken told the joke about Abe Lincoln being Jewish... because he got shot in the temple! Ba dum dum. And Ken, Ron, and I laughed hysterically! I'm sure it was just the 3 of us. I still laugh about that... and can't count the number of times I've retold that joke! Love your podcast!

Kelly Pierce:

Happy 300th podcast! I'm a 27 year old History teacher currently living and working at an international school in Tanzania. I've been reliant on various podcasts to keep up on my current events, including It's All Politics, and while I don't have a specific moment that springs to mind to commemorate your 300th episode, I will share an incident that I think is indicative of the enjoyment, entertainment, and inherent risk that I find in each one of your podcasts. One day, I went out running while listening to your podcast and my route takes me over a very bumpy, uneven road. There was something that both of you were talking about that elicited a guffaw of laughter from me, and unfortunately it was so distracting that I forgot to look down at my feet and bam, fell flat on my ass. I thought you should know that your podcast has at least one laughter casualty. I thank both of you for your witty banter, keen political observations, and entertaining delivery. Congratulations on 300.

Valerie Wayne:

Congrats on 300 podcasts! I'm obsessed with politics, a habit I can't truly indulge because I'm home with three young children. I eagerly await and then listen to your podcast a few times each week. As for a favorite moment, even just last week you showed your humble humor in discussing the Judd 41% in West Virginia, my home state. Rather than being righteously indignant about the racism we so painfully clearly suffer, you were insightful and funny. Thanks from one of your MANY grateful listeners!!

Jonathan Blau:

I love every Firesign Theatre reference!

David Meiklejohn:

I am the Australian listener. Have been listening for the past 5 years from here in Melbourne. Great weekly wrap of US politics apart from Ken's jokes, obviously. My favorite moment was way back in early 2008, you guys were discussing potential veep picks for McCain and you brought up the name of "Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin", who I'd never heard of until that moment. I like to think this was a butterfly fluttering its wings moment which led to the tumult of November for McCain and his campaign.

Taskin Sehitoglu:

I wish to congratulate you on your 300th episode. As probably the only high school senior who enjoys Thad McCotter jokes, I think your show is both hilarious and informative. I especially enjoyed your most recent coverage of the Republican primary. I hope you continue the show, even as you lose relevancy like an aging Newt Gingrich. Jokes aside, please keep up the great reporting and commentary.

Neil Gussman:

I discovered your podcast while I was deployed to Iraq with the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, PA National Guard in 2009/10. We had a dial-up-speed connection so it took 45 minutes to download. We deployed shortly after President Obama was elected. Sometimes I was sure I was the only white male Obama voter on our Air base, named Camp Adder. You helped me stay informed in a place where most of the news was from FOX.

Thanks to all who wrote. And thanks for being The Listener.

Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions, and sparkling jokes. Last week focused on same-sex marriage, starting with the unexpected Joe Biden conversation on the topic and ending with President Obama's dilemma. Plus, a review of Tuesday's primaries, focusing on Dick Lugar's defeat in Indiana and the Democratic primary in Wisconsin to find a challenger to a recall-imperiled Scott Walker.

Shortly after the program ended, Obama evolved into an interview with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts. And so we interrupted TOTN in the second hour with this update.

Podcast. There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner-in-crime, Ron Elving, and me.

And Don't Forget ScuttleButton. ScuttleButton, America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can be found in this spot every Monday. A randomly-selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. You still have time to submit your answer to last week's contest, which you can see here. Not only is there incredible joy in deciphering the answer, but the winner gets a TOTN t-shirt!

Previous winner: Joe Berendt of St. Louis, Mo.

ON THE CALENDAR:

May 15 — Primaries in Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon.

May 18 — Filing deadline in Washington State. Just in case lame duck Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is thinking about it.

May 22 — Primaries in Arkansas and Kentucky.

May 29 — Texas primary.

June 5 —Wisconsin gov. recall election. Also: primaries in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.

June 12 — Special election in Arizona's 8th CD to succeed Gabrielle Giffords (D), who resigned. Also: congressional primaries in Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia.

June 26 — Congressional primaries in Colorado, New York, Oklahoma and Utah.

Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********

This day in campaign history: Making his first bid for public office, investment banker Chuck Hagel easily wins the Republican nomination for the Senate from Nebraska, defeating state Attorney General Don Stenberg by a 62-38 percent margin. It is for the seat Democrat Jim Exon is giving up after three terms. On the Democratic side, Gov. Ben Nelson ran unopposed. Also, in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in West Virginia, former state Sen. Charlotte Pritt wins an 11-candidate contest, narrowly defeating her closest challenger, state Sen. Joe Manchin. The Republican nomination goes to Cecil Underwood, who was the state's youngest governor (34 years old) when he was elected in 1956 and would be the state's oldest (74) if he wins this year (May 14, 1996). Both Hagel (R-Neb.) and Underwood (R-W.Va.) will win in November.

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org

Unlike President Obama, who says his views about ScuttleButton are "evolving," I'm hoping you are fully committed to these weekly puzzles.

Don't forget how to play. ScuttleButton, as you know, is the once a week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday (whatever) I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN. But with a new puzzle up every Monday or Tuesday, depending on my mood, you should get your answer in as soon as possible.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

The Pope in Poland — ABC News button commemorating the 1979 visit by Pope John Paul II to the country of his birth.

Stand Up for America / Wallace for President — Former Alabama Gov. George Wallace ran four times for the White House; this one, his most influential bid, was as an independent in 1968.

Ringo Starr / STOP and Smell the Roses — A 1981 album release from the former Beatle.

So, when you combine John Paul + George + Ringo, you may just very well end up with ...

John, Paul, George and Ringo. Some obscure rock band from the '60s, according to Wikipedia.

This week's winner, chosen completely at random, is ... Joe Berendt of St. Louis, Mo. Joe gets a TOTN Junkie t-shirt.

Don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, which focuses on Dick Lugar's fight for survival in the May 8 Indiana primary. You can read the column here.

When Richard Lugar, the mayor of Indianapolis, first ran for the Senate, against Democratic incumbent Birch Bayh in 1974, a big part of his problem was that he was a partisan Republican.

In fairness, there was nothing wrong with being a partisan Republican in good GOP years ... in, say, 1972, when President Richard Nixon was on his way to a landslide re-election and Lugar was the keynote speaker at the GOP national convention.

But it became a problem in 1974, a decidedly anti-Republican year, in the midst of the Watergate election cycle. And being known as "Richard Nixon's favorite mayor" didn't help either. He lost by 75,000 votes.

Fast forward 38 years to 2012. If Lugar's problem in his first race was that he was too Republican, one of the problems in what is shaping up as his last race is that he may not be Republican enough. Or, at least that's how his opponent in Tuesday's primary, two-term state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, and Tea Party conservatives see it. According to them, he's "Barack Obama's favorite Republican."

Lugar came to the Senate in 1977 and has been re-elected five times. He has served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and is widely respected for his work on behalf of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. In the 1980s he fought behind the scenes against the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines and apartheid in South Africa. He's conservative, though lately not nearly as much; his "scorecard" by the American Conservative Union, regularly in the 80 or 90 percent range, has fallen into the 60's the past half dozen years or so. He has never shied away from working with Democrats, and counted Obama and Joe Biden as his friends when they all served together in the Senate.

But he remained highly popular at home; he hasn't fallen below 67 percent of the vote since 1982, and six years ago, Democrats didn't even put up a candidate against him. And until now, he's never faced a primary challenge for his seat.

Another way of looking at it is that he hasn't had to fight for his seat in years.

But the Republican Party is in a period of change, especially so since Obama's ascension to the presidency. Sure, the GOP made historic gains in the House in 2010, ousting dozens of Democratic incumbents. But some establishment Republicans, deemed too moderate, paid the price as well; think Robert Bennett in Utah and Mike Castle in Delaware. And the right's number one target for 2012 was Lugar. Outside groups have spent more than $2 million to defeat him.

But to blame Lugar's expected demise in Tuesday's primary solely on the Tea Party, or on Mourdock's appeal, misses the point. Much of Lugar's problems were self-inflicted.

First, he's 80 years old. There's not much he can do about that, but it's a fact of life. Also, he's been in the Senate for 36 years — longer than any Hoosier in history — and to some, it's long enough. Lugar didn't help his cause when it was revealed that he no longer has a residence in Indiana, that when he would come back to the state he would stay in an Indianapolis hotel (and for a long time would bill taxpayers for his stays; he's since reimbursed the government for that). There was even some question about whether he could even vote for himself; he finally registered at a farm his family owns.

And faced with serious opposition, Lugar just didn't seem to know how to deal with it. Unlike Arizona's John McCain in 2010 and Utah's Orrin Hatch this year — who preempted conservative opposition by moving further to the right — Lugar initially dismissed conservative complaints as little more than an irritant. Even by the time he realized he was in trouble, he never made the case for a seventh term. Instead, he decided to run negative ads against Mourdock — a tactic seemingly way out of character for the mild-mannered Lugar. Both approaches failed.

One indication the party establishment seems to realize the depth of Lugar's troubles is that there have been fewer and fewer outward public criticisms of Mourdock. After all, the GOP is going to need to unite behind the primary winner if they are to hold the seat in November against Rep. Joe Donnelly, one of the more conservative Democrats in the House. And that primary winner is looking more and more like Mourdock.

Dick Lugar will be remembered as one of the most respected and revered senators of the past half-century. But, unless something dramatic changes in the next 24-48 hours, that seems likely to come to an end on Tuesday.

Wisconsin Democrats to decide. As everyone knows, Gov. Scott Walker (R) faces a recall election on June 5, retribution from Democrats and labor unions angered by his efforts to limit collective bargaining for public workers.

But first, Democrats are going to have to come up with an opponent in the May 8 primary. While four candidates are running, there are just two to keep your eyes on: Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee (and a former House member) who lost to Walker in the 2010 election, and Kathleen Falk, the former Dane County (Madison) Executive, who is being backed by the very unions that shepherded the recall against Walker.

(The other Democrats: Secretary of State Doug La Follette and state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout.)

For the longest time, Democrats feared that a Barrett-Falk slugfest would siphon off money that should be going to the effort to defeat Walker. But the battle has been somewhat civil. And not particularly close. Barrett has been endorsed by a virtual who's who in state politics and has a sizable lead in every poll. But his policies as mayor, where he has cut city employees' health and pension benefits, has angered labor, and they see Falk as a far more reliable ally. But she has run statewide twice before, both unsuccessfully. In 2002 she lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary to Jim Doyle. And in 2006, a great Democratic year, she defeated the incumbent attorney general in the primary but narrowly lost the general election to a Republican.

Walker has raised an astounding $13 million to stave off the recall. But organized labor, stung by the governor's policies, will not suffer for money as June 5 approaches. They've already shown how much they want Walker gone in their efforts to help obtain more than 900,000 signatures for the recall.

Republicans love Walker. Democrats despise him. As intense as the feelings are now, it's only going to escalate in the next four weeks.

Political Updates. I post periodic political updates during the week on Twitter. You can follow me at @kenrudin.

Top 5 Running Mates. Last week I offered a subjective list of the top five running mates of the last half-century. Nobody seems to disagree with my top pick, Lyndon Johnson in 1960, but there were other opinions as well. Harry Kennedy of Ann Arbor, Mich., insists that Sarah Palin (R-2008) was an "excellent choice" because "she fired up Republicans who would otherwise have sat out John McCain" because of "his failure to offer a genuine alternative" to Barack Obama.

Whitney Court, a political scientist at the University of Kansas, agrees. In her dissertation, she argues, "McCain actually got more conservatives to come out and vote because of Palin. He lost by less than he would have without Palin." And what about that disastrous interview with Katie Couric? "Although she ran into trouble in news interviews about her knowledge of foreign policy," Court says, "social conservatives liked that she stayed true to her convictions and walked the walk."

Gary Dolan of London, England wishes Republicans in 1996 would have rejected both Jack Kemp, who was Bob Dole's running mate, and Dole as well. "Not only could neither stand the other, but both were ridiculously past their primes."

Mark Greenbaum of Washington, D.C., he of the victorious team that won the "political pursuit" contest (also in last week's column), had this:

"Cheney was definitely a nice pick, but to me it smacked of over-confidence and showed they thought they were going to win and Cheney was just there for governance. But LBJ is definitely first: he covered age, experience, geography, and even plain optics. In terms of the worst pick, Lieberman might be number one. He was just uninspiring, which was a problem when Al Snore is your candidate."

Michael Friedman of NYC also sent in his misgivings about Joe Lieberman as the Democrats' 2000 VP pick: "All Gore had to do was pick [Fla. Sen.] Bob Graham as his running mate and he would have won Florida and thus the election."

And a correction. In listing Walter Mondale (D-1976) at #3, I wrote that Jimmy Carter "got someone who came to the table with ten years' experience in the Senate." David Kuhn of Bethesda, Md., reminds us (well, me) that Mondale had been in the Senate 12 years, not ten, having been appointed in 1964 to replace Vice President-elect Hubert Humphrey, and then elected to the job in '66.

Red it and weep. Two weeks ago (see April 23 Junkie) we entertained Rep. Allen West's (R-Fla.) suggestion, literal or otherwise, that there were some 78 to 81 Communists in the current Congress, which led to the discussion about whether there had ever been a member of Congress who was a (former or otherwise) card-carrying Communist. That prompted this note from Michael Kelly of Flint, Mich., who advised, "don't forget Vito Marcantonio of N.Y.":

"Marcantonio was first elected to Congress as a Republican in 1934, back when the GOP had lots of very liberal members (especially in NYC, such as Fiorello LaGuardia). Marcantonio was part of LaGuardia's leftwing Republican movement in the 30's and 40's.

Marcantonio lost his GOP congressional seat after 1 term then switched to the American Labor Party and won a House seat in 1938 as an ALP candidate and held it for 6 terms. He was defeated by a anti-Communist Democrat after voting against the Korean War.

There are plenty who believed Marcantonio to be a Communist and he certainly participated in Communist-front groups. Of course, as an old George Romney Republican myself, I would be considered a near-Commie by today's GOP."

I actually thought of Marcantonio when writing the column. But while he was long accused of Communist sympathies, I have never seen anything to suggest he was anything more than, well, a leftwinger.

Actually, during his four successful campaigns from 1938 thru 1944, in addition to the ALP nomination, he was also the nominee of the Republican Party — which says something about the GOP back then. (He had also obtained the Democratic nomination in 1942 and 1944.) In 1946, en route to another re-election victory, he lost the GOP primary but narrowly won the Democratic nomination. Two years later, he won again but only with the ALP ballot position, defeating a Democrat and a Republican.

I don't know which specific Korean War vote you are referring to, but after years of controversy, it was clear that both of New York's major parties wanted Marcantonio gone. James Donovan, a Democratic former state senator also running on the GOP line, won a landslide victory over Marcantonio in 1950.

And speaking of Marcantonio and the American Labor Party — which backed Henry Wallace's third-party presidential bid in 1948 — Bob Zecker of Fair Lawn, N.J. (and currently residing in Meadow Green, Nova Scotia) notes that the ALP "allowed ex-Socialists and ex-Communists (Jews, Italians, others) in NYC to pull the lever for something other than a capitalist party, and Marcantonio courted and received votes from many card-carrying 'you-know-whos.'"

OK, so where else but in Political Junkie can you read about Vito Marcantonio to your heart's content?

Here she comes. Last week's column (see April 30 Junkie) also discussed former Miss Americas. A question from a reader asked whether any of them ran for office or were married to politicians. I said I could only think of Bess Myerson (Miss America 1945), who sought the Democratic nomination for the Senate from New York in 1980, and Phyllis George (M.A. 1971), who later married John Y. Brown Jr., elected governor of Kentucky in 1979.

Two Texans, Tom Phillips of Austin and Ed Palmer of Garland, remembered Donna Axum, Miss America 1964, whose second marriage was to Gus Mutscher, later the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1963 until his conviction in the Sharpstown bank stock fraud scandal. Mutscher's conviction was later overturned but so was his marriage; he and Donna were divorced after his acquittal.

And I confess, apropos of absolutely nothing, I can't get over this incredible video involving a random question to Miss Teen South Carolina. It probably has no business appearing in this column, but I have no choice. It's one of the more amazing things you'll ever see on YouTube.

Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions, and sparkling jokes. Last week focused on the Gingrich withdrawal, the perils of Dick Lugar, and the upcoming Wisconsin recall primary. With guest host Jennifer Ludden, we also looked at two more VP hopefuls, Paul Ryan and Chris Christie, with Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Craig Gilbert and Newark Star Ledger's Paul Mulshine.

Podcast. There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner-in-crime, Ron Elving, and me.

And Don't Forget ScuttleButton. ScuttleButton, America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can be found in this spot every Monday. A randomly-selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. You still have time to submit your answer to last week's contest, which you can see here. Not only is there incredible joy in deciphering the answer, but the winner gets a TOTN t-shirt!

Previous winner: David Lam of Las Vegas, Nev.

About that cocktail from Idaho. Last week's column revealed the special ingredients of that drink Michael the bartender from the Modern Hotel & Bar in Boise concocted, dubbed "The Political Junkie." Lots of notes of appreciation for the recipe, but Sandy Moran of Santa Rosa, Calif., wants to know if the column's name should be changed to the "Political Drunkie."

ON THE CALENDAR:

May 8 — Primaries in Indiana, North Carolina and West Virginia. GOP Senate primary to watch: incumbent Dick Lugar vs. challenger Richard Mourdock in Indiana. Also: Wisconsin Democratic gov. recall primary.

May 15 — Primaries in Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon.

May 18 — Filing deadline in Washington State. Just in case lame duck Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is thinking about it.

May 22 — Primaries in Arkansas and Kentucky.

May 29 — Texas primary.

June 5 —Wisconsin gov. recall election. Also: primaries in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.

June 12 — Special election in Arizona's 8th CD to succeed Gabrielle Giffords (D), who resigned. Also: congressional primaries in Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia.

June 26 — Congressional primaries in Colorado, New York, Oklahoma and Utah.

Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********

This day in political history: Rep. Stewart McKinney, a moderate Connecticut Republican often at odds with the Reagan Administration over the budget and the plight of the homeless, dies at age 56. He had AIDS, the first member of Congress to succumb to that disease (May 7, 1987).

First elected in 1970 to succeed Senate candidate Lowell Weicker (R), McKinney spent much of his career working across the aisle, often to the consternation of conservatives. But it never hurt him at the ballot box. He also had a history of health problems, suffering two heart attacks while in his 40s and undergoing coronary bypass surgery in 1979. He will be succeeded in an August special election by state Rep. Chris Shays (R).

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org

Just a word to the wise, that if you are considering taking refuge in the American Embassy in Beijing, don't expect me to mail you a Political Junkie t-shirt if you happen to be the randomly chosen ScuttleButton winner.

And don't expect to be the randomly chosen ScuttleButton winner if you don't know how to play.

ScuttleButton, as you know, is the once a week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday (whatever) I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN. But with a new puzzle up every Monday or Tuesday, depending on my mood, you should get your answer in as soon as possible.

Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:

I'm Proud to be an American — This button could be World War II vintage, but at the very least, the 48 stars indicates it's certainly before 1959.

Tom Robinson Band — The 1970s British punk rock band. True confessions: the only song I have by them on my iPod is "2-4-6-8 Motorway." I don't think I know anything else by them.

Wallace for President/Stand Up for America — The former Alabama governor ran in 1968 on the American Independent Party banner and carried five Southern states.

So, when you combine American + Band + Stand, you may just very well end up with ...

American Bandstand. The decades-long TV dance program hosted by Dick Clark, who died last month.

This week's winner, chosen completely at random, is ... David Lam of Las Vegas, Nev.

Don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, where I list my subjective Top 5 running mates of the past half century. You can read the column here. It also includes the secret ingredients to the Political Junkie cocktail being served at the Modern Hotel in Boise, Idaho.