3. May 13:

Democrat Travis Childers wins a U.S. House seat in Mississippi’s deeply Republican 1st Congressional District.

Childers defeated Republican Greg Davis in a special election to fill the final few months of a two-year term in Congress. The seat was vacated when Roger Wicker was appointed to the U.S. Senate after Trent Lott resigned.

2. May 4:

State Rep. Don Cazayoux won the special election in Louisiana’s 6th district yesterday, a victory that marks the second time this year that Democrats have won a seat previously held by a Republican.

Cazayoux, a conservative Democrat, defeated former state Rep. Woody Jenkins, 49 percent to 46 percent for a seat held by Rep. Richard Baker (R) for the past two decades. (Baker resigned to take over as the head of the Managed Funds Association.) Cazayoux will serve out the remaining months of Baker’s term before running for a full two-year stint in the fall.

1. March 8:

The Democratic Party scored a major symbolic win last night when a soft-spoken Democratic physicist claimed the suburban Chicago seat held by the former Republican House speaker, J. Dennis Hastert, for nearly 21 years.

Democrat Bill Foster took 52 percent of the vote to 48 percent for Republican dairy magnate Jim Oberweis, in a district that President Bush won in 2004 with 55 percent. The Democratic victory in what was once a safe Republican seat gave the clearest sign yet that the anti-GOP wave that swept Republicans from control of Congress in 2006 may still be rolling.

“A victory in the seat held by Speaker Hastert will send a political shock wave that will be felt across the country,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “It’s a stunning repudiation of President Bush, his allies and John McCain, who wants to carry on his legacy.”

Dear Dr. Democrat:

Unsure About Supers

Dear Unsure:

The super delegates were added after the McGovern nomination in order to prevent the party from ever again nominating high-minded, wine-sipping, arugula-munching intellectual elites who don’t stand a chance in the general election. Obviously, it has been an abysmal failure.

But seriously, the purpose of the super delegate system is to stop a too-liberal, unelectable candidate in a close election from getting the nomination at the convention. The idea was that if it should ever come to pass again that the hoi poloi gave the popular vote to an unelectable effete, the super delegates, who are mostly current or former elected officials, would step in and save the day by choosing a more palatable (i.e., conservative) candidate.

It’s popular to cast Clinton as being evil because she might play this card, but the card was put there to be played. That being said, I don’t think she’ll do it — and if she tries, I don’t think the supers will go for it. Feinstein and even Schumer have signaled they won’t vote for her.

But, as the saying goes, the rules are the rules.

Dr. D

Don’t you just love the Olympics? The Summer Olympics present an opportunity to see the youth of the world competing at the highest levels of athleticism and sportsmanship. This summer, it also presents an opportunity to contract some really world-class diseases if you go to the Beijing for the competitions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is there to help, though. They have a Web site dedicated to helping you prepare physically for your trip to China. Here are 10 health risks and preventative measures the CDC suggests you take before heading out to Beijing (we hope you’re not needle-shy):

Hepatitis A — Get vaccinated (2 shots), eat foods that are fully cooked and served hot, drink beverages that have been bottled and sealed (water, carbonated drinks, or sports drinks).

Hepatitis B — get vaccinated (3 shots), use condoms if you have sex, avoid sharing needles or getting tattoos.

Typhoid Fever — Get vaccinated with one shot or take pills (4 doses), eat foods that are fully cooked and served hot, drink beverages that have been bottled and sealed (water, carbonated drinks, or sports drinks).

Japanese Encephalitis — Get vaccinated (3 shots) if you are going to be in China more than 30 days or are planning to spend time outside in rural areas, prevent mosquito bites by using an insect repellent containing DEET and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, if you are sleeping outdoors or in a room with no window screens, use an insecticide-treated bed net.

Malaria — If you are going to a malaria risk area, take medicine to prevent malaria. There are several medicines available; talk to your doctor about which one is right for you. You will start the medicine before you go to a malaria risk area, take it while you are there, and continue taking it after you leave the risk area. Prevent mosquito bites: Use an insect repellent containing DEET and wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. If you are sleeping outdoors or in a room with no window screens, use an insecticide-treated bed net.

Influenza (Bird & Seasonal) — Do not touch birds (alive or dead), do not go to poultry farms or live bird markets, only eat poultry that has been fully cooked, wash your hands and utensils after handling raw poultry, get a flu vaccine to avoid seasonal flu.

Rabies — Do not touch animals, even pets, as they might not be vaccinated as they are in the United States. If you get an animal bite or scratch, go to a hospital or doctor’s office immediately. If you are going to spend a lot of time outside or in rural areas, consider getting rabies vaccine (3 shots). Important: Even if you get the vaccine, you will still need to see a doctor right away if you are bitten or scratched.

Schistosomiasis — Swim only in chlorinated pools, avoid swimming, wading or participating in activities in fresh water; get tested if you do go in fresh water — even if you do not feel sick. Once you come home, see an infectious disease doctor or tropical medicine doctor to find out if you were infected. If you were infected, take medicine to stop the infection.

Traveler’s Diarrhea — Eat only fully cooked food that is served hot or fruits and vegetables you can wash and peel yourself, drink beverages that have been bottled and sealed (water, carbonated drinks, or sports drinks), wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand gel before you eat or prepare a meal.

Breathing Problems — If you have asthma or another lung problem, see your doctor before you go to China. You may need to take extra medicine to control your symptoms. If you have coughing, wheezing, or trouble breathing while you are in China, see a health-care provider right away. If possible, plan outdoor activities early in the day in areas with no traffic.

Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read.

— Frank Zappa (1940-1993), American composer, musician and film director

OK, we know John McCain is old. If he is elected president, he will be the oldest person to ever take the oath of office. Which means he’s older than many things.

There now is a Web site dedicated to chronicling all things that are younger than John McCain, of which there are a surprising number. Such as the meat product Spam, the state of Alaska, the element plutonium and the cartoon character Bugs Bunny.

Explore the astonishingly large world of things younger than John McCain here.

It’s the place where my prediction from the sixties finally came true: ‘In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.’ I’m bored with that line. I never use it anymore. My new line is, ‘In fifteen minutes everybody will be famous.’

— Andy Warhol (1927-1987), American artist

Dear Dr. Democrat:

Really Stymied

Dear R.S.:

In terms of the actual proceedings of the convention, the “who gets seated” issue goes away when Obama reaches the magic number on May 20. There will not be a floor fight, which makes it irrelevant (or at least trivial) how many delegates Clinton got. The nomination will be settled with the first roll call.

The convention will be even more harmonious if Clinton is the VP nominee, which looks more likely today than it has, but is by no means certain. Etiquette requires Obama to offer it to her first, a la John Kennedy offering his VP spot to Lyndon Johnson, his bitterest rival. Like LBJ in 1960, HRC might just take the 2008 nominee up on his offer.

The new dynamic about seating delegates after Obama becomes the nominee is that the ultimate decision about how to keep Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and Michigan happy no longer rests with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, but with Obama. I’m predicting he will seat Florida and Michigan, and then seek some permanent solution to the “me first” early primary controversy — a rotating list of states that can vote in January with Iowa and New Hampshire over the next century or so, a single permanent Super Tuesday for all states or rotating regional Super Tuesdays (the West votes first in 2012, the South in 2016, etc.), etc.

This year will the last we’ll have super delegates, that’s for sure.

Dr. D

Editor: a person employed by a newspaper, whose business is to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to see that the chaff gets printed.

— Elbert Hubbard (1859-1915), American writer, publisher, artist and philosopher

Florida’s legislative session this year was one for the record books. The House, led by Miami Republican wonder boy Marco Rubio, devolved into deadlock and strife, including an all-nighter on the eve of Passover weekend. The Senate mired down over such important legislation as the outlawing of “truck nutz.” Meanwhile, neither produced real progress on insurance reform but did pass a budget that cut out kids, oldsters, the sick, the dying, the handicapped, the college-bound, and most folks in between.

It got so bad that, after not getting their way over slots gaming, a few South Florida legislators suggested the region take its tax money and set up its own state. The line, they said, would be drawn just north of the Broward County, which if you’re not familiar, is where Fort Lauderdale is.

North Florida, which would retain both the Gators and the Seminoles, was fine with South Florida going away.

If this had been done earlier, the good people of North Florida wouldn’t have had to suffer through eight years of Gov. Jeb Bush, a Miami resident.

We also wouldn’t have had to put up with the damage done to North Florida by House Speaker Marco Rubio, another Miami resident.

And think about it. Where do hurricanes strike most often?

That’s right. South Florida.

If North Florida became a separate state, maybe we wouldn’t have to subsidize rebuilding oceanfront mansions in South Florida and our property insurance rates would go down.

Hanging chads? Another state’s problem.

Yes, sir, this idea has real appeal.

The problem is that no one wants Central Florida, with its uncontrolled growth and traffic gridlock. Northeast Florida is now fighting efforts by Orlando to siphon water from the St. Johns River, a move which would dry up tributaries and wetlands across the region just to water Central Florida lawns and keep Lake Buena Vista blue for the tourists. Those fighting the water grab have nicknamed it, “The Big Suck.” Who wants to be on that team?

If South Florida won’t take Central Florida and Walt Disney World, perhaps it would be better to divide Florida into three states - North Florida, Central Florida and South Florida.

With that, Rubio could be governor of South Florida, Charlie Crist could be governor of Central Florida and we could elect someone with sense to be governor of North Florida.

That would be a refreshing change.

Buck and I could no longer commiserate about our shared state’s Democratic party, but we could compare notes on the two new states’ organizations, which are bound to be just as disappointing.

We’ll keep you posted on whether Florida joins the Dakotas and the Carolinas in civic divorce.