Dean-ounced Spending

And now the most compelling two minutes in television, the latest from the political grapevine:

A Single Factor ... Is Decisive

Webster defines a litmus test as one -- "in which a single factor, [such] as an attitude ... is decisive." Democratic Presidential Candidate Wesley Clark, in an interview quoted in the Washington Post, insists he does not use -- "litmus tests" to size up nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Later in the same interview, he said he would never nominate an anti-abortion judge. But Clark says that's not litmus test -- it's an effort to keep that person's position from compromising the judicial precedent set by Roe v. Wade.

Dean-ounced Spending

Howard Dean has denounced President Bush for spending too much money. Dean, according to a People magazine interview with him, has his own ways of cutting costs. He always turns off the lights when he walks out of a room and used to get into fights with his wife about turning up the heat in the winter. He demands that the paper in his office be printed on both sides. He drinks generic ginger ale and eats generic snacks, because they're cheaper. He has fixed worn-out shoes with tape.

And as governor of Vermont, he once wore his old high-school prom tuxedo to a state dinner at the White House to save money. But when he coughed, he split his pants and had to be escorted out by state troopers, who were covering his uncovered parts.

Iraqi Intervention?

Saddam Hussein was actually arrested by a group of Iraqis who were then paid $100 million by the U.S. to turn him over ... that according to the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz. The paper, translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, says Iraqis from the Al-Bogher tribe found Saddam more than two weeks before Americans took credit for capturing him ... and they began negotiations shortly thereafter. The Iraqis reportedly kept Saddam in a dark room, and refused to let him shower or shave so he would have that "just captured" look.

A Complex Issue

ACCO Engineered Systems of California says the Chukchansi Indians owe it more than $4 million for its part in building the Indians' $150 million casino complex in Coarsegold, California. ACCO says the Indians promised to pay more than half of the debt last month. Well, that never happened. So the company is now suing the Chukchansi Indians for the full amount, and asking the courts to let it foreclose on the casino if need be. But, according to the Fresno Bee, the Indians say they can't be sued, because they're a sovereign nation and immune to such legal action.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report