Dear Posties, please consider TPM a shoulder to cry on for all your gripes about the hiring of John Solomon. And of course all scuttlebutt sources’ confidentiality will be absolutely protected.

Clearly the reprogramming camps are going to have their work cut out for them.

The founding pastor of a second Colorado church has resigned over gay sex allegations, just weeks after the evangelical community was shaken by the scandal surrounding megachurch leader Ted Haggard.

Haggard, a gay-marriage opponent, admitted to unspecified “sexual immorality” when he resigned last month as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs. A male prostitute had said he had had sex with Haggard for three years.

On Sunday, Paul Barnes, founding pastor of the 2,100-member Grace Chapel in this Denver suburb, told his evangelical congregation in a videotaped message he had had sexual relations with other men and was stepping down.

Dave Palmer, associate pastor of Grace Chapel, told The Denver Post that Barnes confessed to him after the church received a call last week.

Jeff Greenfield this afternoon on the Barack Obama/al Qaida link …

The senator was in New Hampshire over the weekend, sporting what’s getting to be the classic Obama look. Call it business casual, a jacket, a collared shirt, but no tie.

It is a look the senator seems to favor. And why not? It is dressy enough to suggest seriousness of purpose, but without the stuffiness of a tie, much less a suit. There is a comfort level here that reflects one of Obama’s strongest political assets, a sense that he is comfortable in his own skin, that he knows who he is.

If you want a striking contrast, check out Senator John Kerry as he campaigned back in 2004. He often appeared without a tie, but clad in a blazer, the kind of casual look you see at country clubs and lawn parties in the Hamptons and other toned (ph) locations.

When President Bush wanted in casual mode, he skipped the jacket entirely. Third-generation Skull and Bones at Yale? Don’t be silly. Nobody here but us Texas ranchers.

You can think of Bush’s apparel as a kind of homage to Ronald Reagan. He may have spent much of his life in Hollywood, but the brush-cutting ranch hand was the image his followers loved, just as the Kennedy sea ferry look provided a striking contrast with, say, Richard Nixon, who apparently couldn’t even set out on a beach walk without that “I wish I had spent more time at the office” look.

But, in the case of Obama, he may be walking around with a sartorial time bomb. Ask yourself, is there any other major public figure who dresses the way he does? Why, yes. It is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who, unlike most of his predecessors, seems to have skipped through enough copies of “GQ” to find the jacket-and-no-tie look agreeable.

And maybe that’s not the comparison a possible presidential contender really wants to evoke.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: Now, it is one thing to have a last name that sounds like Osama and a middle name, Hussein, that is probably less than helpful. But an outfit that reminds people of a charter member of the axis of evil, why, this could leave his presidential hopes hanging by a thread. Or is that threads? — Wolf.

Not the first connection I would have thought of. You?

Let me add a bit about this weird, really weird, Greenfield riff on Barack Obama.

Eric Kleefeld noticed a couple weeks ago that your cheesier run of GOP chat-hound was starting to make a big deal out of the fact that Barack Obama’s middle name is “Hussein”. Pretty lame. But given what’s been going on in this country for the last few years and the GOP’s track record I really can’t say it surprises me.

But if Barack Obama goes around wearing a jacket, collared shirt and no tie, do I figure he’s trying to look like a happening dude from a GQ spread (maybe, ok, check), trying to appeal to the youth vote (sure, check), looks like your average tech executive (sure), just likes to dress that way (sounds right)?

Do I think he reminds me Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

Wow. I’ve got to say I really didn’t see that coming.

I’m not saying I’m outraged exactly. It’s more like curiosity. Kind of like I want to sit down with Jeff and a few Rorschach cards. Bizarre. No tie is the Ahmadinejad look?

Hadn’t heard this one. Is Sec Def Bob Gates considering firing Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace? The Post says that’s the rumor at the Pentagon.

Dems rein in the pork — for now. That and other news of the day in today’s Daily Muck.

Roll Call’s John Bresnahan bails for Vandehei/Harris Capitol Leader pub. That’s a big deal in terms of coverage of Capitol Hill.

What will Pelosi do about Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)? Why hasn’t he been indicted yet? Get all of your answers here.

I’m rich as hell, people say I’m corrupt, and my staff get me great tickets to Rolling Stones concerts. Who am I?

In this edition of Tom DeLay Explains It All….

How the media, Democrats, and the American people are really the ones to blame for the debacle in Iraq.