I'm always on the look out for new literary forms cropping up in our daily press roundabouts. And the one I'm keyed into now is the most creative, the most outside-the-box disassociation with Jack Abramoff.

Today's prize may go to Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), aspirant to the Majority Leadership ...

"I've got 11 brothers and sisters, and my dad owned a bar," said Boehner, R-West Chester, who said he met Abramoff at a fund-raiser for then-Sen. Don Nickles. "It's great training for what I do every day. You stand behind a bar, and it doesn't take long to sort of size people up. Some you like, and some you don't, and he just wasn't someone I liked. I knew it the moment I met him."

Neighborhood bar, school of character and ethics.

Late Update: This final note probably left the impression that I don't think tending bar can give you a lot of insights into human nature. Quite the opposite. I just think it's a stretch for Boehner to hang his hat on this as a way of explaining his alleged aversion to Jack Abramoff.