Pumpkin Seeds:

1. I can't stand people who barely know their own jobs getting snippy and trying to tell other people how to do theirs. My boss has the worst phone manners with people in other departments, as well as with customer service people at other companies. And if I have to hear one more time about "When I was a publisher...," I just may snap. Get over it! Your Publisher days are over and, at the rate you're going, your marketing days aren't looking too bright, either.

2. Thanks to bonehead plays by Brett Favre and the Packer D, we get another playoff season of excessive hype for Donovan McNabb and the Philadelpia Eagles. Highlight of yesterday's game came from Cris Collinsworth, in reference to a fan wearing a mask with a football jammed forcefully into its mouth: "Glad to see Rush Limbaugh made it to the game."

3. From the "But some of my best friends are black!" Department:

Racial politics have not been prominent in the snow-white confines of Iowa and New Hampshire. But the primary contest moves to more diverse states beginning on Feb. 3, including South Carolina, where nearly half the voters are expected to be minorities and [Civil rights activist Al] Sharpton is looking to make a mark on the race.

[Howard] Dean initially denied Sharpton's accusation that he didn't have one Hispanic or black holding a senior policy position as governor, saying he had "a senior member of my staff on my fifth floor."

Sharpton said he was asking about the Cabinet, which has a small number of members.

"No, we did not," conceded Dean, whose state has a population that is nearly 98 percent white.

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun chastised Sharpton for instigating a "racial screaming match." Sharpton responded that he just wants Dean to be held accountable for his record.

Moments later, Dean noted that he has the endorsements of more members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus than any other presidential hopeful.

But Sharpton ridiculed that, saying, "I think you only need co-signers if your credit is bad."

Just admit when something is beyond your realm of experience and say you'll appoint someone with the appropriate experience as an adviser. Anything else is just shameful pandering.

4. In an interview on NBC's Today show this morning, Ron Suskind, Dubya-whistleblower Paul O'Neill's collaborator on The Price of Loyalty, said of O'Neill's coming forward: "He told me, 'I can tell the truth. I'm an older guy, I'm a rich guy, and there's nothing they can do to hurt me.'"