I really, really like this Joe Garcia political ad. Democrat Joe Garcia, himself a former and now reformed chief spear-carrier of the Cuban American National Foundation, is challenging Mario Diaz-Balart for Florida’s 25th district — and he’s making huge inroads.

The Washington Note is starting a new feature called “Short Takes” — small, semi-daily snippets of items our team finds interesting combined with occasional gossip and insider DC intrigue. CARTER’S PROGRESS? Jimmy Carter’s entrepreneurship has moved some Hamas leaders to offer Israel a ten-year truce.

I had a three and a half hour long dinner with a Saudi notable in Jeddah the week before last.

I’ve been blogging and reading this morning at Columbus Circle in New York — and a TWN reader said hi to me at 7 a.m. there. It’s become a strange thing to run into people in parks, on the street, on planes who read this blog. I love it, but it’s still unusual.

Meet Buddy, the newest in the clan. Buddy on the left, cuddling with his new brother, Oakley the Amazing Weimaraner. Little Annie girl is in the foreground.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband has begun to cultivate a reputation as a young, thoughtful, and charismatic diplomat amidst more seasoned but less dynamic peers. When he spoke to the Young Atlanticists two weeks ago in Bucharest, he seemed to enjoy playing to this persona.

I’ve been engaged in an interesting debate with New Republic Deputy Editor Richard Just about the Beijing Olympics and what posture America’s Commander-in-Chief should take regarding the games. Hillary Clinton has been nudging George W. Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies. Barack Obama reports that he is of “two minds on the issue.

Traveling through Chestertown, Maryland up to Wilimington, Delaware and then on up to New York was roughly the route that George Washington used to take when making the journey from his home at Mt. Vernon up to Manhattan.

In recent weeks, I have met very senior advisors for the Obama, Clinton, and McCain camps. In each case, the senior presidential aide was quite aware of critiques I had offered regarding a variety of foreign policy issues.

For those interested, I have done a two-part exchange, a debate really, with New Republic deputy editor Richard Just over the issue of how an American President should approach the question of the Olympic Games with respect to ongoing human rights conditions in China.