The clown is not amused.

I love the array of characters in this picture (by me, from yesterday's Tea Party/anti-Tea Party protest). Enlarge.

The girl in the Bucky Badger hat is holding a sign that says: "This Revolution is powered by: PIZZA & BEER/Not TEA and BULLSHIT." The clown's arms are folded across his chest — I know, it looks like he has no arms — so you can only read half of the button he's wearing: "I could be..." I could be... what?! The woman on the right with a red headband has a sign about Reince Priebus. Reince Priebus. It's about time somebody concentrated on the Reince Priebus threat. The man in the brown fedora looks like he's reading the newspaper, but it's another sign.

As for "I can see 1840 from here"... I just don't know, but the man seems awfully pleased about it. Does he mean to invoke "I can see Russia from my house" (because Sarah Palin's in town)? What happened in 1840? He's referring to the year, right? William Henry Harrison was elected President in 1840, and proceeded to die the following April, after going out without a coat on a cold stormy spring day and catching a cold.

It was a cold and stormy spring day in Madison yesterday, and I don't know if Sarah Palin wore a coat. Nor do I know if the man with the "I can see 1840 from here" meant to refer to Sarah Palin's health.

By the way, William Henry Harrison's last words were: "Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more."

Would you carry a sign that said that?