WASHINGTON -- For children, Christmastime may be the favorite holiday, even if their families don't celebrate the birth of Christ. The twinkling lights and aura of magic that suddenly transfigure the most plebian edifices are nearly as seductive as a round-trip ticket to Never-Never Land.

For adults, invariably, the favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. The reason is simple: Compared to all others, Thanksgiving is a relatively stress-free holiday.

WASHINGTON -- Let's recap: If you like your insurance policy, you can keep it. No, wait. If you liked your policy, it was probably worthless anyway. Scratch that. If your junk policy was canceled and you still want it, you can keep it. Er, get it back.

WASHINGTON -- In spite of everything -- the GOP's internal scrimmages, the government shutdown, the party's transparent attempts to derail Obamacare -- Republicans keep getting second chances.

The question is, can they handle prosperity? Do they even know what to do with it?

WASHINGTON -- President Obama is no lip-biting, tear-streaking, chin-trembling apologist.

When he said he was sorry for the health care mess-up in an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd, he performed the mea culpa as well as -- if not better than -- anyone in recent history. With Trumanesque resolve, he may as well have said, "The devalued dollar stops here."

WASHINGTON -- Among the many rules I grew up with, two stand out. The first was never call someone a liar, which was considered the worst possible character indictment one could issue. The accuser had best be prepared to fight or be fleet of foot.

The other was a dictum so oft-repeated that it is permanently tattooed on my brain: "If you'll lie by omission, you'll lie by commission."

WASHINGTON -- Ms. Know-It-All, the anonymous political advice columnist whose identity remains a popular Georgetown cocktail party guessing game, is also known to live up to her title now and then. Herewith a correspondence worth sharing.

WASHINGTON -- It isn't over yet, but a bookie today would predict a Terry McAuliffe victory in the Virginia governor's election next week.

Washington Post polling shows the Democratic businessman and fundraiser with a double-digit lead (51 percent to 39 percent) over Republican Ken Cuccinelli following a campaign ad blitz that shredded the sitting attorney general over his conservative views. It's not that voters love McAuliffe. They just don't like Cuccinelli -- and they really don't like the Republican Party.

WASHINGTON -- While the nation's attention has been riveted on the Keystone Congress, the executive branch was busy developing its own comedy routine. Picture the cast (you know the characters) shrugging their shoulders in unison: "Who, me?"

WASHINGTON -- Two things are often said in this town: "A day is a year in politics." And, "It's all about 2014."

Combined, the two statements mean that much can happen between now and the midterm elections next year when Republicans hope to hold the House and gain the Senate -- and Democrats intend to hold the Senate and recover the House.

WASHINGTON -- In trying to understand the Republican Party's internal battles, it helps to think of Michael and Sonny.

Corleone, that is.