Adhering to tradition, more than one Inside the Beltway reader has already submitted New Year's resolutions for our commander-in-chief to adhere to in 2009.

President Bush, obviously, is already counting down the days until he is kicking back in Texas, so the new batch of resolutions should be directed to the attention of President-elect Barack Obama.

In other words, put on your thinking caps and tell Inside the Beltway what you would like Mr. Obama to resolve to accomplish in the no doubt daunting first year of his administration. Please include your names and hometowns when emailing resolutions to Inside the Beltway columnist John McCaslin in care of the e-mail address listed at the bottom of the column.

LAND OF LARCENY

"Imagine the surge of pride Illinois drivers will experience when making cross-country trips displaying this remarkable symbol of our beloved state!" writes Inside the Beltway reader Stan Welli of Aurora, Ill.

Mr. Welli forwarded a mock vehicle license plate bearing photographs of former Illinois Republican Gov. George Ryan (convicted of corruption in 2006, he is currently serving a six-plus-year prison term) and current Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (who was arrested earlier this month and awaits a court appearance on corruption charges).

As for the license plate's slogan beneath each gubernatorial portrait: rather than "Land of Lincoln," it reads, "Where Our Governors Make Our License Plates."

POWER INCLUDED

Virtually every class of accommodation within reasonable proximity to President-elect Barack Obama's Inaugural ceremonies is being let by money-hungry Americans hoping to cash in on the much-anticipated arrival in the nation's capital of the country's 44th president.

Shell out enough bucks, for example, and the inauguration-goer can rent an entire town house in Foggy Bottom for a mere $15,000. If it's a room you're after, the starting bid is only $6,000 for a four-night stay in a king-size bed at the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown (the peddler, obviously, was smart enough to book the room many moons ago). Rest assured, there's lodgings in the offing for every budget and pocketbook. Continued...