You've probably heard of Congressman Steve Kagen. The newly-elected Democrat from Wisconsin's 8th district made news last week when he told an alternative newspaper in Green Bay a story about his chance meeting with Karl Rove in a bathroom on his first visit to the White House ("My name's Dr. Multimillionaire and I kicked your ass") and also bragged about insulting First Lady Laura Bush by purposefully calling her 'Barbara'. Kagen told the paper, "I did that because I learned on the campaign that the meanest thing you can say to another gentlemen is, 'he's a fine fellow,' and you then refer to his spouse by a different name."

Kagen denied the reports (as did the White House, by the way) refusing to answer any questions beyond telling reporters that he'd had a "very playful experience" in the White House.

Needless to say, Kagen's antics and subsequent obfuscations have brought him an avalanche of bad press. On Wednesday the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ran an editorial telling Kagen to "grow up" and saying the episode "calls into question both Kagen's judgment and maturity." The left-leaning Green Bay Press-Gazette editorial board also wrote an open letter to Kagen on Wednesday that read, in part:

At this point, we really don't know what to believe -- and we increasingly don't care. We recognize the truth may be somewhere in between "kicked your ass" and "social interaction." And we're not sure which is worse: being a boor or being a blowhard.

Columnist Stew Rieckman called it Kagen's "George Costanza moment." Letters on the subject have been even more harsh.

You'll remember this is the same Dr. Kagen who was embroiled in a last-minute gaffe during the campaign when he was caught on audio apologizing to a group of supporters for being late to an event by saying he was running on "Injun time."

Not a very auspicious beginning for Dr. Multimillionaire.

The big night for the Democrats last November inevitably swept in some very weak and - if the political atmostphere improves for Republicans in 2008, which is a big if - some potentially very vulnerable targets for the GOP in 2008. Kagen was probably already on that list, but with this latest gaffe he just moved himself up a few notches.

Wisconsin 8 is a Republican leaning district. It's Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) is R+4. Bush won the district by 11 points in 2004 and 9 points in 2000. Republican Mark Green, who vacated the seat to run (unsuccessfully) for Governor last year, won the seat in '98 with 55% of the vote and was reelected to three successive terms capturing 75, 73, and 70 percent of the vote. Kagen won by only 2% last November, and he spent two and half million of his own money to do it.

Dr. Multimillionaire had better start pleasing his constituents or get his checkbook out again, because the Republicans will be looking to do a little ass-kicking of their own in Wisconsin's eighth district in 2008.