Best Video

Hank: The tie-wearing cat running for U.S. Senate

The claws are coming out in Virginia, as a feline contender leaps into a tight race

The video: Former Virginia governors Tim Kaine (D) and George Allen (R) are used to the bloodsport of politics, ruthlessly bruising each other as they vie to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Jim Webb (D). But has either ever faced an opponent with nine lives? Enter Hank, a tie-wearing cat that is taking the state by storm with a promise to create jobs and put "milk in every bowl." Describing himself as a "proud Independent," Hank promises to bring "real world experience, a unique point of view, and limitless energy" to the position. Hank's owner says the cat's candidacy began as an "inside joke," but has since blossomed into a website, a Facebook account, and a campaign commercial. (Watch it below.)

The reaction: "America's screaming, LOLCat conscience has finally found a suitable outlet in Hank," says Emma Carmichael at Gawker. But he does face some challenges, says Samantha Grossman at TIME, including the fact that "current regulations prohibit animals from serving in Congress." And in what could be a major problem, "he really doesn't seem to like wearing clothes," observes Hillary Tuttle at The Huffington Post. But at least his ad "offers a clearer position than Jon Huntsman's spot of a motorcycle ride through the desert." Meet Hank:

Recommended

Zoomers at work
Man on phone in an office.
Briefing

Zoomers at work

A summer to remember
An inflatable pool ring
Feature

A summer to remember

6 picture-perfect homes with great views
House
Feature

6 picture-perfect homes with great views

The Check-In: Flight bans in France and traveling along the Artichoke Trail
Planes release smoke in the colors of the French flag
Feature

The Check-In: Flight bans in France and traveling along the Artichoke Trail

Most Popular

Air New Zealand to weigh international passengers as part of safety survey
An Air New Zealand plane takes off from Sydney, Australia.
Step on the Scale

Air New Zealand to weigh international passengers as part of safety survey

Thousands flock to Missouri to see body of nun who died in 2019
People wait in line to see the exhumed body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster.
drawing a crowd

Thousands flock to Missouri to see body of nun who died in 2019

Biden's reelection calculus
President Joe Biden
Briefing

Biden's reelection calculus