Let's all have a tomato fight

Those folks in Spain sure know how to have a good time.

Thanks to Ernest Hemingway and The Sun Also Rises, we know all about the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.

Now, there's the somewhat lesser known "Tomatina" festival in the eastern Spanish town of Bunol. I first learned about that event this morning, when I saw a newspaper picture of a festival participant floating in a pond of tomato muck. Maybe you saw it too.

The "Tomatina" event, the Associated Press story explained, attracts some 40,000 people who pelt one another with 120 tons of ripe tomatoes. The hourlong tomato battle has its roots in a food fight back in 1945, between childhood friends.

I swear, I'm not making this up.

Now, I know that cultural events don't always translate well from one country to another, but I think the "Tomatina" has possibilities here in Washington, where a new round of gridlock is taking shape over what to do about the economy.

There's nothing like getting splatted in the face with a ripe tomato to give you a little perspective. Who knows, it might even help feuding Democrats and Republicans focus on things that really matter, like putting people back to work.

Maybe we should give it a try. Nothing else seems to be working.