In case you don't feel like dressing up as Jon or Kate or any of their 8 this Halloween & since you're such governmental geeks (or at least we are), we thought we'd draft a few Halloween costume ideas that will truly make your friends say OHMYGOV!

1. Meghan McCain — Young girls have strained for decades to find seemingly innocent costume ideas that can be perverted into aesthetically smutty outfits. This one's got it all for you... but be sure to tweet about it the next day, wondering why everyone was freaking out about that picture of your cleavage and lamenting that others would respect you only if you wore pantsuits. Speaking of the "p" word, that leads us to...

2. Hillary Clinton — There are loads of Hillary masks, but seriously, a soccer mom haircut and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuit is all you'll need... and maybe a set of iron balls.

3. Rod Blagojevich — Easy for most men, if they really think back and try to recall how it felt to possess the maturity of a 12-year-old barely-pubescent male. Slick your hair back, flirt with everything that moves, and work that "charm."

4. Nancy Pelosi — This costume is quickly emerging on Twitter as the potential "scariest costume of the year." Take the advice of one tweetheart and complete the pantsuit and perma-surprised gaze with her "bitch, please" look.

5. Joe Wilson — The best costume if you're looking for a rowdy night: Get belligerent, sweat as much as you can muster, and continually yell "YOU LIE!", punctuated with begrudgingly grumbled apologies. Goes great with the...

6. Barack Obama — Whether you choose to dress up as Barack the Good, Barack the Bad or Barack the Vampire (i.e. Count Barackula from Taxsylvania), crafting a Barack Obama costume really helps America address tough, deeply-rooted issues, like whether wearing shoe polish on one's face is appropriate or not. (It's not, unless you're going as a shoe.)

7. Michelle Obama — If you decide to keep it classy tonight, a prim J.Crew outfit and pearls will do just the trick. However, to ensure that no one will mix you up for a Jackie O, be sure to hand out tickets to the gun show.

8. Mark Sanford — The most meta of the costumes; dress as an Appalachian hiker, but instead of a topographic map, fill your knapsack with plane tickets, cologne, and a stack of gushy love letters. Don't respond to calls all night or hell, all weekend.

9. Glenn Beck — A little hair bleach (if needed), a vial of eyedrops to induce tears, and flailing your arms as you spout proclamations that are alternately tender, patriotic and absolutely off-the-wall

10. Prostitute / ACORN Client — This one does double-duty, letting you pull off that acceptably slutty look (forgivable just this one night a year) while also showing your political news chops. Paired with Mr. Beck above, people will instantly recognize it, and then go "okay, we get it already." 

11. The Cambridge Cop and Henry Louis Gates — Yep, you guessed it. Stand outside the party dressed in a police getup and confront every minority who comes to the door. Might cause some initial tension, but that can be relieved when you run into each other again by the beer cooler. (Note: grab a handful of ice to bring down that swelling on your face).  Whatever you do, don't let anyone butt in the bar line just because they've come as...

12. Joe Biden — Wear a white hair wig, an expensive suit, and just roam around the party as the one random old guy that always seems to be there (you know the one). Your #1 job: Stand by the beer cooler and say inappropriate things to people so they'll quickly slink away, keeping the bar traffic flowing nicely.

And for those of y'all who hate going as actual figures and prefer abstract "only cool in D.C." concept costumes, we've got those too...

13. Gov Transparency — A see-though outer garment that reveals more than you ever wanted to know about what's underneath. Once you've had a look, though, you want more! Augment by passing out random spreadsheets of numbers and Tweeting nonstop.

14. Open Source — Don't go out and buy a costume; just come with an idea and let everyone else at the party help you build it. Works only if your friends are clever and have some spare time on their hands. Chances are you'll end up with something that looks like Gov Transparency.

15. Obama's Birth Certificate — We're not sure what this looks like, but you'll be quite popular among half the crowd, and disbelieved by the rowdy bunch over in the corner. Make sure to wear Kenyan clothing and speak Indonesian to really throw people off.   

Hope these suggestions are useful. Note that OhMyGov is not responsible for any "What are you supposed to be?" comments, revoked invitations, unsolicited phone numbers, or party fouls, except our own.

Lastly, please remember this Halloween: 1. Be safe and 2. Sarah Palin is sooo 2008.

by Amelia Hassani and Mark Malseed