Thought you had a bad week?

Yeah, midterms have come and gone, and they hit some of us hard (I currently am watching a passed out underclassman drool on a table littered with sheets of math in Frist). Can you imagine what it's like in the real world, though? More specifically, in the political world?Take note all you Woody Woo majors: it gets worse!

• First up, our very own billionaire dorm donor Meg Whitman '71 has spent $162 million (and counting) of her own money in the race for bankrupt California's governorship, breaking the self-financing record set by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. So that's fun. Not so fun? Turns out all the money's going to waste -- rival Jerry Brown leads in polls. Coulda bought another college.

• As if Meg wasn't having a bad enough week, her son Griff Harsh '09 has been accused by gossip blog Gawker of covering up a rape allegation during his sophomore year at Princeton. It's been blowing up online this past week. Not the best PR -- for Whitman, or, well, Princeton, I guess.

• The cherry on top of Meg's campaign? At least she's kind of like, the female "Governator," or at least according to this attack ad running now.

• Moving on! Eliot Spitzer '81 was denied entrance to the Harvard Club of New York. A spokeswoman said he was "disappointed." Maybe it's because his new show on CNN is getting awful ratings? Maybe the raging sex scandal? Either way, Spitzer could deign to rejoin the Princeton Club. Quoth the Times:

He could rejoin the Princeton Club of New York, on West 43rd Street, one block to the south, where his membership has lapsed. Dues for alumni are slightly higher — ranging from $205 to $1,605 — and there are only two international-level squash courts, compared with four at the Harvard Club.

Only two? Exactly what kind of club are we running in New York?

• And, vote for worst week/month/year?: Tea Party member Ken Buck '81 from Colorado recently compared being gay to alcoholism on "Meet the Press." File under "Awful things." Another great comment?: "I disagree strongly with the concept of separation of church and state." File under "Things not to say." If you're interested in learning more about Buck, head over to Mudd and read his thesis for the politics department ("Saudi Arabia: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place", 75 pages). A subject ripe for political incorrectness; hopefully more thought went into that than whenever he talks.

• Not everyone's had a bad month, though: Indiana governor Mitch Daniels '71's gaining traction as a possible GOP candidate for the 2012 presidential race. Newsweek reporter (and UPC alum) Andrew Romano '04 recently profiled Daniels and noted that the GOP should take note of his pragmatism and fiscal restraint. Fun fact: Daniels spent two nights in jail during college for possession of marijuana. No word on if he inhaled.

(images via wired.com and republicanbuffs.com) (and, a prior version of this article said Whitman had spent $71 million on her campaign, which is, like, half of the amount at the time of NPR's reporting.)