Saint Mark of the holy pictures

It's beginning to get a little ridiculous. How can anyone have time to campaign, let alone do his job, when there are all of those holy pictures to pose for? The AP on Mark Green's latest:

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Rep. Mark Green said Tuesday he will return his congressional salary for the days when he's campaigning for governor in Wisconsin and the U.S. House is in session.

"Those occasions will be infrequent, and I will limit the votes I miss to legislation that is expected to pass overwhelmingly,'' Green, R-Wis., said in a statement. "However, because I know my first responsibility is always to the taxpayers, I will not take pay for any days I do not travel to Washington, D.C. when the House is in session.''

Green said he's asked the House chief administrative officer to deduct the missing days from his salary.

Green's spokesman, Luke Punzenberger, said the missed paydays will come to $458.89 a day. Green faces Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle in the November general election.

"Whenever a current public officeholder runs for higher office, inevitably there are times when that officeholder spends time on the campaign trail that would normally be spent on official business,'' Green said.

He added that when he does miss a vote, he will enter into the Congressional Record how he would have voted.

As long as he's being pious, why not go all the way and apply the same standard as that for legislative aides. Have the campaign pay his health care costs on those days, too. Why settle for less than sainthood?

Or, he could just be a martyr and do his job.