Can Congressional Hearings Cure Insomnia?

When was the last time you watched CSPAN? Was it when congress debated about health care reform or political campaign contributions. Or was it when comedian Stephen Colbert lambasted congress or when a congressional panel questioned Major League Baseball's top stars about steroid use?

There's a reason why people tune in to see the unusual and entertaining but choose to read about important policy issues in the news later. Congressional procedure is about as entertaining as an early morning accounting seminar in college.

That said, its hard to blame a young boy for falling asleep during his grandfathers floor speech. The CSPAN video (seen below) has become a viral sensation.

The man speaking is U.S. Rep. Joe Poe, a Republican from Texas. In this blogger's opinion, the address about domestic violence was brief and not that boring by Washington's standards. Yet even a congressional aide couldn't keep the boy from drifting to sleep.



It's not just children who can't stay awake through the endless and sometimes pointless posturing. Even presidential candidates have been caught napping at the capitol.

Think you can stay awake through congressional hearings?