Wunderkind cuts and runs:

U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam says he will give up his seat in Congress to become a candidate for state agriculture commissioner. Putnam tells The Associated Press he will file paperwork to officially enter the race on Monday. He was the third most powerful Republican in the House until the last election, when he decided not to seek another term as chair of the House Republican Conference. He now wants to return to Tallahassee, where he was elected to the state House as a 22-year-old.

But… but…isn’t he the " Fresh Face" who "Vows to Revive the G.O.P."?

Amid the sea of square jaws and swept-back gray hair in Congress, Representative Adam H. Putnam, a tousled redhead whose cherubic appearance still causes Capitol police to stop him occasionally, appears a bit out of place.

But Mr. Putnam, 32, a Florida Republican, has become the unlikely mouthpiece for the beleaguered minority in the House, taking over as chairman of the Republican Conference, the third-ranking post behind the minority leader and whip, as his party struggles to right itself.

Mr. Putnam, something of a political wunderkind who at 26 was one of the youngest members of Congress in decades when he was elected in 2000, has taken on the role of attack dog over the last three months.

Combining agility on the issues and controlled partisan outrage, he has helped lead Republicans in the debate over the war in Iraq, lambasted Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her use of a military jet to fly across country to her home district, and generally tried to eke out political points at every opportunity.

….and, despite what Rahm thought of him:

“I consider Adam one of the best Republicans,” Mr. Emanuel said. “I think he’s a worthy opponent. He does his homework. He doesn’t just get up there and wing it. He knows his stuff. He’s a sharp communicator.”

…he didn’t really do his homework and he did kind of wing it:

He quickly ran into controversy when he waged a full-throated attack against Ms. Pelosi’s use of a military transport jet — larger than the plane used by her predecessor, Mr. Hastert — to fly between California and Washington, accusing her of “an arrogance of extravagance.”

It turned out that the House sergeant of arms, not Ms. Pelosi, had asked for the plane because of the distance involved. Mr. Putnam remains unapologetic, saying he was only responding to news reports. “I always thought it was reporters’ jobs to confirm their stories,” he said.

Congressmanning is hard and it sucks playing for the B-team.