I've lost track of how many people are running for mayor of Minneapolis, and I've also lost my program that diagrams the six levels of separation from current Mayor R.T. Rybak and the scrum of DFLers fighting to replace him.
So all I wanted to know Tuesday was who had the freshest eyes.
Tuesday's paper featured a story about the supposed leaders in the race to run the city, Mark Andrew and Betsy Hodges. In that story, Andrew said he wanted to bring "fresh eyes" to the job.
I thought I'd heard that phrase before. Oh, yeah, Cam Winton, the only Republican in the race, was giving me the "fresh eyes" spiel just last week over breakfast at Peter's Grill.
So I e-mailed Winton, asking for proof that his eyes were indeed like newly picked blueberries.
Winton responded: "Regarding my eyes, I dab mine with moist towelettes hourly to ensure freshness."
He also pointed out that Andrew's 16 years in politics makes his claim of being the new guy "laughable."
Winton has the chore, and luxury, of being a non-DFLer in the mayoral race. He's running as an independent, having once supported Barack Obama and then Mitt Romney for president. But he considers himself a Republican.