Waiter, there's a bomb in my soup!: Atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (left) and Senator Warren Magnuson chew the fat at the U.S. Senate restaurant in December 1945. (photo by George Skadding, courtesy of Life magazine)

A new GAO audit shows that the amount of unpaid restaurant tabs at the Senate's private eatery increased by nearly 50 percent in 2008 from the previous year.

Do the results of the audit of the restaurant's revolving fund mean it was a bad year for the senators or for exclusive Capitol Hill restaurant's waiters and waitresses? Part of the perks of being a senator is that you, your colleagues, ex-senators, and "certain Senate officials" can set up "customer accounts."

The accounts receivable numbers are small — $74,701 in 2008, compared with $50,914 in 2007 — but what the hell. Just because the nation's taking on a record deficit is no reason for the senators to put off paying their tabs.