Good morning, Washington. We’re not sure how last night’s 2nd Republican debate could have been any more entertaining, so in case you missed it, the Politico has a nice collection of some of the highlights. There’s going to be many, many more presidential primary debates over the course of the year, so we thought we’d take some nominations from you on the best bars in town to watch them. Nothing goes better with debating than beer, but which spots won’t mind tuning their TVs to let you watch? We’ll compile a list of debate-friendly taverns before the next one comes around, with your suggestions included.

Council Passes Fenty’s Budget: The D.C. Council voted unanimously yesterday to give initial approval to Mayor Adrian Fenty’s $5.7 billion budget for fiscal 2008. The WaPo reports that the budget included a last-minute tax measure that would give $30 million in tax relief to residents and small businesses, including an increase in the standard individual D.C. tax deduction from $2500 to $4000.

Complaint Response to Cops to be Investigated: In case you hadn’t noticed the mass numbers of police officers in town lately for activities related to National Police Week, the photo above by blueiris2006 is an excellent reminder. Of course, some residents have had less subtle reminders this week, as the MPD has received a number of complaints of disorderly conduct by out-of-town officers who were partying a little too hard. Now D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says she’s investigating how her department has dealt with those complaints, to make sure her officers haven’t been too lenient on visiting cops — as some residents have suggested.

Briefly Noted: Metro faces three new lawsuits from victims of Metrobus accidents … Montgomery County passes trans fat ban … Man killed in Southeast.

This Day in DCist: In 2006 we asked how much being Mayor of D.C. was actually worth, and in 2005 we looked at which District intersections are the most dangerous.

Photo by blueiris2006