The tireless observer records it all: the care and feeding of children, the long hours spent walking, the glories of the moon over snowbound Mystic, and even the late-night ruminations on the deepest thoughts of the pet turtle, whose name, he has assured me, is "Turtle."

Presenting Mr. Merrick Alpert, candidate for the U.S. Senate, undisputed poet-king of Connecticut politicial hopefuls on Twitter.

Let us be frank: most politicians on Twitter are deeply boring. Links to their latest press releases, the occasional aide-snapped photo, stuff like this, from Republican challenger Rob Simmons: "I call on Congress and the President to enact tough sanctions on Iran."

Ho hum. Any old politician could call for that.

So what if candidate Simmons ponders the proper policy response to our earthly challenges. Down the road, on the other side of the Mystic River, Alpert contemplates the mysteries of the universe.

"Wondering what turtle dreams about when he is burrowed into half-a-log," the candidate mused about 14 hours ago.

"Thinking about how pancakes taste better than oatmeal," he wrote on Feb. 4th.

(After reading that one, a Hartford insider observed: "I continue to wonder if he really believes this helps advance his candidacy for the United States Senate. Anything is possible if you can solve the pancakes vs oatmeal conundrum, I guess." It's also worth noting that Alpert has been engaging in long-form walking excursions to protest the Afghanistan troop escalation, the calorie demands of which may explain why approximately 70 percent of these updates seem to concern food.)

"Explaining to Bella that the chicken is my dinner not hers," the candidate reported at the beginning of the month, just after "Commending Bella for smelling so clean following her bath." The compliment seems less intrusive once it becomes clear that Bella, attempted appropriator of chicken dinners, is a dog.

To be sure, some of these tweets are all business. A trip into the belly of the conservative talk radio beast is commemorated ("WDRC," Alpert tweets), as is the delight the candidate feels at jousting with the guests: "Smiling, because few things are more fun then telling right leaning radio listeners that we need a public health care option in America," he wrote on Jan. 27.

But more often, the Alpert Twitter feed is an oasis of poetic contemplation. Let the McMahons and the Schiffs and the Simmonses tweet the comings and goings of campaign life. Merrick Alpert, the Basho of Senate primary politics, will concern himself with the larger questions.

"Looking up at the giant cold sky moon," the challenger muses.

And then: "Turning on turtle's night light."

Go find your own favorite: twitter.com/MerrickAlpert