RAY-SHUL Tancredo does his best David Brent

Hate illegal immigration and love tiny, toupeed politicians? Then there's good news from Iowa, where Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo has officially announced his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination.

The former junior high teacher and Department of Education bureaucrat has been kicking it in Congress for eight years, distinguishing himself with a bombastic, high-profile crusade against illegal immigration and with his suggestion that, hey, maybe we should just blow up Mecca if this war on terror doesn't do the trick.

In the months leading up to his presidential announcement, Tancredo has worked to further broaden his appeal by offering voters some characteristically subtle hints about his take on race relations. He's called for the elimination of the Congressional Black Caucus and has been seen cozying up to the Confederate flag and singing "Dixie" with members of a white pride organization in South Carolina.

Despite his success in cultivating a national following among the xenophobic conservative fringe, his quest for the nomination is almost certain to fail. He will probably succeed, however, in creating an uncomfortable spectacle or two for Republicans hoping to attract centrist and Hispanic voters in the tough general election, and could deepen fractures in a beleaguered political party if he refuses to throw his support behind the eventual nominee.

While a Tancredo spokesman has flatly rejected the possibility of a third party run, speculation of such will likely continue, particularly in light of the congressman's selection of Bay Buchanan as a top campaign aide. Buchanan has not shied away from third-party presidential campaigns in the past, having managed her brother Pat Buchanan's bid for the presidency in 2000 on the Reform Party ticket.