by James Oliphant
Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is waiting by the phone.
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Leahy, whose committee would take up the nomination of a permanent replacement for Atty Gen. Alberto Gonzales, sent a letter to the White House today suggesting he be included in the selection process.
To make his point clear, Leahy said he’s available anytime after Labor Day, when the congressional recess ends, to meet with the president and his staff. He also suggested that his Republican counterpart on the committee, Sen. Arlen Specter, be included in the confab.
Here’s the problem: anyone who has ever survived the slings and arrows of the dating scene in D.C. and elsewhere knows that this is simply no way to get a call back. Saying you’re free anytime “after Labor Day” is just a few degrees short of desperate. (Or maybe this is a vein of humor that is best left unmined in the wake of Stallgate, or whatever label is about to hung on the Larry Craig episode.)
The last time Democrats were consulted on a big-time vacancy, the White House listened, ignored them completely, and ended up nominating John Roberts and later Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. But that hasn’t stopped Leahy from asking again. Some people never get the hint.