WHY HARRY REID: In case you were wondering why (other than seniority) Senate Democrats chose non-entity Harry Reid to replace Tom Daschle as their leader, Elsa Walsh has the goods in this week's issue of The New Yorker. Excerpt:

Like L.B.J. and other Southwestern politicians, such as Barry Goldwater, Reid has a habit of using language that his critics say is inappropriate for a Senate leader. “I think Senator Reid often says what we’re all thinking but perhaps are afraid to say,” Senator Edward Kennedy says. Reid has called Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve chairman, a “political hack,” said that Clarence Thomas was an “embarrassment,” and labelled Bush a “loser” and a “liar.” He surprised the Democratic operative Jim Johnson, who was conducting John Kerry’s search for a running mate, by sharply criticizing a long list of potential candidates, including John Edwards.