He's just wild about Harriet Miers

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid peeved some party colleagues last week with his out-of-the-starting-gate declaration on President Bush's second Supreme Court nominee: ''I like Harriet Miers." Even though the Nevada senator later tried to temper his enthusiasm on the Senate floor, the die was cast: The Senate's top Democrat and a leading vote against Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. had signaled he wasn't especially interested in leading a fight over Miers, even though other Democrats and a panoply of interest groups were hankering for a showdown.

It turns out that Miers's name had been on Reid's mind for the past six weeks -- ever since a private lunch he and others attended inside the Supreme Court. Among the three justices sitting at Reid's small table was one who made a big impression on him by arguing that the highest court in the nation would benefit from the perspective of someone who wasn't already a judge. Reid was coy about the identity of his table guest, though informed sources point to retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

''Remember, these people [judges] sit in their offices, usually alone, writing opinions," Reid said last week. ''Three of my sons have clerked for federal judges and those jobs are very confining. They don't see much of the real world." Reid was also resistant to the idea of tapping another Ivy Leaguer for the bench. (Roberts is the court's sixth Harvard grad.)

Inspired by the lunch, Reid began floating the names of Republican senators, including Florida's Mel Martinez, Ohio's Mike DeWine and Idaho's Michael Crapo. But he also urged Bush during a White House meeting in September to consider Miers, a Southern Methodist University graduate he grew to respect during last summer's protracted filibuster debate.

Ironically, those same qualities Reid likes about Miers -- she's never worn black robes or opined on judicial philosophy from a top academic post -- have become fodder for conservative intellectuals condemning Bush's choice.

A little too quick on the draw

Did Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman jump the gun when he issued this fearsome e-mail blast at Democrats, just minutes before Reid's kind words about the Bush's nominee? ''They have no interest in giving Ms. Miers a fair hearing or vote. They are promising to throw every punch . . ." As it turned out, the sharpest blows against Miers were delivered by Mehlman's allies in the conservative movement.

'Media hound' on DeLay's trail

Indicted Texas congressman Tom DeLay is doing what any smart politician does when faced with trouble: changing the subject. In this case, DeLay and his supporters want to put the spotlight on Ronnie Earle, the hard-charging district attorney who issued a second indictment against DeLay last week over political fund-raising allegations.

Mallory Factor, cochairman of the Free Enterprise Fund, a group that has launched attack ads against Earle, called the prosecutor a ''media hound" with a long history of pursuing political opponents.

Earle's allies say the 63-year-old son of a Texas rancher is an equal opportunity indicter determined to root out public corruption.

But in Washington the only question that matters is whether Earle can secure a conviction.

We looked into Earle's track record and found that all but three of his 15 indictments against public officials -- 12 Democrats and three Republicans -- have led to resignations, fines, or (mostly minor) jail time.

Earle's targets dating back to 1977 graze the colorful Texas political landscape, including a state representative who arranged to be shot to gain publicity and then lied about it to a grand jury; a Texas Supreme Court justice who allegedly plotted to have an associate killed; and even Earle himself -- who paid $200 in fines after accusing himself of untimely reporting of campaign finances.

But DeLay can take heart in one fact: Earle's two biggest fish escaped his hook. US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican who insisted on going to trial after he dropped all charges against her, and was acquitted, and former Democratic Attorney General Jim Mattox, also acquitted.

The Bay State's third senator

A Capitol Hill struggle over energy assistance to low-income families has pitted the Bay State's junior senator against its governor, both of whom have at least one eye on the Oval Office.

When Senate Republican leaders last week scuttled a plan to fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program -- known as LIHEAP -- through a defense bill, Senator John F. Kerry accused the GOP of leaving American families ''out in the cold."

Governor Mitt Romney arrived in Washington the day after the vote, to lobby a key senator for LIHEAP funding, prompting one Democratic aide to call him ''the Michael Brown of LIHEAP, a little late to the party."

But the governor's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said Romney is working closely with GOP leaders to secure funding through other legislation.

And Fehrnstrom couldn't resist throwing the barbs back. ''You get more with honey than vinegar," he said in a less-than-veiled reference to Kerry. ''It's times like this that Mitt Romney acts as the third senator from Massachusetts."

While in town, the state's third senator squeezed in an appearance at the 50th anniversary bash for National Review, the conservative magazine.