MUSICAL CHAIRS. I'll have to disagree with the mighty Atrios on this one. Blogospheric talk about the Harman/Hastings contest wasn't premature or chump-like. Just because "there was never anything coming from Pelosi's office suggesting that he was her designated man for the job," didn't mean there was no reason to believe he was her man for the job. Second in seniority, publicly supported by the Congressional Black Caucus, there was every reason to believe Pelosi would turn to Hastings. And for those who thought it a bad idea, every reason to oppose it publicly and prematurely. Unless I've misremembered my School House Rock, there's no public campaign for Select Committee Chair -- the Speaker simply chooses who her candidate, and then the deed is done. If you want to influence it, you have to do so before the appointment. As for whether this was really "a big fact-free fake controversy likely set up by Harman supporters," it's resulted in the elimination of both Hastings and Harman, which means the ascension of one of the stronger second-tier candidates. Meanwhile, an obscure controversy over congressional committee selection will be forgotten by daybreak. The Chair of the Committee will be in place for years. A few moments of now-negated bad press seems like a fair trade for confidence in the final occupant. --Ezra Klein
