REYES THE ROOF. Now that the Congressional Black Caucus has endorsed Alcee Hastings to chair the Intelligence Committee and the Blue Dogs have united behind Jane Harman, attention is focusing on Silvestre Reyes as a compromise candidate. Reyes is an interesting guy and, it would seem, a sound choice. A moderate Democrat from El Paso, Texas, Reyes was a Vietnam vet and made his name as a border patrol officer. His district is nearly 80% Hispanic and he pulled down a commensurate share of the vote in 2006. He's chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, opposed the Iraq War from the start, tough on border security, and a member of, in addition to the Intelligence Committee, the Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs committees. In sum, he's precisely the sort of Democrat you'd want, on paper, chairing the Intelligence Committee. Of course, none of this predicts what sort of spokesperson he'll be. But a quick survey of his videos page shows him saying the right things in the right way. Democrats should give him a very serious look -- he's got the ideological credibility Harman doesn't and the personal qualities Hastings lacks. --Ezra Klein
