I have referenced the faux horror at Rep. Pelosi's actions respecting picking the next chairperson of the important House intelligence committee. One the chattering idiots, like Timothy Noah over at Slate, was so horrified at ... worthy of putting on her "probation." Why? Apparently, for unclear (but probably petty) reasons, she didn't support the current ranking member (a Bush apologist) and thus clearly meant (though she never said so ... when she did voice support, for Murtha, that too was clearly horrifying) to support the next in line (though intel doesn't work by strict seniority), a former federal judge that got elected only after being removed via impeachment.
Net result? The third in line, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a perfectly fine compromise choice that came off rather well in his welcoming press conference. And, a bit of finesse did not insult the powerful congressional black caucus, who at least wanted to be shown some respect (it is unclear if Hastings had total control of the caucus). You want bona fides? He opposed the war, one as "stupid" as he labeled the seven hundred mile fence idea at the Mexican border. Reyes knew a bit about both -- a former Border Patrol agent and Vietnam combat veteran.
And, during his remarks, Reyes spoke about the importance of both civil liberties as well as noting that it is unlikely we could regain trust respecting the Middle East until the next administration comes in. Best we can do now is hold the line. Rummy seems to agree. Per a memo from two days before his resignation, we learn "Nor did Mr. Rumsfeld seem confident that the administration would readily develop an effective alternative. To limit the political fallout from shifting course he suggested the administration consider a campaign to lower public expectations." Professional plus a good head on his shoulders.
Not as much experience (worthy of scare quotes) in intelligence as Harman, or as an interesting out of the box choice as Holt, but so far, sounds like a good choice.