STATE COLLEGE, Penn.—Hillary Clinton, speaking on the Penn State campus here on Sunday night, once again sought to exploit Barack Obama's declaration that John McCain would make a better president than George W Bush.

She was met with cheers when she told the crowd, "We need a nominee who is going to take on John McCain, not cheer him on."  read more »

A DC reader notes that first member of the 1998 class of Congress members to get a nice new office in the Rayburn building is Joseph Crowley. Lucky, huh?

What was surprising was how much political capital Pelosi, the incoming Speaker, had invested on Murtha's behalf in the last two days, considering the almost obvious futility of his effort from the outset.

Had she simply announced her preference for Murtha and stood on the sidelines, Hoyer's win would mean nothing. But by turning up the heat on her fellow Democrats only to lose lopsidedly, Pelosi may have empowered Hoyer, her longtime foe. Should some similar impasse occur in the future - whether over a leadership position or an actual policy item - Hoyer may have considerably more standing in convincing members that it's okay to stick with him against the Speaker.

Right now, Nancy Pelosi is giving a nominating speech on behalf of Jack Murtha, who is running against Steny Hoyer for House Majority Leader.

Predictions on who wins, and more importantly, who benefits/loses from the NY delegation?

Earlier this week, I wrote that Nancy Pelosi would suffer no real damage from today's vote for House Majority Leader.

That was then.

The House 230-some odd Democrats will convene in the Cannon Building this morning to choose between Steny Hoyer, the current second-ranking House Democrat and Pelosi's longtime foe, and John Murtha, who has the incoming Speaker's support.

Just a few days ago, this seemed like a simple little exercise. Hoyer would score a lay-up of a victory while Pelosi, recognizing the futility of the situation, would provide a nominal endorsement to her friend Murtha without lending any real muscle to his cause. In other words, she'd refrain from making Hoyer's - and the Democratic caucus's - life too difficult.  read more »

Like I said, that was then.

We also have no idea which party will control the Senate-- and with the Virginia race now on its way to a recount, it may be several days. The signs, though, point to a reduced Republican majority, with Democrats falling short in Tennessee and Virginia. However, if the Virginia outcome is reversed -- either in the very late returns (13 precincts from Democrat-rich Richmond have apparently not been counted yet) -- and if Democratis then run the table in Missouri and Montana, they'll have their magic six seats.

"Preparing for a potential Democratic victory on Election Day, House Democratic Caucus Chairman James Clyburn (S.C.) has begun rounding up support for a would-be bid for the Majority Whip's office."

The subtext to Clybrun's move is the question of what Rahm Emanuel, the architect of the House Democrats' campaign strategy, wants out of a Democratic takeover.

But Majority Whip, the number three post on the majority side, could be a winnable race - and would position Emanuel very nicely for the future, since the 66-year-old Pelosi, 67-year-old Hoyer and 74-year-old Murtha are all on the back nine of their careers. Hence the pre-emptive maneuvering of Clyburn, who as Caucus Chairman is now the third-ranking House Democrat.