Jane Harman Could Have Answered These Questions

Nancy Pelosi had a cat fight with Jane Harman, so Ms. Harman was denied her rightful ascension to the chairmanship of the House Intelligence committee. Pelosi tried to install Alcee Hastings as a payoff to the Congressional Black Caucus, but he was too crooked even for a Democrat.
So, she appointed Silvestre Reyes of Texas. His own honesty is questionable, but his knowledge is not. Congressional Quarterly National Security Editor Jeff Stein reports that he's dumber than a bag of hammers.

In an interview with CNN, Stein said he was "amazed" by Reyes' lack of what he considers basic information about two of the major terrorists organizations.

"If you're the baseball commissioner and you don't know the difference between the Yankees and the Red Sox, you don't know baseball," Stein said. "You're not going to have the respect of the people you work with."

While Stein said Reyes is "not a stupid guy," his lack of knowledge said it could hamper Reyes' ability to provide effective oversight of the intelligence community, Stein believes.

"If you don't have the basics, how do you effectively question the administration?" he asked. "You don't know who is on first."

Stein said Reyes is not the only member of the House Intelligence Committee that he has interviewed that lacked what he considered basic knowledge about terrorist organizations.

"It kind of disgusts you, because these guys are supposed to be tending your knitting," Stein said. "Most people are rightfully appalled."