Stuck with Reid forever

I don't much like Sen. Harry Reid. So he's a pragmatist who's willing to cross the aisle to get things done, yeah great. What that's actually meant during his tenure is that he's willing to kowtow to corrupt Republicans to stay on everyone's Christmas card list. Reid is more interested in sealing deals than in right or wrong.

How to boot the moral milquetoast? Granted, his job isn't an easy or glamorous one, and there hasn't exactly been an avalanche of challengers. I had hopes that Sen. Hillary Clinton might push for it, but check this telling info from a piece on President-elect Obama's discussion of Sec-of-State with Clinton in today's NY Times, emphasis mine:

For Mrs. Clinton, there are pros and cons to taking the job as well. Senior Senate Democratic officials say it has become increasingly clear to Mrs. Clinton and her advisers that there was no quick route to a position of influence in the Senate, potentially increasing her interest in a prominent role in the Obama administration.

She had approached the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, about becoming chairwoman of a special subcommittee to handle health care issues, but he squelched the idea, Senate officials said. Aides to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, made it clear that despite his illness, he intended to consider health overhaul before the full committeethat he leads.

Mrs. Clinton was also discouraged from trying to mount a challenge to any junior members of the party's Senate leadership, one official said. In a seniority-driven institution like the Senate, it could take years for Mrs. Clinton to accumulate real power despite her status as a national political celebrity and the appeal she demonstrated in the primary season.

Egad. Well, here's hoping Russ Feingold mounts a challenge, or is he too principled?