More from the Sunday shows: Dems in the Senate may be all whipped up but they’re not all not parroting one another.

“But as for his ability to run the department it’s getting to be a little bit like FEMA. You know, cronyism…”

-U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, “Face the Nation,” April 1, 2007

“And as recently as today, there’s an article in one of the major newspapers pointing out that this administration more than any other, and that covers a lot, including Nixon and others, went out and put U.S. Attorneys in spots who were the cronies of — wrong word. That’s not fair.”

-U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, “Fox News Sunday,” April 1, 2007

I think the accurate c-word is competency. Orrin Hatch came off as a guy this morning who could credibly defend the administration and also has a realistic sense of what the DOJ does and what it’s priorities are and can express that all, which you need the public face of a department in the spotlight to be able to do. I don’t know that the guy to do it is Hatch. But Hatch is the kinda guy who when he’s on your side can be pretty darn effective. Maybe the Bush administration could use him for the next two years. They could use someone who can push back at Pat Leahy.