“Not the majority leader’s finest hour”:

If it wasn’t painfully obvious already, it became quite clear this week that Harry Reid prefers playing partisan politics to passing substantive legislation. The majority leader on Thursday used the proposed economic stimulus package to try to embarrass vulnerable Senate Republicans, in the process delaying potential refund checks to millions of Americans. In the end, Sen. Reid was forced into a humiliating retreat, but not before he relished plenty of time in front of the microphones portraying the opposition as hostile to old folks and disabled veterans. This bad beltway theater began after House leaders and the Bush administration each compromised late last month to put together a tax rebate designed to head off a recession and the measure was sent to the Senate for quick approval.

The rest here.