All isn't quiet in the House

Neither party particularly distinguished itself in its post-election leadership selections in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
The greater attention was paid to the Democratic race, where Nancy Pelosi lost her first battle after being elected the next speaker of the House.
Late in the game, she suddenly endorsed John Murtha of Pennsylvania for the post of House majority leader, in effect her top deputy, over the presumptive favorite, Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Hoyer won, 149 to 86.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out after Pelosi takes over in January. Will she and Hoyer truly join hands in common cause, as they vowed to do Thursday, or will Hoyer's backers see Pelosi as a wounded leader?
Pelosi had two good reasons for backing Murtha. He supported her two years ago when she battled Hoyer for the post of minority leader. And Murtha almost single-handedly defined the Iraq issue for Democrats in the off-year election. As a decorated Marine veteran of two wars, Murtha had the cover Democrats needed to mount an attack on President Bush's war efforts in Iraq.
But there were also two good reasons for Pelosi to withhold her enthusiastic support. One, Murtha has long been a congressional wheeler-dealer, an image that is anathema to the ethical reform rhetoric of the party these days. And, two, Pelosi should have been able to count the votes.
The only thing she can say is that she fought the good fight and backed the candidate who had been most loyal to her in the past.
Other side of the aisle
Meanwhile, Republicans did about everything they could do to pretend that last Tuesday's election wasn't a thumping and that they didn't need that much of a change in leadership.
Speaker Dennis Hastert announced that he wouldn't be seeking his party's leadership post, and John Boehner of Ohio simply moved up a step from Hastert's deputy to the new minority leader.
The more conservative wing of the party made a weak run at Boehner, apparently believing that the reason Republicans lost was because they weren't conservative enough. On fiscal matters that case can be made, but it's hard to argue that the Republican leadership hasn't been socially conservative enough.
Interestingly, in his appearance after the leadership vote, Boehner made no mention of his party's incumbent president. Nor did any of the other seven House leaders.
A couple of weeks ago, Boehner was telling voters that if they wanted to lose in Iraq, they should vote for Democrats. Given the failure of that message to resonate with voters, what message will he be sending in coming weeks and months to the White House about the president's war effort?
In the only leadership race with local interest, Phil English of Erie, Pa., lost his bid to head the National Republican Congressional Committee to Tom Cole of Oklahoma.