There Once Was a Speaker Named Nancy

I do agree that I think Obama would like nothing more than to put ol’ Nancy back in the baggage compartment with ol’ Joe. Between the two, he’s got to be rolling his eyes. Nancy’s sucking up the media limelight… a distraction from him and his agenda to woo the public into more spending. And she’s sure not getting good press, which doesn’t help his cause.

But I may want to take issue with your impressions of Reyes.

Reyes actually recommended that the Big Zero continue many of the Bush policies.

The House Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat said Tuesday he has recommended that President-elect Barack Obama keep the country’s current national intelligence director and CIA chief in place for some time to ensure continuity in U.S. intelligence programs during the transition to a new administration.

Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he also recommended to Obama’s transition team that some parts of the CIA’s controversial alternative interrogation program should be allowed to continue. He declined to say what he specifically recommended, however.

The alternative interrogation program has been a lightning rod during the Bush administration’s war on terrorism, drawing fierce denunciations from liberal Democrats and other critics who say it allows prisoners to be tortured. These opponents have urged Obama to shut it down.

In an interview, Reyes said he believes that Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and CIA Director Michael Hayden should be kept in their posts. Reyes believes they should stay for at least six months, but said the time frame is ultimately a decision Obama must make.

“There’s got to be some continuity, and the leadership of both the CIA and the DNI is going to be pivotal to keeping us safe and secure,” Reyes said. “I made a recommendation that they stay on during the transition so that there would be a period of time that there would be overlap.”

“It gets back to a world that is very dangerous,” Reyes added. “There are many different aspects that deal with our national security and it’s critical that we have that overlap. … I know that they’re considering, they’re weighing the options,” he said of Obama’s transition team.

You’ll also find Reyes took quite a bit of flack from his party over Jose Rodriguez. Per an NPR story Reyes respected Rodriguez – honoring him before the CIA tape destruction issue, and refusing to condemn him after:

Ironically, just four months later, Reyes found himself presiding over an investigation into Rodriguez’s role in the destruction of the interrogation videotapes. Members of Congress concerned about those interrogations were angered by the news that Rodriguez had personally authorized the destruction of the tapes.

Many of Rodriguez’s colleagues, however, believe he acted out of concern for the security of CIA officers involved in the interrogations and for the possible ramifications of the tapes becoming public.

Reyes finds himself in a bit of an awkward situation by virtue of his previous dealings with Rodriguez, but says he’s determined “to let the facts take us where they take us.”

A former senior official in the U.S. Border Patrol, Reyes says he has learned over the years that “there are very few people who have a perfect record in terms of judgment.”

He insists that he still regards Rodriguez highly, in spite of the controversy over his role in the destruction of the CIA tapes.

“I don’t think it takes away from his 30-year career with the agency,” Reyes says. “We just don’t know yet what the circumstances are that led to his decision to destroy those tapes, if in fact he acted on his own authority.”

Reyes is a Blue Dog Dem, former border agent. From all I read, I don’t think he supported the release of the “torture memos”, Mike. There were some dissenting voices in the Dem ranks, and I believe he was one of them. But I haven’t found any quotes in particular during the “do we release or not” stage. Don’t think he came public with an opinion.

On the flip side, Pelosi did do a leap frog over Jane Harman to appoint Reyes. So there could be a loyalty there involved as well. So I could be wrong. But my gut, and his other actions INRE info indicate he’s not a pure partisan hack and lackey.