Is the White House coming begging to Senate Minority Leader HarryReid? "Karl Rove’s back and there’s no doubt about that," Reid remarkedat a one-hour on-the-record breakfast sponsored by The AmericanProspect that I attended today. "He’s so desperate he’s called methree times in the last few weeks." The White House knows it’s going toexceed the government’s debt limit, Reid said, and they want his help.But there’s little agreement between Rove and Reid on the deficit ormany other issues these days. "I don’t think Karl Rove’s message, ifhe’s still out of jail [in 2006], will have the same sound as it did."

 

 

Reid, a pro-life, pro-gun Mormon from Nevada, vacillated betweenthe left and the center before the group of progressive journalists. Herepeatedly praised Russ Feingold as an example of a Democrat who standsup for what he believes in but refused to endorse a timetable for thewithdrawal of troops from Iraq, as Feingold advocates. "I met with theJoints Chiefs of Staff recently and troops are gonna be pulled out ofIraq this year," Reid said, without specifying whether all the troopsshould leave. Feingold was "still really upset" about the compromise reached on the Patriot Act last night, Reid indicated,and will try to slow its passage.

 

 

After the unveiling of their anti-corruption "Honest LeadershipAct," Senate Democrats will focus on "real security," including a planby Indiana Senator Evan Bayh to increase the size of the Army by100,000 troops. "On a number of different directions we’re going afternational defense," he said. "We’ll be more competitive on that issuethan ever before."

 

 

Reid dismissed an Associated Press story linking him to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, alleging that"no one that gave me any money did anything wrong," though he jokedthat billionaire financier Howard Hughes did hand him $10,000 in cashat the beginning of his political career. He indicated that hesupported the efforts of Senators Dick Durbin and Chris Dodd to promotepublicly financed elections.

 

 

And he seemed downright buoyant about the prospects for Democraticgains in the Senate this year. "If the election were held today theSenate would be tied 50-50," he boasted. "I used to say it would be amiracle to take the Senate. It’s not a miracle any more." As to whenthe Democrats would actually unveil a comprehensive agenda, Reid notedthat the GOP’s "Contract with America" in 1994 didn’t come out untillate September of that year. "We’ll roll out one [issue] at a time. BySeptember it will all be out."

 

 

Until then, he’ll have his hands full stalling the GOP’slegislative priorities and keeping his divided Democratic caucus inline.