Machiavelli With Malaprops

Jon Ralston has a must-read profile of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), calling him the “most unconventional of politicians, one who cares little about public perception and delights in infuriating the opposition.”

“The former boxer’s ability to absorb blows and, even more importantly, to counterpunch, perhaps with an occasional hit below the belt, are the secrets of his longevity–and no doubt he will deploy them once again as the Senate fights this week over the budget deal. Unlike most of the preening Club of 100, Reid expends little effort tending to his public image. Driving home messages (the Tea Party is destructive) and advancing legislation (the nuclear option) are what energize this tireless son of Searchlight, Nev., a speck of a town outside Las Vegas where Reid’s hardscrabble childhood helped produce a man impervious to most political considerations and virtually immune to criticism.”

“The majority leader is a mélange of contradictions–a Machiavelli with malaprops (otherwise known as Reidisms)–but you can’t understand them just from the vantage point of the theater up on Capitol Hill.”