Inside Mary Landrieu’s Final Keystone Push

The New York Times reports that “despite cajoling and browbeating her colleagues during a private lunch — which one attendee described as ‘civilized but pretty contentious’ — Ms. Landrieu, who has so often bulldozed her way to success, was not able to produce that elusive final vote.”

“At the lunch, Ms. Landrieu made an ‘impassioned plea’ that at moments verged on tears, according to a Democrat. Ms. Landrieu, according to the Democrat, focused part of her pitch on how the legislation would help her back home, though at one point she argued that Democrats should send the bill to Mr. Obama’s desk because it would help him politically by giving him something to veto.”

Bloomberg: “Landrieu had hoped the vote would prove to Louisiana voters that her clout and seniority still matters in Washington. Instead it showed the opposite: Her Democratic colleagues risked no political capital of their own to bail her out, and her Republican opponent, Representative Bill Cassidy, wasted no time rubbing it in.”