Jon Kyl’s credentials unquestioned
November 26th, 2007, 5:18 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Paul Giblin
Lindsey Graham (left) and Jon Kyl (right), with Edward Kennedy
One reason Sen. Jon Kyl is getting plenty of juice for the Senate Republicans’ No. 2 post is that he knows how to work the system.
Consider this:
1) Newspapers from Arizona to Washington were onto the story that he was running for whip early Monday morning, even before the current whip, Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi ,announced that he planned to retire before the end of the year. That’s evident because several newspapers, including the Tribune, posted stories before Lott’s public announcement.
2) When reporters from those same newspapers reached Kyl’s office in Phoenix, aides politely told them that Kyl was in the office, yet the third-term senator declined to discuss the topic. It’s understood that speaking about such things prematurely is against Washington protocol.
At this point, I’ll allow educated readers draw their own conclusions as to how all that occurred.
In contrast, one of Kyl’s close associates in the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, was available for comment.
“I’m a huge Jon Kyl fan. I think he’s one of the most talented people we have in the Republican conference,” Graham told me. “He’s one of our best strategic and tactical thinkers. I’ve enjoyed working with him. He possesses a real keen intellect. I think Jon is a very smart fellow that understands politics about as well as anybody I’ve met.”
Nobody was arguing that point Monday.
