Bigger and Better?

CNN says Sen. Collins wants a larger stimulus package with more infrastructure spending. As well she should.

The New Standard

Sen. Collins' decision to vote against the Geithner nomination shouldn't be blown out of proportion.

For starters, it's almost entirely symbolic: Republicans in Washington think he's ideologically closer to them than anyone President Obama would likely nominate in his place. So his confirmation has been a foregone conclusion pretty much since the tax issue surfaced.

Further, as Gerald implies, Geithner's tax problems raise legitimate questions about his fitness for the job.

Nonetheless, Collins' decision to draw the line at Geithner's behavior--to term it "inexcusable"--is rich.

Remember, this is the same junior senator who refused to call for the resignation of an Attorney General guilty of lying to Congress and obstructing justice, even after ten of her GOP colleagues had done so.

This is the same junior senator who voted to confirm, as his replacement, a man who signaled he wasn't interested in enforcing the law.

And this is the same junior senator who judged a seven-time felon fit to serve in the US Senate while awaiting sentencing.

So yes, it's too early to arrive at any conclusions about what the Geithner vote reveals about Collins' posture going forward. But it raises an awful lot of questions.

The Inner Circle

For what it's worth, Sen. Collins had a pretty good seat yesterday.