Lost in the Shuffle, a Milestone

Kindly providing a link to a contribution page on Clinton's campaign Web site, Singer wrote, "I'm hoping you'll help me do that by clicking here and giving $26.20 (think marathon!) to the Hillary Clinton campaign. What better way to help me run 26.2 miles :-) And in keeping with the theme of the marathon, I'm also hoping that you'll forward this email to 26.2 of your friends and urge them to give to our campaign."

Rest assured, a good percentage of Singer's 26.2 friends are giving him grief about his uncanny ability to suck up to the boss. He told us one of his colleagues wrote back saying, "Running a marathon is hard but not as hard as the amount of [ribbing] you're going to get for sending out that email!"

Some historical context: Singer crossed the finish line of the 2003 New York City Marathon with Sean "Diddy" Combs. (Singer beat Combs across the line, finishing in 4 hours 5 minutes; he ran last year's Marine Corps Marathon in 3 hours 37 minutes but with no celebrity sightings.) As for switching his marathon effort from helping cancer patients to helping Hillary, Singer joked, "I guess you can say the Clinton campaign is literally running for change."

Craig's Fall, Others' Gain?

Larry Craig's expected exit from the Senate -- assuming he really does resign Sept. 30 -- has set off behind-the-scenes maneuvering to see which Senate Republicans will be the indirect beneficiaries of the Idaho Republican's demise. The most plum assignment Craig would leave behind is a seat on the Appropriations Committee, which doles out more than $900 billion a year in federal spending. Senators were mum about who are the top candidates for the slot, which will be filled by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

If McConnell uses seniority as his measuring stick, the classes of 1996 and 1998 are in line for the Appropriations slot. Senators are allowed to hold only one "Super A" committee post, so the most senior members already are on premier panels and won't give up those spots to become junior members on Appropriations. Attention will focus on Susan Collins (Maine) and Mike Enzi (Wyo.).

Even if Craig does return, GOP leaders have already stripped him of his posts as the top Republican on one committee and two subcommittees, so some shuffling there is in order.

At the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Richard Burr (N.C.) is in line to become the ranking Republican. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) is slated to become the number two Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

One subcommittee leadership post of Craig's might not be so sought-after: top Republican on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the interior. As one of our tipsters points out, "It's official: Being the top Republican on Interior Appropriations is a death sentence."

The past three top Republicans on that panel have taken a spill. Before Craig, the top Republican on the panel (and the chairman) was Conrad Burns of Montana, who lost his reelection bid last fall. Burns was preceded by Slade Gorton (Wash.), who lost his 2000 reelection race.

Prime suspects to replace Craig there are Sam Brownback (Kansas), Wayne Allard (Colo.) or Lamar Alexander (Tenn.). Our money's on Allard, since he has announced his intention to retire next year.