Ira Stoll on the Failings of Chuck Schumer
The news that Senator Harry Reid's retirement announcement sets up Charles Schumer to be the Democratic leader in the Senate set off a twinge of Brooklyn pride in Ira Stoll, who knew Schumer back when he was just an ambitious member of the House of Representatives.
But whatever "hometown boy makes good" affectionate feelings Stoll has about Schumer are followed quickly, and almost entirely swamped, by Stoll's knowledge of the senator's limits. If the Democratic Party is looking for real leadership, as opposed to mere fundraising prowess, Stoll writes, it will have to look elsewhere.