As I stated earlier, I think Jane Harman's chance of chairing the Intelligence Committee were doomed when Steny Hoyer was elected Majority Leader. I support Harman's bid, but I think it is not going to happen. That said, I think Glenn Greenwald is quite unfair to Harman when he says:

I think Harman -- who was one of the most aggressive defenders of the President's warrantless eavesdropping program ("both legal and necessary," she repeatedly chimed) and is currently under investigation for her work on behalf of AIPAC -- would make a horrendous Chair . . . She has been far too sympathetic to the administration's excesses and far too eager to serve as a Democratic shield publicly defending the President.

That simply has not been true for the past year. For example, Harman has been leading the fight for the full release of the NIE on Iraq:

A spokesman for Negroponte's office said the latest intelligence estimate on Iraq was begun in August, and Bush administration officials have indicated that it is unlikely to be ready for release until next year.

Harman has expressed frustration with that timetable. She said Thursday that she had recently learned of a separate assessment on Iraq that was much closer to being finished.

. . . "I know that there is a substantially complete assessment on Iraq," Harman said. "I understand it is grim. I understand many working inside the intelligence community are frustrated because the release of that document is being blocked."