Full Inlander story here

File Photo

Bruce Reed, center, and his wife, Bonnie LePard, left, talk with President Bill Clinton at the White House, along with newborn daughter Julia. The baby was born in the first 100 days of the Clinton administration, making this photo circa 1993.

In the aftermath of the Craig scandal, the nation has been treated to a peek inside our little corner of the country. And one of the best tour guides around has been Bruce Reed, whose "The Has-Been" column on Slate.com has been all-Craig, all-the-time lately. Ironically, Reed may be the most important politician from Idaho; it's ironic because he's a Democrat. The former chief domestic policy advisor to President Bill Clinton, Reed now serves as president of the influential Democratic Leadership Council in Washington, D.C. Like Frank before him, Reed seems to be wondering aloud, "What's the matter with Idaho?" And it's personal, as Reed grew up in Coeur d'Alene, where, his dad Scott reports, he was a bit of a late political bloomer; he waited until he was 4 years old to haul his first campaign flyers around the neighborhood/Ted S. McGregor, Inlander.

DFO: Betcha Kootenai County R's are simply tuh-rilled that Local Boy Done Good Bruce Reed, a DEMOCRAT, may be the most influential political figure from Republican Idaho.

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