Washington insiders consider Jim Inhofe to be a "self-righteous blowhard" and deserves a place among the six members of Congress who are listed in The New York Times as "America’s Most Wanting."

Inhofe’s name was on a list published in Saturday’s editions of a Times column by Bill Keller that blasted both Democrats and Republicans. To make the list, Keller wrote, the nominee "should be a twit, extremist, sleaze or brute who makes a difference."

Keller wrote that he asked a number of close Congress-watchers to identify incumbents whose defeat would make Capitol Hill a more civilized and productive place.

Challenger David Walters said he "wasn’t surprised" that Inhofe made the list. "I’ve been saying again and again that if people knew the real Jim Inhofe, he wouldn’t get 10 votes."

Sharing spots with Inhofe on the Most Wanting list were Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Indiana).

Keller described Inhofe as a "dimmer version of Jesse Helms – an intolerant, xenophobic, might-makes-right ultrapatriot" who, as a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, "has cover to utter bellicose nonsense."

The column continues, "There are devout right-wingers who tamp down the vitriol to get things done. Mr. Inhofe, though, is such a self-righteous blowhard that compromise, and thus accomplishment, elude him. He is known mainly for things he has undone."

Keller mourned the time when the U.S. Congress was an "estimable branch" of government. "Now, to put it in the slam-dance vernacular of politics today – it is a collection of the spineless led by the cynical, constantly lap-dancing for special-interest cash to finance the permanent campaign, deadlocked not over high principles but over petty partisan advantage and, as C-Span devotees know, incapable of mounting a debate worthy of a junior high school."

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The entire text of Keller’s comments about Inhofe follows:

Senator James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma: Mr. Inhofe is a dimmer version of Jesse Helms — an intolerant, xenophobic, might-makes-right ultrapatriot, but not as quick on his feet as Mr. Helms was in his prime. As a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, he has cover to utter bellicose nonsense. He is, for example, the only public official in America I've heard claim, repeatedly, that Saddam Hussein already has a nuclear weapon. There are devout right-wingers who tamp down the vitriol to get things done. Mr. Inhofe, though, is such a self-righteous blowhard that compromise, and thus accomplishment, elude him. He is known mainly for the things he has undone. A pilot, he has blocked anti-terror legislation that would prevent small planes from flying over outdoor sports stadiums. A hawk, he has sought to block the closing of the Vieques bombing range in Puerto Rico. Imagine what the senator (who once likened the Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo) can undo if, as seems quite possible, he becomes chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Find the entire column at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/02/opinion/02KELL.html