"Congress appeared ready to launch an investigation into the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program last week, but an all-out White House lobbying campaign has dramatically slowed the effort and may kill it, key Republican and Democratic sources said yesterday" to the WaPo's Charles Babington in Wednesday's Feb. 15 edition.

Officer Barbardy: This is nothing out of the unusual. Cows turn themselves inside-out all the time.

The Senate intelligence committee is scheduled to vote tomorrow on a Democratic-sponsored motion to start an inquiry into the recently revealed program in which the National Security Agency eavesdrops on an undisclosed number of phone calls and e-mails involving U.S. residents without obtaining warrants from a secret court. Two committee Democrats said the panel -- made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats -- was clearly leaning in favor of the motion last week but now is closely divided and possibly inclined against it.

Officer Barbrady: Hey, I just thought of something. No, wait, that's subtraction.

They attributed the shift to last week's closed briefings given by top administration officials to the full House and Senate intelligence committees, and to private appeals to wavering GOP senators by officials, including Vice President Cheney. "It's been a full-court press," said a top Senate Republican aide who asked to speak only on background -- as did several others for this story. ... (From "Congressional Probe of NSA Spying Is in Doubt: White House Sways Some GOP Lawmakers," WaPo

Sen. Olympia Snowe, a moderate Maine Republican, has gotten the big White House cattle-prod treatment, and backtracked so much she now says, ""I'm not sure it's going to be essential or necessary."

Jay Rockefeller pushed for wide-ranging hearings and is now expressing frustration. But then, the NSA leaks aren't going to rock his privileged world, so ... gentlemen must be gentlemen, don't you think? And, yes, he does prefer sauce verde on his poached salmon. Rocky's idea of pressuring the WH is as forceful as shooting a water pistol at a Bradley tank.

Mayor: Officer Barbrady, pretend for just a minute that we had a competent law officer in our town. What would he do?

Officer Barbrady: That's a good question, ma'am. Let me get right on that ... with thinking.

We the people appreciate all your hard thinking too, Rocky. Now move along, you and the senators. There's nothing to see here. Glad the White House convinced any worried GOP senators. We were probably all just being a bit neurotic, huh.