海角大神

President Obama and the Democrats have just endured one painful political tsunami. Now they鈥檙e bracing themselves for another: Darrell Issa.

The House Republican from California is set to take over the chairmanship of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and he has made no secret of his love of hearings. He wants hundreds of them 鈥� one or two a week, times seven subcommittees, times 40 weeks, he told Politico. That鈥檚 at least 280 hearings a year. By way of comparison, Rep. Henry Waxman (D) of California held 203 oversight hearings in two years when he chaired the committee during President George W. Bush鈥檚 last two years in office, Politico notes.

Representative Issa doesn鈥檛 want to bother with sideshows, like Roger Clemens and steroids. He wants to go after the executive branch.

鈥淲e need serious reforms within the federal bureaucracy, and I will target areas of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement to ensure that we are better stewards of taxpayer dollars,鈥� Issa said Tuesday on CNBC.

In September, Issa鈥檚 office put out a report listing the types of investigations he would launch next year, regardless of which party won control of the House in November. But now that the GOP is taking over, you can take his list to the bank.

Hearings that Issa says he requested but were ignored by the Democrats include: food safety; homeland security; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; health-care reform oversight; wasteful stimulus spending; the Minerals Management Service (see BP oil spill); and school choice.

Also on Issa鈥檚 inquiry wish list: federal emergency management; protecting the independence of inspectors general; federal IT systems; federal financial management; TARP oversight; failures at the Securities and Exchange Commission; stimulus oversight; Countrywide Financial Corp.; the Presidential Records Act; and federal-agency performance management.

Issa knows his committee can鈥檛 handle this big task itself, and he hopes to farm out inquiries to other congressional committees. Issa鈥檚 fellow Republicans are delighted by his energetic posture.

But could he go overboard? Absolutely. Last month, Issa told conservative talker Rush Limbaugh he thought Mr. Obama was 鈥渙ne of the most corrupt presidents in modern times.鈥� On Monday, he took back that comment on ABC鈥檚 鈥�Good Morning America鈥� and again on CNN.

鈥淒o I think the president is personally corrupt? No,鈥� Issa told CNN. 鈥淚 should never have implied that or created that in a quick statement on a radio call-in.鈥�

Issa has also walked back suggestions he might try to impeach Obama. When Rep. Joe Sestak (D) of Pennsylvania said earlier this year that the White House had offered him a job to get him not to run for the Senate, Issa suggested that was an 鈥渋mpeachable鈥� offense. Now Issa says impeachment isn鈥檛 on his agenda.

鈥淣ot a chance at this point,鈥� Issa told Bloomberg. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see it happening.鈥�

For Issa to avoid overreaching, he needs to stick to substantive public-policy issues and not go overboard in search of scandal, says John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif.

鈥淭he economic stimulus package is big enough to sustain a whole bunch of investigations all by itself. What happened to all the money?鈥� says Mr. Pitney, a former Republican staffer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also appropriate to go after cases of abuse and misconduct. But it鈥檚 important not to go off on witch hunts, such as we saw in the Clinton years.鈥�

Pitney names Representative Waxman as a good role model. 鈥淗e was a tough, fierce opponent, but he was always extremely substantive,鈥� Pitney says. 鈥淲hen he brought witnesses before the committee, people paid attention.鈥�