On the heels of a recent profile from the Kansas City Star comes another look at Big Oil Blunt, this one courtesy of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. There are lots of fun facts about Blunt in this piece, but we'd like to highlight just this one.

From his earliest days in Washington, Blunt angled to join GOP leadership. He volunteered for tasks, almost becoming "a nuisance," as former Rep. Tom DeLay, of Texas, a House GOP power broker, once joked. Early in Blunt's second term, DeLay rewarded his eagerness, putting him on the whip team in charge of rounding up votes.

Blunt was known as DeLay's protégé, like-minded but smoother, and became the Texan's chief deputy. When DeLay advanced to House majority leader in 2003, Blunt inherited his whip position, No. 3 in the GOP hierarchy.

With his star affixed to DeLay's, Blunt, like DeLay, became known for connections with lobbyists. DeLay's departure from leadership under a cloud in 2005 left Blunt on two rungs of the GOP leadership ladder at once during the administration of President George W. Bush, acting as majority leader even as he retained his whip position.

Do Missourians really want a "protégé" of Tom DeLay who "became know for connections with lobbyists" to represent them in the U.S. Senate?