CAPITOL LETTERS

Finally, they're back. Senators emerged from their closed door meetings Wednesday afternoon, three and a half hours late. But Sen. John Whitmire of Houston quickly moved to adjourn for the day. Not a single bill was acted on as all attention of the day was directed at the voter ID bill that has sharply divided the Senate.

At the same time, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst officially retracted his earlier statement that ripped the Democrats and Sen. John Whitmire of Houston - the senior Democrat - for blocking action on the voter ID bill on Tuesday. Mr. Dewhurst said the letter was "inadvertently released" by his office before he read it.

"It does not represent my position," he said. "The paragraph on Sen. Whitmire went over the top." The letter accused the Houston Democrat of "gaming" Senate rules and cursing on the Senate floor when he didn't get his way. Mr. Dewhurst said the senator was a friend and that he still plans to go hunting with him in the fall. Hopefully, Dick Cheney won't be invited.

So, while the Senate spun a lot of wheels today, the output on the Senate floor was zilch. They'll try again Thursday. But I'm sure tomorrow's paper will be full of stories on important bills passed by the House while the Senate tried to patch up hard feelings from Tuesday's standoff on the voting bill and Mr. Dewhurst's inoperative letter.