Ah, thanks for the link to publius. I hadn't caught up with him yet. As for the virtues of "old-fashioned," Joshua Green in the Atlantic disagrees. Final graf:

Pelosi and Reid embody the travails of the Democratic Party in Congress as it continues the difficult transition to effective minority status after decades in power. When one has been in power for a long time, the object is simply to stay put, and trusting in patience and historical inevitability makes sense. Pelosi and Reid were trained as curators. Their party needs revolutionaries.

Green may be right about leadership for the party more broadly. But I think he overlooks the points Mark Schmitt makes about what it takes to be a legislative leader (if you're not going to be a total DeLay-style bully). And DeLay doesn't just rely on the hammer -- unlike Frist apparently, DeLay knows how to get close to his boys and girls, and he or his whips know just what everybody needs and where their buttons live. As for the homework assignment, it may be awhile -- I'm feeling neither clever nor profound. But should be amusing.