As of this writing, the House Democratic Caucus is holding its leadership elections for the 110th Congress, with the Majority Leader's race between Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Jack Murtha (D-PA) still up in the air. In the balance is the leadership tone on Congressional ethics standards. This is no idle matter: to the surprise of both most observers, midterm election exit polls cited corruption in Congress as one of the most important issues motivating citizens to vote. Indeed, the day after voters gave Democrats a majority in the House, Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi promised "the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history.” Many Democrats -- though not Pelosi -- have embraced the Emanuel-van Hollen earmarks bill that would:

• ban any earmarks stuffed into conference reports that were not previously approved by either the House or Senate
• make it illegal for members of Congress or their families to benefit personally from the awarding of an earmark
• rule out of order any tax provision designed to benefit any individual or company

Instead, Pelosi favors re-upping the GOP-passed earmarks disclose requirement she derided only two months ago as a sham ... gimmick." And, her choice for Majority Leader, Murtha, told a meeting of Blue Dog Democrats yesterday what he thought of the party's ethics and lobby reform package, calling it "total crap." Maybe aiming for "the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history" is not setting the bar very high. UPDATE: In a vote not nearly as close at all the buzz preceding it, the House Democrats voted today 149 - 86 to elect Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD) as Majority Leader.