One of the most established cowboy poets, John Dofflemyer, a central California rancher, came to Mr. Reid’s defense on his worth-a-click Web site, www.drycrikjournal.com:

Easy to get emotional on the Senate floor, misspeak

extemporaneously to take the snipers’ potshots while

trying to save the arts for humanity like a little girl lost

in the crossfire, or before investing more on war.