From a Capital City column on politico.com by Michael Schaffer headlined “Many Reporters Think Kevin McCarthy Is Dumb. Why Can’t They Say So?”:

Is Kevin McCarthy a great big dummy?

That’s not a rhetorical question. Read between the lines of some of the coverage during McCarthy’s 15 years in Congress and you start to suspect that many folks who pay close attention to our likely next House Speaker don’t think he’s the sharpest tool in the shed.