"Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid defined the terms of his relationship with the newly elected president when he announced in early January: "I do not work for Barack Obama. I work with him."

"Like many of Reid's pronouncements, the statement did not come out quite right. It suggested a degree of bravado that the Nevada Democrat does not possess, and diminished the bond that developed between Reid and Obama during their four years together in the Senate. Yet it was vintage Reid, awkward but pointed, reminding an ambitious president of his boundaries while establishing Reid as a singular force and perhaps Obama's most important ally outside the administration."

Does Reid know what he's doing? I wonder.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/06/AR2009030603526.html?hpid=topnews

Here's one, but not wholly convincing, explanation for Reid's hanging back:

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-reid7-2009mar07,0,7030447.story?track=rss

"Historyman" posts a relevant link on comments:

The Senate stalled on the omnibus Thursday night when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) came up short of the 60 votes he needed to move the bill forward.

That led to an ugly late-night, closed-door meeting between Reid, Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) aides in the hall heard yelling and swearing and it has fanned House Democrats anger over Reids inability to move bills without granting major concessions to marginal members of both parties.

Here: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19771.html