But a few administration officials are put off by Schumer.
At least a few administration officials argued that no reasonable interpretation of "cruel, inhuman or degrading" would permit the most extreme C.I.A. methods, like waterboarding.
A few administration officials -- including some who fear that administration hawks are trying to press the president into making a decision -- suggested privately that the vehemence of Mr. Cheney's language had taken them by surprise.
But many Republican strategists, party elders and even a few administration advisers, said that the administration and its supporters were simply trying to paste a brave face over a mortifying turn of events that reflected pure ineptness and now reflected poorly on President Bush.
Experts on the region, and even a few administration officials, acknowledge that the job of getting Colonel Qaddafi to step down might have been easier if the international assault had begun when rebels seemed to have held the upper hand, rather than when the anti-Qaddafi rebellion was compressed into Benghazi and its environs.
As the CIA was subjected to greater Congressional scrutiny and regulation, a few administration officials -- including even Director Casey -- came to believe that the CIA could no longer be utilized for daring covert operations.
While the drugs being tested differ, therapeutic trials generally deal with only one or a few administration technologies.
Nevertheless, the government is already reaping a youth dividend: few administrations look this fresh after a decade in office.
Not that Mr. Biden will suddenly become a fixture at Washington dinner parties, predicted Mr. Leahy, who in his 34 years in the Senate has seen a few new administrations come to town.
Yes, the Obama team includes quite a few Clinton administration personnel.
