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Thursday, May 13, 2010 4:41 PM UTC

Sleepy Kit Bond naps through intelligence briefing

Orrin Hatch's excuse for his friend: The briefing room lights are too bright

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Topics: U.S. Senate, Faisal Shahzad, Times Square Bomb Attempt, War Room,

Sleepy Kit Bond naps through intelligence briefingSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right, Christopher Bond right, looks on as Senator Christopher Bond, R-Mo., discusses Senate action on the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Tuesday, Feb. 12,2008, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook) (Credit: Dennis Cook)

The United States Senate is so very old and tired. At a briefing on Tuesday about the attempted Times Square bomber’s supposed links to the Pakistani Taliban, Senate Intelligence Committee ranking Republican Kit Bond fell asleep:

One person who was in the room for Tuesday’s intelligence briefing said Bond appeared to fall asleep for 10 to 15 minutes, but that he and other senators had spirited exchanges with the briefers.

This sounds pretty embarrassing, but Orrin Hatch has an excuse. He was resting his eyes, because the lights in that room are just too bright.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) also weighed in, saying he sat beside Bond during the briefing, and “I can tell you he was awake” Hatch said that sometimes the lights in the room are so bright “you have to rest your eyes for a bit; you get light burn.”

Kit Bond is 71 years old. He’s been in the Senate since 1986. (Thankfully, he is not seeking reelection.) Orrin Hatch, in the Senate since 1977, is 76. (And apparently his eyes have become very sensitive.)

After his nap, a rested Bond worked up the energy to tell reporters that Eric Holder lied to him.

Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.

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