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In his 47-minute speech, he quoted Lincoln, Mark Twain, former Sen. Mike Mansfield, George Washington, Edgar Guest and the Senate chaplain. He recalled his coming of age as a Republican during the Dewey-Truman matchup. He recalled the glory days of the Reagan revolution with its roots in God and guns and military might.

But in the end, Smith kept coming back to that same damn Capra treacle.

It's a stretch.

The only similarity Washington insiders saw between Bob Smith’s announcement and the fable of Jefferson Smith is that both are rooted in fantasy. But there are some important differences between the two Smiths as well.

In the movies, Jefferson Smith was a naïf, hand picked by party bosses and then framed when he refused to vote to line their pockets. In real life, Bob Smith is a right-wing firebrand frustrated with his party's attempts to appease party moderates and by his own political impotence.

In the movies, Jefferson Smith was always a Boy Scout and he refused to ever change. In real life, Bob Smith served in the House for six years, in the Senate since 1990, all the while engaging in polling, negative campaigning, go-along-to-get-along and all the things he derides now.

In the movies, Jefferson Smith was exonerated when his corrupt nemesis, as played by Claude Raines, finally gave up that lamest of Hollywood ploys, the last-minute, packed-house confession. In real life, it is entirely possible that Tuesday's floor speech was the sound of Bob Smith falling off the face of the Earth.

Next page | From Reagan revolutionary to Republican scorned