By Jim Tankersley

On the morning of what turned out to be the day he let slip that he's retiring, Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) was quoted thusly in the Washington Post, on the subject of House Democrats and their recent legislative efforts:

"They've had a pretty strong quarter... The first quarter was not so good, and that's why they're not looking so good in the polls, but this quarter is looking very good for them. They can send their members home crowing about their accomplishments, and they've done it in a bipartisan way, which is exactly what they promised to do."

It's safe to say that not many Republicans -- or Democrats, if the situation were reversed -- would speak so bluntly on the record in praise of the opposition party. And that's why, when he retires at the end of his seventh term in January 2009, arguably no one will miss LaHood on Capitol Hill as much as the Washington press corps.

D.C. reporters learn quickly to put LaHood on speed dial for straight-dope quotes on pretty much anything House-related, a fact that isn't lost on the congressman's colleagues (and not just the ones who have grown, shall we say, annoyed with LaHood's loquatiousness)

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) called LaHood's pending retirement announcement "a huge loss for the people of Illinois, the press and me personally" on Thursday.

But it was a Democrat -- and a fairly consistent quote himself -- who perhaps summed up the LaHood-press lovefest the best:

"Reporters are going to have to find someone else to tell them the truth," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) "Ray's the only one who tells the truth, unvarnished."