After San Francisco Congressman Tom Lantos' death, San Fernando Valley congressman Howard Berman took the seat as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. That means he's in charge of the committee with "oversight over policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the globe's hotspots," according to an Associated Press profile of the politician.

It perhaps can be read wrong, but the quote that's catching everyone's eyes is this one: "'Sometimes the best things are done when the media doesn't know about it, because then a lot of other people don't know about it. The media is a conduit of information to the people who wouldn't like what I was doing.'' But maybe that came out wrong as the story of Berman is one of a man that plays it straight. He doesn't want to ask people to get coffee for him and he doesn't use tax payer money to hire a press secretary.

And although he voted for the war in Iraq, he admits he was wrong. However, he blames himself for the bad judgement, not Bush. The AP's piece published today.

Link h/t LAObserved | Photo via Berman's Website