The hidden tidbit from the Doan hearing -- where might Davis go?

One of the seemingly unnoticed items from the Doan hearing Wednesday: Tom Davis is pondering a change.

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the ranking minority member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has really been the proponent of procurement reform in Congress -- in government, when it comes down to it -- for the past six to eight years. And he is a person who knows and understands this stuff.

Back in 2005, Davis pondered leaving the House for a high-paying job with the National Federation of Independent Business, but he decided to stay put.

But in the now infamous January session at GSA -- a meeting that investigators are seeking to determine if it was a violation of the Hatch Act -- there were PowerPoint slides reviewing the November elections and looking forward to the 2008 elections. In those slides, the White House's political experts listed the Republican House targets, but they also listed vulnerabilities. One seat listed as vulnerable is Davis' Northern Virginia seat. And Davis's name has an asterisk, indicating, "Member may not seek re-election." (See the slides for yourself. The committee has posted PDF excerpts here -- see page five -- or you can see all the slides here, but it is a big PDF. You've been warned. Links for all of the statements can be found here.)

Davis has been considering a run for the Virginia Senate seat should Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) decide to retire. But he also could decide that he has had enough. It can't be a fun time to be a Republican in the House right now.

If Davis were to leave Congress, it would be nothing short of devastating for the government IT community because there would be a total leadership vacuum. The remaining 434 lawmakers know almost nothing about government procurement, and, even worse, they don't care.

2008 is still some months off and nobody is totally sure what Warner is going to do yet, so... we'll have to sit on the edge of our seats.