WASHINGTON — Just how badly has the relationship between President Bush and Senate Majority Leader Reid soured?

Reid says he is again planning to hold the Senate in pro-forma session over the holiday break to stop Bush from making recess appointments while senators are away.

Democrats are worried Bush may appoint objectionable nominees, while leaving their own choices behind. Nevadans may care about who gets on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will be making critical decisions next year on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

Reid pulled the same maneuver over Thanksgiving break. Local senators showed up ever few days to open and close the session in a matter of minutes. Bush chided the Senate for the stunt — leading to more animosity from Reid.

Also today, the Huffington Post blogged about the latest attempt (or not) to challenge Reid for the majority leader’s position.

The story says the netroots see in Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd the strong hand that might be just what the Senate needs. They note Dodd’s performance this week holding up immunity for the telecoms over their role in the government’s wiretapping operation. Interesting, observers say, but not likely. We wrote about similar, though different, chatter last year.