Those spoiling for round 2 of the smackdown between House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) and the often-acerbic Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) were left disappointed Tuesday night. After the Democratic duo went one round last week in a public tiff that erupted when Frank chided Slaughter for not allowing Republicans to offer any amendments to a bill he was managing, some were waiting for a rematch. [IMGCAP(1)]

Frank was slated to appear before Slaughter’s committee on Tuesday night for the first time since their squabble, but the chairwoman was a no-show — much to the dismay of folks hoping the meeting might be livened up by a little verbal (if not actual) sparring.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), who is Slaughter’s No. 2 on the committee, filled in instead during most of the meeting, which was about a Frank-sponsored bill on affordable housing. Slaughter arrived in the committee room toward the end of the meeting, HOH spies say, and although there was still some debate and voting to be done, she appeared none too eager to take her rightful place at the committee’s helm, opposite Frank. “She just sort of snuck in and then stayed quiet as a mouse,” one attendee tells HOH. Slaughter let McGovern finish out his substitute duties while she sat on the fringes.

Slaughter staying out of the spotlight had nothing to do with the Barney tiff, but rather her duty to attend a leadership meeting, according to her staff director, Dan Turton. “At that point in the hearing she thought it was inappropriate to take over the gavel when she hadn’t been present for any of the testimony,” Turton said.

Forever Young. Many thanks to the sharp-eyed HOH readers who contributed suggestions for the most out-of-date photos of Members of Congress as part of our “Forever Young” feature. Several of you nominated — and HOH naturally concurred — that Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye deserves a special mention among the ranks of Members of Congress with mug shots far younger looking than their in-the-flesh selves.

The photo in the most recent edition of “Congress At Your Fingertips” depicts the eight-term Senator wearing a white suit jacket and large squarish glasses frames, a look that’s hardly of-the-moment, except in the most retro-chic kind of way.

Inouye’s folks wouldn’t return our calls, so here’s a bit of sleuthing aimed at carbon- dating the relic that is Inouye’s official photo: The publisher of the guidebook, Capitol Advantage, says the picture is undated. And the self-same snapshot is included in the guidebook for the 103rd Congress (spanning 1993-1994), the earliest we could locate. So we know that the photo is at least 14 years young. Spy the pic in an older guidebook? Know of another Member whose photo qualifies as vintage? Send your discoveries to hoh@rollcall.com.

Snowe in the Desert. Despite that tired adage, what happens in Vegas never seems to stay in Vegas. Case in point: An HOH tipster spotted Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, far from her home state of Maine, entering Sin City’s super-fancy Bellagio Hotel last Friday. Which piqued our politically savvy spy’s curiosity, since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was slated to hold a fundraiser in that very hotel that very night.

A Snowe spokesman tells us the reason for the Las Vegas visit wasn’t anything as politically titillating as a Republican showing up at a Democratic leader’s fundraiser, or as gossip-worthy as the Senator going on a roulette binge. The story (and he’s sticking to it) is that Snowe was in town accompanying her husband on a business trip.

Third Time’s the Charm. First you could win dinner with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Then New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton followed suit with a lunch date in her D.C. home. Now, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd (Conn.) has added a contest of his own veneer — tickets to the American League Championship Series.

Dodd, a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, is asking supporters to enter the contest that will allow a random supporter and a guest to win a chance to sit with him and watch game six of the American League Championship Series against Cleveland. The winner will be chosen Oct. 18. Should the Red Sox knock out the Indians before game six, the winner will attend Game 2 of the World Series. All he’s asking for in return is a minimum $20.04 donation.

The baseball opportunity provides Dodd supporters a chance to “have his ear” for the entire game, according to campaign spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan. That is, unless Cleveland sweeps Boston. Then, Dodd is asking the lucky supporter and a guest to spend a day campaigning in Iowa or New Hampshire. “They’ll be doing what Sen. Dodd does [on the campaign]. Getting up early and going to bed late,” Flanagan said.

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