A Facebook friend of mine had perhaps the best response to Sen. Mike Lee’s demand that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologize for calling Sen. Ted Cruz a “schoolyard bully.”

She said that Reid’s comments were no more offensive than Cruz, R-Texas, calling his Senate colleagues “squishy.” My pal also noted that neither comment is profane.

I think Cruz, who was just elected to the Senate in November 2012 and who has elevated his public profile to rival those of his more senior and knowledgeable colleagues, has thrust himself onto center stage because of some self-aggrandizing strategy.

That Harry Reid would call him a “schoolyard bully” is tame compared to the language many other of Cruz’s colleagues are likely to use to describe his conduct as the months and years progress.

Lee ought to consult with his vastly more senior Senate colleague from Utah, fellow Republican Orrin Hatch, about what kind of language crosses the line. Hatch has served in the Senate since the late 1970s and has crafted friendships and alliances with many senators of both political parties, most notably with the ferocious liberal lion, the late Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. Kennedy was known to raise his voice to a near-scream while arguing for whatever point he was seeking to make on the Senate floor. He, too, used some intemperate language on occasion.

That’s the nature of the institution in which all of these folks serve.

Take it easy, Sen. Lee.