Maybe Inhofe had a weakness for being idolized? Just off the top of my head and definitely not a long pondered through conclusion. It could be wrong.
That is it! Really. Right after I posted that I though...”oh my I hope people don’t think I was implying Inhofe is a homosexual”, cuz he is not...that is something that would have come out by now. He has been up there forever. But your answer makes perfect sense. The guy idolized him. I could never quite put my finger on what the relationship was...but you summed it up.