Honestly, they should have seen it coming. I'm not sure how politicians and the media were caught off guard when Gov. Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris to be the junior senator from Illinois.
Maybe they were distracted by all their huffing and puffing about how crazy Gov. Blagojevich is and how it would be ludicrous for him to appoint a successor to Pres. Elect Obama's seat. Maybe they thought that the embattled governor would take legal and PR advice from media pronouncements. Maybe the governor isn't as crazy as we'd like to think.
Ask yourself however, if you were Gov. Blagojevich, what would you do? It should have been a no-brainer that Blago would try to find the cleanest Black politician to appoint to President Elect Obama's vacant seat. What better way to inoculate the governor in his ongoing public relations and legal troubles. What does Blago have to lose by making the appointment?
The huffing and puffing continued with people openly wondering why Roland Burris should accept the job. Why wouldn't he? Once you get past the emotion of the moment, Burris makes some pretty interesting points. The decision about whether he should be seated is a legal one. So far I have not seen anyone dispute the pure legal basis for Burris' appointment. Burris also makes the point that he is qualified and the sins of the appointer should not be visited on the appointee.
The lone criticism I've heard against Burris thus far is that he is too ambitious. That his ego outsizes his talent.
Since when is humility a job requirement for the senate? Since when do candidates have to wait until the chattering class deems them "ready" or "qualified"? I seem to remember last year's democratic primary race come down to a bruising battle with two senators who began their senate careers labeled ambitious beyond their abilities. Now one of those candidates will be president and the other secretary of state. Ambition is no disqualifier in American politics.
Now the huffing and puffing continues with Harry Reid declaring that he will not seat Burris. Harry Reid, the guy who couldn't stop an idiot lame duck president from doing anything is now going to block Roland Burris from being seated?
How will you do that, Sen. Reid? Ahhh.. he won't seat the new appointee. Clever! Just in case, the Illinois secretary of state has also vowed not to certify the new appointee. A ceremonial one-two punch. Brilliant!
I wonder how well both those approaches will work? Burris told you that he intends to fight you in the courts; he is treating this as a legal matter. Burris told you that he is qualified and his record is without challenge; he intends to make this a David and Goliath fight in the streets of Chicago, where it counts. Rep. Bobby Rush laid out the role race could play. All the media huffing and puffing about the race card will be meaningless when the Bobby Rush PR machine gets cranked up in Chicago.
Burris has laid out his three strategies for succeeding Obama in the U.S. Senate, and I wonder if anyone is paying attention.
To seat or not to seat? To certify or not certify? Those are not the questions. The democrats of Illinois and congress seem unaware of what the real issues will be in this fight, and quite honestly, they ought to see them coming.
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