Senate Democrats are grudgingly conceding that scandal-tainted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich outsmarted them, and after a brief face-saving delay to shuffle papers they are prepared to seat among their number his appointee to fill Barack Obama's old Senate seat -- a political hack with a big ego, not that such people are at all unusual on Capitol Hill.
There was no groundswell of public demand for Roland Burris, 71, to get the seat. He put himself forward last month. Blagojevich, seeking to put his thumb in the eye of his numerous critics, took him up on his offer, even though Burris last held political office almost 14 years ago, knowing that the senators would find it difficult to reject a black candidate.
Rather than seeing unusually cynical politics at work, Burris saw the hand of God and said his appointment was what "the Lord has ordained." The Lord apparently neglected to inform the U.S. Senate because when Burris showed up at the Capitol for the swearing-in, he was turned away and referred to a Senate office where he was informed he needed the Illinois secretary of state to sign his certificate of appointment, which that official, a Blagojevich foe, has refused to do.
With the Senate having decided in principle to seat Burris, this is a technicality that should be cleared up quickly. Although facing federal corruption charges for attempting to sell Obama's seat, Blagojevich has not been tried or convicted. He is the legal governor and the Senate appointment is his legally to make. The state legislature has declined to call a special election for a seat that is up in 2010.
Some Democrats privately want Burris to commit to stepping down then on the grounds that he would lose to a challenger, worse, yet, a Republican, which he almost certainly would. Since his last elected office in 1995, he has run unsuccessfully for governor three times and for Chicago mayor once. Burris has declined to be an instant lame duck, as he should.
What most people know about Burris is that he has constructed a large mausoleum in his own honor, labeled "Trail Blazer" and incised with his various accomplishments with space left for more. He would find a home in the Senate. Its members, too, build monuments -- roads, bridges, federal buildings, post offices -- that they then name after themselves. At least Burris paid for his out of his own pocket.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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