51% is the barest ob bare majorities. It in no way, shape, or form constitutes 'most Americans'.

Regarding the canceled straw poll, the link says there are objections to Michael Steele by conservatives in the RNC because:

"Mr. Steele, who some on the national committee regard with suspicion for consorting with the handful of prominent liberals in the Republican Party."

W.T.F.? Who are these "prominent liberals in the Republican Party" and are they stupid? Being a liberal in today's GOP is kind of like being a hobbit in Mordor, isn't it?

Kirk will, however, likely run for the Senate in two years, or sooner if there's a special election.

And he'll win, thanks to the bottomless skankitude of Rod Why-Won't-You-Bla-GO-jevich, the more far ambitious than analytical Roland Burris and the cartoon character Bobby Rush.

Thanks, boys! If new governor Pat Quinn had made the appointment, we might well have held the seat.

"Mr. Steele, who some on the national committee regard with suspicion for consorting with the handful of prominent liberals in the Republican Party."

Ah, yes, Steele, that wild-eyed lefty. I put this through my Magic Republican Decoder ring and it came back:

"Mr. Steele, who some on the national committee regard with suspicion for being black..."

At a press conference to discuss the latest in a series of Norm Coleman lawsuits, Al Franken's aides kept referring to "former Senator Coleman."

Soullite I'm confused here. What percentage constitutes most? Seriously isn't more than half considered most?

If politics were nothing more than a chess game, Blagojevich's nomination of Burris would be such a classic it would deserve a name of it's own, like "the Blago Fork." In the abstract, it is simply brilliant, especially if it was -- as I argued recently -- an act of revenge against Obama for avoiding the earlier trap Blago had set.

Unfortunately, we aren't watching a chess game, and the 'move' has very important real-life consequences. (How soon will it be before the first Limbaugh-type comes out with "See, Obama's all for integrity, until it involves a black. Then he caves in"? Which was just what Blago wanted to happen, I'm sure.)

At the least, Illinois now has a Senator who has shown himself to be a political whore; who will, in all likelihood, be a pariah; and who seems to combine the more notable characteristics of Ted Baxter and Hyacinth Bucket (Pronounced 'Boo-Kay' as the lady insists).

At the worst, if his loyalty remains with Blagojevich and Bobby Rush, he will be a constant thorn in the side of Obama, doing his best to ruin him in the black community.

And it is Illinois and us who'll be stuck with him for two years, unless there is a way for Quinn to get a special election called -- I think he can, but it might depend on Illinois law.

Paul Krugmann knocked down the Gupta as SG today! Good. Although I can't point to any specifics, my experience over the years is that Gupta just goes with the flow when it comes to medical science. Maybe that isn't a requirement for SG, but conventional wisdom in science, and medical science is about 5-10 years behind the curve.

(Examples are trans-fats and the weird food pyramid thing, plus any diet/weight loss advice, and don't forget using the FDA to push drugs for pre-disease treatments like statins and anti-bone loss drugs)

Anyway, the fact that Gupta could work as an expert for a major news organization which pushes this garbage, which is just marketing dressed up as science, is enough information to disqualify him as a thoughtful advocate.

Hopefully someone else will get selected. Why exactly would a brain doctor work as journalist anyway?

Re: "The Black Seat"

That's right but it shouldn't be viewed as the seat an African-American (see: Harry Reid) can't win either or we also lose the progress we made.

Jay,

I agree, but we're not talking about 'an African-American,' we're talking about Roland Burris.

Barring any unforeseen sex club escapades, we can safely assume Mark Kirk will be the republican nominee in 2010.

Can Roland Burris Beat him in 2010?

Honestly, at this point, I don't think so.

"...weakening both Mr. Blackwell, who has strong outside backing from prominent conservatives...." Isn't that the dead snarky gay dress designer?

"...and Mr. Steele, who some on the national committee regard with suspicion for consorting with the handful of prominent liberals in the Republican Party." Who's that? Christopher Buckley?

And headline of the day, Jane Hamsher in the Huffington Post: "I want to play poker with Harry Reid."