... the Senate Democratic leadership "misread the governor's willingness to say a 'big F-you' to the Senate ..."

Gee, Blago had the balls to try and sell the seat and the Senate leadership thought he would never cross them.

... just as they later underestimated Burris' ego and willingness to engage in open political warfare to get his seat."

Blago and Burris, a great political tag team.

I agree that Reid and Co. bobbled this one pretty badly, but I also think the way forward is clear. The Senate insisted that "its rules" be followed, and they were, and now everything is in order and Burris will be seated.

The media fuss will die down almost immediately -- it was always a bit of a tempest in a teapot anyway, due in part to the slow-news holiday season -- and everybody will conveniently overlook the fact that now there's only one seat left to fill, and it's the REPUBLICANS who look bad while it sits empty.

I don't know about what impact this has on Reid, though. He was pretty steady as Minority Leader -- lived up to that Golden Gloves reputation -- but he's really seemed off his game recently. The Senate is where all the Big Issues will be decided this term, where all the Big Fights will be, and Obama needs a skilled and, when necessary, forceful leader there. I hope Reid gets back in trim, or there may be a revolt before long.

The really discouraging thing is how little choice the voter has in these "democratic" outcomes. Stopping the opportunity for a special election was a very serious blunder that should not be rewarded.

It really irks me that many people are blaming the voters for this debacle with Blago in IL. We really do not have much choice in who decides to run or is funded to run in the primaries. In the case of Blagojevich's first campaign for governor, Burris siphoned off enough votes in Chicago to enable Blagojevich to win the primary. And those big interests that did corruptly fund Blago's reelection campaign are heavily responsible for enabling his reelection. Who is calling their names?

The system is seriously dysfunctional in providing voters with real choices. Money will continue to weigh too heavily in picking our "choices". The deck is heavily stacked against us.

The best laid plans of mice and men.

This is one case where the phrase "nobody could have predicted" really does apply. Everybody and his brother, not just Reid and Durbin, warned Blago not to appoint a senator, Rod himself said he favored a special election. His lawyer categorically dismissed the idea he'd appoint someone like the reporter asked if he had plans to invade Iowa.

Then instead of bringing a special election law or impeachment to the floor of the state house IL House Speaker Mike Madigan dithered while his daughter Lisa Madigan petitioned the IL Supreme Court to remove Blago on grounds of incapacitation. That ploy failed, but it was obvious the contention would be included in the articles of impeachment. If it had worked this mess would have ended quickly and the Madigans would have the bonus of making Lisa the heroine that slayed the evil governor.

That backfired. There's no better way for Blago to prove he's doing his job than by doing his job. So he signed a few bills into law and appointed a senator before the deadline.

When it came down to it nobody figured when regime change became inevitable Rod Blagojevich would be crazier than Saddam Hussein. Anyone who was surprised when he appointed Burris is just as gullible as Reid. I'd say that's about 99% of the country.

I don't think this Roll Call article is correct. A separate AP report quoted a White spokesman saying that the letter was sent at the request of the Blagojevich's office and "just acknowledges the document was filed."

If you look at Durbin's comments yesterday, it doesn't seem like that is going to be a valid "certification" in the eyes of the Senate.

http://progressillinois.com/2009/1/10/did-white-certify-burris-appt

At the end of the day, I think Reid accomplished what he wanted to, which is change the media story from 'Dems Cave to Corrupt Gov,' to 'Dems Fail to Block Appointment.'

Neither is particularly grand; Rod didn't leave anyone a good option, but I'll take weak over corrupt.

lou a special election is a bad idea. It hurts any Illinois senator from either party who may want to run for president in the future. Does anybody think if Illinois had such a law in place last year putting Obama's seat up for grabs wouldn't have diminished his chances of getting the Democratic nomination? It might have made the difference for Edwards or Clinton in IA.

We have few enough good politicians in Illinois as it is. There's no reason to discourage the best of them from even starting careers here.

On top of that we Democratic political activists here in Illinois just spent the last two years working our asses off helping Obama and a lot of other people get elected. Many of us spent a ton of money and time, we traveled out of state and made gazillions of phone calls. I myself started canvassing and phonebanking for Bill Foster in the SE in IL-14 last February and it's been nonstop since. We need a break to get back to our lives, especially in this economy. The last thing we need is more demands on our time and wallets. And I sure as hell don't want to be trudging through the snow knocking on doors and planting yard signs in the frozen ground again.

The cherry-on-top for getting rid of Reid as Majority Leader.

Neither is particularly grand; Rod didn't leave anyone a good option, but I'll take weak over corrupt.

i certainly agree with doubtful on this, but i am not sure it had to come to such a lose-lose situation. i think Reid made more tactical errors than i can count letting himself get boxed in, and i dont entirely buy the "he couldn't have seen it coming." Blago was backed into a corner with little to lose; whether man or animal one should always assume that in such a situation the cornered will lash out wildly. Reid failed to adequately plan for such possibilities and started down a particular path without really thinking several moves down the chessboard. increasingly, he looks like the Dems' GW Bush.

He was a passable minority leader, and has been an absolute failure as majority leader.

I agree with zeitgeist.

If Obama is to get his programs enacted without delay, he needs politically savvy leaders in both the house and senate that can get the job done. Instead he has two dithering "leaders" who have already demonstrated they are more likely to carry water for the current administration and cave to the mere threat of a Republican filibuster as they are to effectively advance a progressive agenda.

What Josh Kalven said. White didn't certify the appointment as much as he certified the authenticity of the document. He simply confirmed that yes, that's really Blago's signature on the paper. He still made it clear that he wouldn't put his own signature next to it.

Here's Politico's version:

According to his office, White has signed a certificate saying that Burris' appointment document is "true and accurate." (...) White responded by declaring that he was not going to sign anything and claimed vindication that the Illinois Supreme Court doesn't think he has to do so. "I want to be clear that I could not and will not in good conscience sign my name to any appointment made by Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill the Senate vacancy," White said in a statement. "This governor was arrested in part for trying to sell this very same Senate seat. The Illinois Supreme Court has made it clear in its ruling that I am under no legal or constitutional obligation to affix my signature." Yet White later decided to sign a separate declaration affirming Burris' appointment.

apparently Democrats collectively have forgotten that they are at their worst when quibbling over semantics (hi, Bill!)

I think details of Burris's testimony at the impeachment hearing on Thursday are important, but being ignored by the media, etc. He testified that he did discuss the seat with Lon Monk, who was apparently wiretapped by Fitzgerald, even though Burris said he had no contact with any representative of Blagojevich about the Senate seat. Of course, he couldn't remember when he had the discussion (July? September?), but that contradicts his earlier affidavit. So maybe he has a problem with veracity, as well as his ego. Emptywheel has the details:

Sorry, here is the emptywheel link:

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/01/09/lon-monk-and-roland-burris/

I am so sick and tired of these irresponsible assclowns (Blago, Burris, and the entire Bush administration). And I am sick and tired of Harry Reid running the Senate like an ongoing Monty Python sketch.

Goddamn it, where are the fucking grownups?

"The best laid plans of mice and men.
Posted by: EC Sedgwick"

Well, Harry and Dick are clearly the mice. So I guess that makes Fitzgerald the man whose plan went a-gley, eh?

Let's start discussing who SHOULD be the new Majority Leader.

Almost everyone seems to agree that Give-em-Heck (until they scowl at you) Harry has been a weak-spined disaster.

As painful as it is to read through this garbage, it seems that the distinction matters. The Senate considers the SoS as the arbiter on whether an election was above-board -- this goes for popular elections as well as for an "election" where there is only one voter: the state governor. SoS White clearly says no, the one "vote" he received, was invalid because the voter engaged in an illegal vote-buying scheme. So his confirmation that it was in fact the correct person who submitted the sole vote for Burris is in itself insufficient for the U.S. Senate.