Glenn Reynolds writes:

THEY TOLD ME THAT IF WE TOPPLED SADDAM HUSSEIN, gas would be cheaper than it was in 2001. And they were right!

Professor Reynolds is confused regarding the cause of the drop in gasoline prices. The Iraq War did not lower gas prices (in fact, there is strong evidence it raised petroleum prices). The Bush Depression did. From the article cited by Reynolds:

The tumble in [gasoline] prices, from a high of more than $4.05 in early July, has meant incredible savings. Republicans said Democrats should issue a mea culpa. "I wonder if the same people who blamed the president for the increase in prices will now credit him with the reduction in prices. It's only fair," said Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican.

(Emphasis supplied.) Indeed, Bush and Republicans should be thanked the way Hoover and Republicans were thanked for driving down commodity prices during The Great Depression - by decades in the political wilderness.

Speaking for me only

Colorado senator Ken Salazar's replacement, Denver schools superintendant Michael Bennet, has been named by Gov. Ritter. But it sounds like Salazar, soon to be Interior Secretary, is having trouble handing over the reins to his successor:

Salazar said Sunday he would like to provide recommendations on filling two vacancies in U.S. District court in Denver as well as picking a new U.S. attorney and marshal before stepping down later this month.

Shouldn't those be Michael Bennet's choices? It's highly unlikely any of those appointments will be made before Salazar's confirmation hearings. Not only that:

Before leaving, Salazar said he'd also like to pass eight bills dealing mainly with wilderness and conservation issues. One would define bans on mining, timber harvesting and new roads and constructions in Rocky Mountain National Park. Another would establish the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area.

Someone needs to tell Sen. Salazar it's time to move on.

Given the Blago Farce, it is a shame that Obama did not keep his seat the way way Clinton and Biden did:

The seats of Illinois and Minnesota are totally up for grabs. Senators from New York and Colorado have one foot out of the Capitol, and the identity of the new New Yorker remains a mystery. To top it off, the incoming vice president is to be sworn in as a senator Tuesday though he will be departing later this month to put on his new executive branch hat, which he will wear while occasionally presiding over the chamber.

So Vice President-Elect Biden will remain Senator Biden for a few more weeks. Too bad the same is not true for President-Elect Obama. But hindsight is, as they say, 20-20.

Speaking for me only

Via BarbinMd (who is killing on this story btw), Roland Burris promised to run for reelection if his Blago Farce appointment is upheld:

[Burris] also ruled out a caretaker role; Burris said he would likely run in 2010 to keep the seat if his appointment sticks.

Allrighty then. In the interview with Lynn Sweet, Burris apparently said "we are the Senator." I am assuming the "we" he is referring to is he and Blago, because that is how the Republicans will certainly portray it.

Speaking for me only

The Illinois House has moved up its consideration of the impeachment of Governor Rod Blagojevich to next week:

The Illinois House could vote as early as next week on whether to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich. . . . A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan says the chamber may vote on a recommendation from the special committee studying whether Blagojevich should be impeached.

More . . .

oculus wanted to hear from Lawrence Tribe on the Blago/Burris farce and here is his take:

President-elect Barack Obama has urged the Senate to exclude from the seat he once occupied anyone appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. . . Happily, the president-elect had his constitutional law right, and the critics who said the Senate would violate the Constitution if it carried out its threat to exclude any Blagojevich appointee had it wrong.

[MORE . .. ]

I find myself again at odds with TalkLeft friend (and my friend) Jane Hamsher, who wrongfully accuses Harry Reid of ignoring the rule of law in the Blago Farce. Jane cites to Walter Dellinger to buttress her argument that Reid is ignoring the rule of law. Yet she fails to quote Dellinger's actual statement on the legal question at hand:

I do not mean to suggest that the constitutional question is an easy one to answer correctly. It isn’t. Under the Constitution, the Senate is “the judge of elections, returns and qualifications of its own members." . . . There is a possible argument for rejection. Even assuming selection of Burris himself was free from any allegations of bribes sought or offered, it might nonetheless be viewed as the culmination of process that was illegitimate from start to finish. That is, suppose Blagojevich appointed Burris not because of any bribe, but as part of an effort to ‘cover up,” defend against, or deflect attention from a bribery scheme. Suppose, to put it differently, the Senate concludes that, but for the bribery scheme, and Blagojevich's personal need to cabin the fallout from that scheme, he would never have appointed Burris.

More . . .

Rocky Mountain News:

Denver Public Schools superintendent Michael Bennet is expected to be named Saturday as the future U.S. Senate replacement for Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar, according to two Democratic sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

I leave it to folks who know Colorado and the Denver school system to opine on this choice. In other words, I hope the rest of this post is written by Jeralyn.

ABC:

Officials say the daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy will be the governor's choice to fill the New York Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton. Two people close to Gov. David Paterson tell The Associated Press they believe Caroline Kennedy will be his choice, but the governor cautions he's still looking.

I am fine with the choice personally. Kennedy is smart and holds the right views from my perspective. I would caution Kennedy that she needs to get better in her public appearances. While defeating her in 2010 would seem a tall order for any New York Republican, if her level of performance does not improve, it seems to me it could be doable.

Speaking for me only

Responding to my post criticizing her previous post, Digby argues that the politics of not seating Roland Burris, Blago's pick to fill the Illinois Senate seat, is horrible (I'll stick to the politics in this post, having written enough words on the legal issues). I disagree. Ian Welsh gets it right imo:

Here's the fact: Blagojevich was caught, on tape, trying to sell the seat. He is corrupt. He is tainted. It may be true, on the strict letter of the law, that Blagojevich is still entitled legally to appoint a Senator (since the Illinois Senate has refused to do its job). Morally, however, it is odious to allow a Governor who, again, is caught on tape trying to sell the seat, to appoint someone to it. Letting this play out legally, right to the Supreme Court, is the right thing to do. If the Supremes rule that Burris must be seated, so be it. It is then on them that a man appointed by a known seat-selling Governor is in the Senate. It is not on Senate Democrats that they were willing to allow someone who was willing to accept a tainted seat to enter the Senate.

Exactly.

Speaking for me only

It's fun to read law professors discuss constitutional issues. It is a different world than litigators like myself get to see. Here is a discussion by Professor Brian Kalt of the Akhil Amar and Josh Chafetz article positing that the Senate can stop the Blago appointment of Burris. Discussion on the flip.

Via DHinMi, former Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell has passed away:

Claiborne deBorda Pell, the quirky Newport blueblood who held the affections of blue-collar Rhode Island and championed better education of the poor during a 36-year Senate career, died shortly after midnight today at his home in Newport. He was 90 years old.

Senator Pell was best known for his dedication to trying to make college affordable for all (see Pell grants.) By all acounts, he was a very good man. RIP, Claiborne Pell.