Given the stink adhering to the Blagojevich administration, the principled decision of Rep. Denny Davis to decline a possible Senate appointment might call into question the wisdom of Roland Burris' decision to accept one. It's true, as Burris pointed out, that Blago is presumed innocent, but the taint of criminal allegations that Blago tried to sell the Senate seat should have caused Burris, like Davis, to step back and await an untainted opportunity for the job.

Does Burris deserve the job on his merits? Apart from accepting questionable campaign contributions (what politician hasn't done that?), this is cause for concern about Burris' fitness to hold political office:

[more ...]

The Blago Farce becomes even more farcical:

Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) would like to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate. The appointment was dangled before him last Wednesday. He turned it down. We discussed why when we talked Tuesday night, hours after a defiant Gov. Blagojevich, facing impeachment for, among other charges, trying to sell the Obama seat, tapped former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris for the spot, touching off a racially inflammatory firestorm.

Davis, speaking on the phone from Chicago, said he met with Blagojevich attorney Sam Adam Jr. last Wednesday morning. The two met in Davis' Chicago office. Davis said he was told "the governor would like to appoint me to the vacant spot." After Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9, Davis, who sought the appointment from him when he thought Blagojevich was playing it straight, said he would not take the job if offered.

Good for Danny Davis. Heck, he seems like a good choice for the appointment . . . by Blago's replacement.

Speaking for me only

Via TPM:

The President-Elect said:

"Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it. I believe the best resolution would be for the Governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place. While Governor Blagojevich is entitled to his day in court, the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government and major decisions free of taint and controversy," said President-elect Obama.

(Emphasis supplied.)

Via SusanG, Blago is really something:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. The action comes despite warnings by Democratic Senate leaders that they would not seat anyone appointed by the disgraced governor who faces criminal charges of trying to sell the post, sources familiar with the decision said.

I do not know anything about Burris except he seems willing to stain himself here in this farce. I assume the Senate will not seat him.

Speaking for me only

Writing about the dissonance between American policy regarding Israel and the views of Americans, Glenn Greenwald writes:

By itself, the degree of full-fledged, absolute agreement -- down to the syllable -- among America's political leaders is striking, even when one acknowledges the constant convergence between the leadership of both parties. But it becomes even more striking in light of the bizarre fact that the consensus view -- that America must unquestioningly stand on Israel's side and support it, not just in this conflict but in all of Israel's various wars -- is a view which 7 out of 10 Americans reject. Conversely, the view which 70% of Americans embrace -- that the U.S. should be neutral and even-handed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict generally -- is one that no mainstream politician would dare express.

[More...]

Bob Herbert would like President Bush's departure from Washington to be accompanied by "a great hue and cry — a loud, collective angry howl, demonstrations with signs and bullhorns and fiery speeches — over the damage he’s done to this country."

This is the man who gave us the war in Iraq and Guantánamo and torture and rendition; who turned the Clinton economy and the budget surplus into fool’s gold; who dithered while New Orleans drowned; who trampled our civil liberties at home and ruined our reputation abroad; who let Dick Cheney run hog wild and thought Brownie was doing a heckuva job.

Yep. Tarring and feathering seems about right.

Sometimes you just have to sigh. Senator Mitch McConnell says taxpayers "deserve nothing less" than "tough scrutiny and oversight" of the economic recovery bill that the Obama administration hopes to pass in its opening days. You mean, like the tough scrutiny and oversight Republicans insisted upon when voting for the financial industry bailout?

Oversight is necessary, of course. Republicans just aren't very good at it, as the Bush administration's implementation of TARP makes clear. Republicans should stop posturing and leave oversight to the Dems.

President Bush's aides are speaking out, saying that it was Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that destroyed America's trust in him and cost him the ability to be an effective President. They say he was never able to recover from it.

I think Iraq was the issue that did him in. When Americans learned there were no weapons of mass destruction -- that we entered this war that took thousands of American lives under false pretenses -- he was toast.

After Iraq, I think Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo hurt him. Not so much because Americans cared about the treatment of the detainees, but because they came to realize how much the rest of the world did.

Between the photos of American military prison guards in Iraq leading prisoners around on leashes and subjecting them to terrifying dogs, electrical cords and sexual humiliation, and repeatedly hearing Guantanamo referred to as a stain upon our nation, for holding detainees for years without charges or access to federal courts, it was inevitable Americans would come to view Bush as a President whose policies tarnished America's image throughout the world.

When do you think Bush irreparably lost the trust of even those Americans who voted for him?

Congrats to Bristol and Levi on the birth of Tripp, a healthy, 7 pound boy.

(It was as long overdue as the start of the singing in the clip from Tommy above...."It's a boy" comes on around the five minute mark.)

No word yet on whether Levi was present for the delivery.

It isn't surprising that Rush Limbaugh is amused by the song "Barack the Magic Negro," but did Chip Saltsman really believe he was helping his bid to become RNC chairman by sending the song to RNC members for Christmas? Even Newt Gingrich criticizes the song's offensive, racist lyrics. And does Saltsman honestly think that refusing to apologize, even as current RNC chair Mike Duncan (who hopes to keep his job) professes to be "shocked and appalled" by the song, is a smart strategy?

Saltsman has defended his decision to send the CD, releasing a statement saying that "our party leaders should...refuse to pander to [the media's] desire for scandal."

The story hasn't received much press, but it's actually Saltsman who fed the "desire for scandal" by his insensitive behavior. Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer argues that Saltsman's attitude "only serves to promote divisiveness and distracts us from our common goal of building our party." The promotion of divisiveness built the modern GOP. Saltsman's Christmas present is simply the latest manifestation of that destructive and defeated philosophy.

I've been an advocate of gay marriage for 20 years but the behavior and uproar of the gay community has turned me against them and their causes the way no right-winger or religious nutjob could ever do. How dare they make this inauguration all about them! . . . Gays have only themselves to blame for the passage of Prop 8. They did ZERO outreach to the black and latino communities. They were so arrogant that they did not mount a proper opposition to Prop 8. When it passed they started looking for people to blame--stalking donors to Prop 8 and castigating blacks.

The more the gay community rants and attacks their allies, the more they will harm their cause. Calling Obama a bigot, homophobe and traitor (as many have) doesn't make me want to storm the barricades against Prop 8. It might also make Obama drag his feet in getting around to those issues.

(Emphasis supplied.) More . . .

In a generally good Frank Rich column, this bit of Bill Clinton hate from a gay supporter of Barack Obama struck me:

[Gay Obama supporter] McCarthy added that it’s also time “for President-elect Obama to start acting on the promises he made to the LGBT community during his campaign so that he doesn’t go down in history as another Bill Clinton, a sweet-talking swindler who would throw us under the bus for the sake of political expediency.” And “for LGBT folks to choose their battles wisely, to judge Obama on the content of his policy-making, not on the character of his ministers.”

A free pass for Obama on Warren and a nasty swipe at Bill Clinton for good measure. Par for the course from some these days. If and when Obama does nothing about DOMA, you think Rich and McCarthy will have a damn word to say about it? Me neither.

Speaking for me only