"Allies describe Burris — the first black politician to win statewide office in Illinois — as a careful leader whose banking background made him more comfortable crunching numbers than delivering charismatic speeches from a lectern."
USA Today
In spite of the problems he's been having lately, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich went ahead and named his choice to replace Barack Obama in the Senate — attorney Roland Burris, the first black to win statewide office in Illinois.
But Burris may be denied the seat, according to Politico.com, which is reporting that Majority Leader Harry Reid will not seat Burris.
According to a statement from Reid, "There is much work to do and a lot at stake. It is thus critical that Illinois and every other state have two seated Senators without delay."
But Reid suggests that the fastest way for Illinois to fill the vacancy to everyone's satisfaction is for Blagojevich to resign and permit "his successor [to] appoint someone who we will seat."
Blagojevich has indicated repeatedly that he will not resign. And impeachment can take a long time. Blagojevich and his attorneys seem determined to settle in for a protracted battle, to fight every charge and contest every witness.
If Illinois has to wait until the matter is resolved before the Senate seat is filled, the voters might as well be prepared to wait until after the next election before they have two senators again.
There are only two years left on the term. Whoever occupies the seat, the voters will have their say in 2010.
Give him a chance.
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