http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/jesse-jackson-jr.-hopes-to-replace-obama-in-senate-2008-10-26.htmlOh my.
The chickens aren't home yet, and already they're being counted.
Illinois political insiders say Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who defended Barack Obama after his father famously threatened to castrate him, is the favorite to replace the Democratic nominee in the Senate.
Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) scolded his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, publicly after his comments were caught unexpectedly on tape before an interview with Fox News this summer.
But Jackson Jr.’s path is by no means assured. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) also wants to replace Sen. Obama (Ill.) in the upper chamber if he is elected president.
This gives Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who must choose between an African-American political scion and a close ally of the labor movement, a difficult decision.
Jackson has made plain that he would like to succeed Obama in the Senate.
“If Sen. Obama wins -- and I’m optimistic that he will, I indeed would be honored and humbled to succeed him in the U.S. Senate,†said Jackson in a statement. “But, in the end, the decision rests with Gov. Blagojevich and I’m confident that he’ll make an appointment in the best interest of the state as well as the nation.â€
Jackson’s case is strengthened by the fact that Obama is the only African-American member of the Senate. Presumably, Obama would like to see at least one African-American representative in the chamber.
After which it goes on to name other possible candidates for the assumed vacancy.
And then this:
Two other Democratic governors, Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware and Janet Napolitano, face similar quandaries depending on the outcome of the Nov. 4 election.
If Obama is elected president and Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) accedes to the vice presidency, Miner must appoint someone to fill Biden’s seat. Delaware political insiders say that Biden wants the seat, which he has held since 1972, to go to his son, Beau Biden. The catch is that Beau, the state’s attorney general, is expected to be in Iraq with the Army National Guard, if and when Biden resigns.
Since when are we bestowing political offices as hereditary rights?
Oh, the Kennedys. I forgot.
If John McCain, the GOP nominee, wins the White House, Napolitano faces an even trickier decision in Arizona. Unlike most states, Arizona law requires that Napolitano appoint someone from McCain’s party to fill his seat should he leave for the Oval Office.
Ha ha.
