Missed Appointments

The scandal-plagued Illinois governor will not appoint a Senator to the vacant seat formerly held by Barack Obama, according to his lawyer.

Genson said he doesn't expect Blagojevich will make an appointment.

"Harry Reid said that they're not going to accept anybody he picks," said Genson, referring to the Senate majority leader. "Why would he do that?"

This means that we'd have to wait for Blagojevich to be impeached for a replacement to that seat, which could take months. I think I remember a process where Blagojevich could step aside and allow the appointment to be made by his Lieutenant Governor, but I'm not sure he'll be so helpful. And with the special election out the window, that means that we could go into the 111th Congress with 99 Senators, which would not be optimal.

Meanwhile, Rahm Emanuel, who many speculated was moving to have HIS replacement in IL-05 be a "seat warmer" so that he could get his job back after serving in the White House, is claiming he'll stay out of the race. I'll believe that when I see it, and I want to know more about Blagojevich's reference to the fifth district that was picked up on federal wiretaps.