Roland Burris is like many STIs, the gift that keeps on giving.
The mood on the street in Chicago is somewhere beyond mildly pissed, but not quite to mob action. We all knew this guy was a egomaniacal hack, but no one quite grasped the extent of his hackitude. His bullshit is distracting people from Obama's accomplishments, and feeding the meme that Obama's from a political swamp (of course, Obama is from a political swamp—and, historically, Chicago was an actual swamp—but our political swampdwellers aren't all alligators and cottonmouths).
So, what's to come for the man John Kass has nicknamed Senator Tombstone? He will not resign. He cannot cut a deal and promise to not run in 2010, because that is practically an admission of guilt. The Senate won't have the balls to oust him unless he gets indicted for perjury on the state level AND Illinois has changed its laws to require a special election for a vacant Senate seat, and this is unlikely as well.
My prediction: he blames the media, sticks it out and is crushed like a bug in the 2010 Democratic primary by the blood relative of some other hack. Then, if the Republicans can find someone who's not criminally inept, they take the seat back to the other side of the aisle.
On a lighter note, the brilliant Carol Marin provides, in today's Sun-Times, the translation of Senator Durbin's comments yesterday from DC Political-speak into Chicagoese.
Money quote:
DURBIN: There is a "feeling of disappointment of some of us in the Senate. . . . We were relying on his sworn testimony."TRANSLATION: Everyone knew this guy, appointed by THAT guy, was tainted but Harry Reid and I didn't have the cojones to cross the Congressional Black Caucus and just say no.
DURBIN: "Sadly [his testimony] . . . was not complete."
TRANSLATION: Roland lied like a bookie to a grand jury.
But, you know, at least a bookie provides a necessary service. Burris is just a pothole on the road of life, as was indicated last night when Obama didn't shake his hand or acknowledge his waves after the speech. Kind of pitiful, actually.
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