* I e-mailed Sen. Dick Durbin’s press staff today asking if the Senator and Gov. Rod Blagojevich had ever hooked up to discuss Barack Obama’s US Senate replacement. Here’s the reply…
Yes. They connected this afternoon by phone.
Will wonders never cease?
* Meanwhile, I’m with Larry. Nate Silver has no clue what he’s talking about…
The way Democrats lose [Obama’s US Senate] seat is if they pick a nominee who (i) has some heretofore-unknown scandal or, (2) just doesn’t have the political acumen to click at the statewide level, particularly on his or her first try and a high-profile position as US Senator.
The best way to prevent these things would be to appoint a placeholder like Jones and then let the younger candidates battle it out on a level playing field in the primaries
Emil Jones would prevent that, eh? I’d beg to differ.
The only placeholder I could possibly support is Bill.
* Joe Biden has been replaced, but Gov. Blagojevich said today that he’s still working on his Obama replacement decision…
The governor also said he was not ready to make an appointment to Obama’s old Senate seat. He has had a team working on vetting candidates for weeks.
In some of his remarks, he implied he may do so by Christmas, but he gave no indication of who might get the plum appointment.
“We are still working on it,” he said. “It is a process that requires a lot of deliberation. It is not the sort of thing you should push.”
You’d better comment quickly, because I’m just about to shut ‘er down for the holiday.