One has to wonder what Roland Burris was thinking when he accepted Gov. Rod Blagojevich's nomination to be the next U.S. senator from Illinois.
Blagojevich, as you know, is accused of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. That heavy cloud over the nomination process meant that anyone appointed by Blagojevich would be tainted - regardless of their background, demeanor, gender or race.
Along comes Burris, the first African-American to hold statewide office in Illinois. Burris is a career politician with a clean record - a rarity in the Land of Lincoln. His personal reputation is not in question, nor are his qualifications - though Burris, 71, may be better known in Illinois for his failed bids for governor and for Chicago mayor than for serving as the state's attorney general and comptroller.
By all accounts, Burris is a good man who has been a good public servant. However, no one appointed by Blagojevich can be - or should be - a U.S. senator. No one argued that point a few weeks ago, when the president-elect, politicians on both sides of the aisle in Illinois and Washington, and the pundits were discounting the possibility of a Blagojevich appointment.
Burris' nomination, plain and simple, should be rejected.
Blagojevich, as you know, is accused of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. That heavy cloud over the nomination process meant that anyone appointed by Blagojevich would be tainted - regardless of their background, demeanor, gender or race.
Along comes Burris, the first African-American to hold statewide office in Illinois. Burris is a career politician with a clean record - a rarity in the Land of Lincoln. His personal reputation is not in question, nor are his qualifications - though Burris, 71, may be better known in Illinois for his failed bids for governor and for Chicago mayor than for serving as the state's attorney general and comptroller.
By all accounts, Burris is a good man who has been a good public servant. However, no one appointed by Blagojevich can be - or should be - a U.S. senator. No one argued that point a few weeks ago, when the president-elect, politicians on both sides of the aisle in Illinois and Washington, and the pundits were discounting the possibility of a Blagojevich appointment.
Burris' nomination, plain and simple, should be rejected.
