Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointment of former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama in the US Senate is generating very extensive media coverage. Much of it presents the appointment as a cynical act of defiance by the embattled governor and one that could hurl the Senate and even the President-elect into a racially tinged debate. Moreover, a number of analysts question whether the Senate has the legal authority to block Burris' appointment.
The story led all three network newscasts. As NBC Nightly News put it, "If anyone thought Illinois politics couldn't get more circus-like, today the big top went up again in Chicago." ABC World News called Burris' appointment "a move remarkable for its audacity, even in Illinois."
The Washington Post reports "some of the main characters from" Obama's "political past took turns starring in a bizarre Chicago news conference." Burris "once held a fundraiser at his house for Obama and calls the president-elect 'somebody whose career I really helped launch,'" and Rep. Bobby Rush "defeated Obama in a 2000 House race and chided him as an 'educated fool' before eventually endorsing him for president."
The Politico says "Obama's bigger headache could come from" Rush, "a longtime South Side congressman and one-time rival...who is unmistakably daring officials not to block the ascension of an African-American to replace Obama." The Hill notes Rush "angered some in the black community when he backed white millionaire Blair Hull over Obama in the 2004 Illinois Senate race."
The AP, AFP, The Hill, The Politico, and Roll Call run additional reports on the Burris appointment.
The CBS Evening News reported it is "not clear whether the Constitution even gives US Senators the right to refuse to seat Burris," so the matter "could end up in court." On ABC World News, Jonathan Karl said, "The Senate historian tells us today that never before in the history of the United States Senate has there been a case like this one, of the Senate refusing to seat the appointee of a duly elected governor. It has just never happened."
On NBC Nightly News, Chuck Todd said the legal battle "actually could take a couple of years. So we could be in for a long haul." On MSNBC's Hardball, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet noted the expected "court challenges" and "mini-constitutional crisis" caused by Blagojevich's appointment "are all sideshows to the main issue in Illinois, which is that the Governor's under impeachment proceedings." The AP and the New York Times also report on the constitutional issue.
Interviewed on NBC Nightly News, Burris said, "I don't see the appointment as being radioactive." The "fact that he [Blagojevich] has other problems, the fact that he might be accused of all of these various activities, it has nothing to do with the appointing of a person or appointing of me."
On MSNBC's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Burris said, "I think the Governor has the authority to appoint a person to the seat. It's a legal position that he took. He appointed me, and I'm very well qualified for the position." Burris told WMAQ-TV Chicago that he "respects" the President-elect, but noted "he does not have the authority" to oppose Burris' appointment.
The Wall Street Journal reports the "battle over Mr. Obama's former Senate seat could complicate the Democrats' agenda in Washington. Without Illinois and Minnesota -- an election that is still being contested -- Democrats can count on the support of 57 senators," short of the 60 needed to counter a filibuster. CNN's The Situation Room said "what Republicans want to see is a special election that would give basically a Republican a chance at running and possibly winning this seat."
CNN's The Situation Room said that "even the most ardent critics of the Governor and the most intense watchers of Illinois politics say they are shocked and dismayed by what the Governor has done." USA Today reports, "Illinois State Rep. Art Turner, a Democrat who serves on the impeachment committee, says he believes Burris should be allowed to fill the seat." The Chicago Tribune, The Hill, Financial Times, AFP, Christian Science Monitor and McClatchy also run stories on Burris' appointment.
"Race Card" Could Unleash Ugly Debate On CNN's The Situation Room Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky said Rep. Bobby Rush's "use of 'lynch' was really unfortunate, because certainly it adds an unfortunate, I think, racial tone to this, because it is not about lynching Roland Burris at all. And actually, it's not about race at all."
On the CBS Evening News, Jeff Greenfield said, "The race card was played," while the New York Times reports "the choice of Mr. Burris immediately injected the issue of race into the appointment process, which may very well have been part of the governor's calculation."
On Fox News' Special Report roundtable, columnist Charles Krauthammer said Rep. Rush "comes up on the stage and he pulls a Johnnie Cochran in which he turns an issue, which up until now had no connection with race, into an entirely racial issue." Chicago radio personality Cliff Kelly told WBBM-TV that the use of the words "lynch" and "hang" by Rush was "operative," and gives an "indication of where this is going" if politicians do not cease their criticism of Blagojevich's move.
Rush Flip-Flopped On Blagojevich Pick The Chicago Sun-Times reports Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) "on Dec. 9 said Gov. Blagojevich's alleged conduct was so 'heinous' that the governor should not fill President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat." But "that all changed Tuesday with Blagojevich's appointment of Roland Burris -- a move designed to win over the African-American community."
Governor, Burris May Hold Legal Upper Hand On Fox News' Special Report roundtable, columnist Jeffrey Birnbaum of the Washington Times said, "I really do think there is likely to be a vote to deny Burris the Senate seat, and Democrats will unite, and many Republicans will vote with him. ... I think the Supreme Court very soon thereafter will reverse the Senate vote and say that you simply cannot turn down a duly appointed member of the Senate by a sitting governor just because you think the governor is corrupt."
The Washington Times notes Paul Sracic, chairman of the political science department at Youngstown State University, said, "Supreme Court case of Powell v. McCormack (1969) is clear that when judging the 'qualifications' of members, each house is limited to age, citizenship and residency qualifications. Burris meets all of these.'"
WLS-TV Chicago said "since the Governor is still in office and has not been convicted or impeached, experts say he is within his legal rights to appoint a senator...and there may be little anyone can do to stop him."
On Fox News' Special Report roundtable, Bill Sammon of Fox News said, "I think Blagojevich, as crazy as this sounds, will prevail on both legal grounds and political grounds. This guy is crazy like a fox."
WMAQ-TV Chicago talked to Chicago-Kent College of Law Dean Harold Krent, who said "I frankly don't see why" Burris should not be seated by the Senate Democrats on the basis of the "storm brewing" around Governor Blagojevich. McClatchy, the AP, The Hill, USA Today and The Politico run similarly pessimistic analyses about the Senate's ability to block the appointment.
On the other hand, the Washington Post reports that "experts on congressional procedure said the Constitution gives the Senate wide power in determining who can be seated in the chamber, and some suggested that Democrats might decline to seat Burris while a Senate panel investigates the appointment process."
Major Papers Take Opposite Sides The Los Angeles Times editorializes, "Distasteful as this power play may be," Blagojevich's action is :probably legal, and Burris should not suffer for his sponsor's misdeeds. Unless evidence were to emerge that his selection involved a quid pro quo," Reid "should back down from his threat -- endorsed by Obama -- to refuse to seat Burris."
But the Washington Post editorializes that "no one selected by Mr. Blagojevich can take the office with any legitimacy." The New York Times editorializes, "The Democratic leadership of the Senate instantly and correctly rejected the appointment."
USA Today reports, "As 2008 ends, US troop deaths for the year in Iraq and Afghanistan are the lowest combined total since the Iraq war began in 2003." However, Gen. Ray Odierno, "the top US commander in Iraq, warned against complacency as the Americans hand off security to Iraqi forces in the new year and more U.S. forces head to Afghanistan." Deaths "for the year as of Tuesday were 467 in both wars, lower even than the partial year of 2003, when fighting in Iraq began in March."
Marine Recruiting Up Sharply The CBS Evening News reported, "The Marines report that thanks to more recruiters, bigger bonuses and their own reputation, they've signed up almost 27,000 new Marines since 2006, much faster than expected. And they expect to reach their goal of 202,000 by early next year."
The AP reports two Guantanamo Bay detainees, "including a Yemeni man accused of being a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden, were correctly labeled as enemy combatants and are being held lawfully at the U.S. prison in Cuba, a federal judge ruled Tuesday." US District Judge Richard J. Leon, "who last month ordered five Algerians freed from the naval prison because the evidence against them was flimsy," said yesterday that "Moath Hamza Amhed Al Alwi, of Tunisia, and Hisham Sliti, of Yemen, were being held lawfully."
The New York Times calls the rulings "the first clear-cut victories for the Bush administration in what are expected to be more than 200 similar cases. ... The habeas rulings are being watched carefully, in part because decisions approving the holding of Guantánamo detainees could be used by the Obama administration as a legal justification to continue to hold some of them even if the prison in Cuba is closed."
McClatchy reports, "Members of Congress have at least one reason to ring in the new year: They've given themselves a $4,700-a-year pay raise starting Thursday. With the economy in a recession and millions of Americans losing their jobs, however, members are under fire to rescind the pay hike, which will increase their base salaries to $174,000, roughly a 2.8 percent raise."
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The New York Times reports that Democrat Al Franken's "narrow lead in the race for a Senate seat from Minnesota grew slightly on Tuesday, as the State Canvassing Board completed its tally of challenged ballots. That tally, which is unofficial," found Franken leading Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman by "a 50-vote margin...in a statewide recount that has gone on for five weeks." The Minneapolis Star Tribune adds that a "protracted court battle seemed more likely than ever Tuesday as the Coleman campaign attempted to have counties reconsider 654 absentee ballots that local officials have said were correctly rejected. The Franken campaign, some counties and the Secretary of State oppose that move, saying the absentee ballot review should focus instead on the 1,346 that county officials say were improperly rejected." Those ballots "come from precincts that mostly favored" Franken. The Hill adds that "Both campaigns must agree on which ballots to count - an issue that has caused the standstill."
Franken Says He's "On Track To Win" The Politico reports that Franken said Tuesday that "he believes he is 'on track to win' the Minnesota Senate race...in a statement released by his campaign." The comments were Franken's first "in several weeks, as he has remained silent throughout most of the recount process." However, Bloomberg News reports that RNC Chairman Mike Duncan, "in a statement later in the day, said Franken's 'declarations of victory are as inaccurate as they are premature.' 'We won't know a winner for weeks to come' Duncan said. 'When a winner finally does emerge, we are confident it will be Norm Coleman.'"
Cornyn Suggests "Senate Would Have A Problem Seating" Franken The Hill reports that Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R), chairman of the NRSC, "said Tuesday the Senate shouldn't seat" Franken, adding, "Al Franken is falsely declaring victory based on an artificial lead created on the back of the double counting of ballots." Cornyn "also accused Democrats of 'creating additional chaos and disorder' during the recount. 'Minnesotans will not accept a recount in which some votes are counted twice, and I expect the Senate would have a problem seating a candidate who has not duly won an election,'" Cornyn said.
The New York Times says that "it seems clear" that Caroline Kennedy "is still finding her stride in what is, for her, a kind of reverse challenge: selling herself. Interviews with more than a dozen people who have met or spoken with her in recent weeks reveal a fairly uniform portrait of the private Ms. Kennedy in her first turn as a very public woman. Most described her as courteous but reticent, unfailingly gracious but not exactly passionate." The New York Post reports that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg "yesterday defended Caroline Kennedy from attacks over recent interviews in which she punctuated her remarks with a stream of 'ums' and 'you knows.' 'Caroline Kennedy isn't just your average person, so people may be a little more critical,' said Bloomberg, who has repeatedly praised Kennedy since she threw her name into the hat to replace Hillary Rodham, Clinton in the Senate."
However, the New York Post reports separately that Bloomberg's "top political aide is pulling back on his lobbying campaign to propel Caroline Kennedy into the U.S. Senate because 'it wasn't working,' according to sources. 'Everything was backfiring,' said one source of the intense behind-the-scenes effort by Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey." The New York Daily News adds that "Kennedy's advisers have told Mayor Bloomberg's political pit bull to tone down his lobbying efforts for her for fear it will kill her chances to be named to the Senate. 'There had been huge missteps in the way [City Hall] constructed this,' said a source involved in the Kennedy effort to muzzle" Sheekey.
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