The Political Junkie Will Return In 2009

It was a remarkable, unpredictable, topsy-turvy year, not the least of which is that, for the first time in history, the U.S. has elected a president born in Hawaii.

I will be pondering that one all week, along with writing up my New Year's resolutions and plotting new things to bring to this column (oops, "blog"). Any thoughts, comments, ideas, criticism or cash, send them my way at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

The Political Junkie returns on Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and Happy New Year!

Ken Rudin

(or, as my Camp Lokanda friends on Facebook call me, "Kenny Rudin")

10:15 AM ET | 12-29-2008 | permalink

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Update: Those Still Unfilled/ Undecided Senate Seats

Well, I checked under the tree yesterday, and there were still no Senate replacements in Illinois, New York or Colorado, and still no winner in Minnesota.

Disappointed, I went out and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -- and came away even more disappointed. This had nothing to do with campaign buttons at all. They wouldn't give me my money back. The good news is that when I got home, I was 11 years old.

But back to those unresolved Senate seats. Here's the latest on the states, listed alphabetically:

COLORADO --

Gov. Bill Ritter (D) is obviously in no hurry to tip his hand on which Democrat he'll name to replace Sen. Ken Salazar (D) once he joins the Obama Cabinet as interior secretary. It seems that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who retains high approval ratings, is getting the most mention. The mayor told the Rocky Mountain News that he'd be interested in replacing Salazar: "To work in Washington at this critical time," he said, "at this moment in history, would be incredibly exciting and challenging and I think rewarding."

Also adding her name to the mix is former state Sen. Polly Baca, who would be the nation's first Hispanic woman in the Senate (as well as Colorado's first woman). It's a rapidly growing list, as retiring state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, Rep. Diana DeGette, two-time Senate candidate Tom Strickland, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, former state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, Denver School Superintendent Michael Bennet and oil heiress Swanee Hunt have all either expressed interest in the appointment or have said they would consider it.

One name also being bandied about is Salazar's older brother, Congressman John Salazar, who for obvious reasons has been keeping a low profile as the jockeying intensifies.

There are risks for Ritter and the Dems with several of these choices. Some say DeGette may be too liberal to win statewide (though that's what they said about Mark Udall, who left his Boulder-centered congressional district to easily win a Senate seat this year). Of all the members of Congress out there, John Salazar's House seat may be toughest for the Dems to hold.

There are, for the record, some Democrats in Colorado who have ruled out the appointment. They include state Treasurer Cary Kennedy and former Denver Mayor and Clinton Cabinet official Federico Pena

Whoever is named will have to run in 2010, when Sen. Salazar's term would have expired.

Ritter will also have to name a successor to Secretary of State Mike Coffman (R), who was elected to Congress last month to replace retiring Republican Tom Tancredo. If Romanoff doesn't get the Senate appointment he could be the next Secretary of State.

(Sec/State update: see Wilson Pruitt's comment below.)

ILLINOIS --

The state House of Representatives meets again on Monday to discuss impeaching Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), who has been accused of, among other things, offering to sell the Senate seat formerly held by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder. Blagojevich, who was arrested Dec. 9 on corruption charges, has refused demands that he resign. One of his attorneys, Ed Genson, has told state legislators he wants them to subpoena more than a dozen witnesses, including Rep. Rahm Emanuel. It has already been acknowledged by Team Obama that Emanuel, who will leave Congress to become the new White House chief of staff, has had conversations with the governor and his former chief of staff, John Harris, about the Senate vacancy. (Harris was arrested with the governor last month.)

Also on Genson's subpoena wish list are Valerie Jarrett, who considered but then ruled herself out of Senate consideration, and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., once thought to be high on the list of potential appointees.

Now that list is in tatters. It is not clear who has been fatally compromised by the investigation. It is not clear when or if Blagojevich will be removed from office, and so it is not clear who will be appointing the next senator. Republicans, of course, would love a special election, which was once called for by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) -- a call that was muted once Dems realized they could lose the seat.

Naughty, not nice. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released on Christmas Eve named Blagojevich as the "naughtiest" politician in 2008. He topped the list with 56 percent, followed by ex-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer with 23 percent and former presidential candidate John Edwards at 19 percent. Spitzer and Edwards were involved in sex scandals.

MINNESOTA --

The news has not been good lately for Sen. Norm Coleman (R), who trails Democratic challenger Al Franken by 47 (count 'em) votes in the latest tally. The Coleman camp is claiming that anywhere between 130 and 150 votes in Democratic areas may have been counted twice, but the state Supreme Court ruled against the claim, saying there was no way of determining that short of going through still another hand recount of the 2.9 million votes that were cast on Nov. 4. Republicans are suggesting more legal challenges.

There are still some 1,600 absentee ballots that were incorrectly rejected on Election Day. But the court ruled that the votes won't be counted unless both sides agree on each individual ballot.

One thing is clear: There will be no winner declared in 2008, and probably not before Jan. 6, when the new Congress is sworn in.

NEW YORK --

If Norm Coleman is not having a good time of it, it's been worse for Caroline Kennedy. The daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy made it clear that she would love to be appointed to the Senate once Hillary Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state. That was all well and good. But then it no longer became well or good. Kennedy's "listening tour" of upstate N.Y., modeled after Clinton's 1999 tour, didn't go according to plan. Instead of people throwing bouquets at her, she found herself getting hit with words like "entitlement" and "elitism." She met with more politicians than real voters (a "drive-by visit," wrote the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle), took only written questions from the media (and then gave less than satisfactory answers), is refusing to answer questions about her finances (not until she's appointed, she says), hasn't opened up her checkbook to any New York Democratic candidate in the past decade (except for New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, reports the Daily News' Michael Saul), has a spotty voting record, and has backed away from committing to support the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City next year.

And on that last point, that's because one of her key sponsors for the Senate is thought to be NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat who was elected mayor twice as a Republican but who is now an independent. Bloomberg had the City Council temporarily remove the two-term limit so he could run again in 2009. Bloomberg has been one of the city's most popular mayors in history, but there has been a bit of backlash to his end run around term limits. There are many indications that Bloomberg and his political machine are solidly behind Kennedy's Senate bid.

Meanwhile, there are more and more signs indicating that Gov. David Paterson (D), who will make the appointment, is starting to resent the "inevitability" of Caroline that her supporters are suggesting. (Not long ago, Paterson was thought to resent the efforts of state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to get himself appointed. Caroline has apparently replaced Andrew -- who was once married to her cousin -- as the focus of his resentment.) The Daily News reports that at a Wednesday news conference, when a reporter suggested Kennedy was the front-runner for the spot, Paterson shot back, "How is she a front-runner?"

Others thought to be high on the list as potential appointees: Tom Suozzi, the Nassau County (Long Island) executive, as well as several members of Congress, starting with Steve Israel from Long Island, Kirsten Gillibrand from upstate and Brian Higgins of Buffalo.

Paterson, like Colorado's governor, does not seem to be in any hurry to name a senator. By all indications, an appointment may not come until late January or even February.

Whoever is appointed will have to run in 2010, to fill the final two years of Clinton's term, and then again in 2012.

That's it for me in 2008. Have a safe, healthy and Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2009.

3:29 PM ET | 12-26-2008 | permalink

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'Twas The End Of My Career

On today's Talk of the Nation program, host Neal Conan asked for political versions of the Twas the Night Before Christmas poem. Despite the risk to my reputation, I wrote one and read it on the air. And despite popular demand, I'm reprinting it here. (Actually, that last part is not completely true. Ed Weirauch of Leadership Communications in Wilmington, Del., actually asked for the text!)

Here's your chance to listen to my actual reading. Already it is being compared to a combination of Maya Angelou and Shemp Howard. Let me know if you agree.

Meanwhile, here's the text:

Twas the night before Christmas, and we at NPR,

Decided to review the year in politics, near and afar.

It started off clear, so sure were we
The nominees would be Mitt, and perhaps Hillary.

He had the hair and the great wealth.
She had connections, and the program for health.

But then something happened, that ended in surprise
Obama and McCain wound up with the prize.

Barack, he was called, what a strange name,
Not to mention Obama, let alone Hussein.

He was new to the Senate, a new shining light.
But he had his problems; think "Reverend Wright."

And then there was Bill, who for Hillary he made his pitch.
He could do anything he wanted; remember Marc Rich?

The Clintons were tough, there was no question.
But Obama never gave up; it's as if he was destined

He smiled, he reasoned, he spoke out for hope
So what if he spent his college days smoking that dope.

On the GOP side it was another good story
John McCain was on top, but many were worried.

On taxes, on torture, and the immigrant fight
He was not one of them, said the folks on the right.

So what did he do, with his chances a fadin'?
He picked this woman, this Sarah Palin.

She was tough, wore lipstick, and came from Alaska,
Was she going to help John McCain and the Republicans? You betcha!

But then something happened to end their mood euphoric
She had trouble with questions, and one Katie Couric.

Bristol was pregnant, in love thanks to Cupid,
But ultimately, it came down to the economy, stupid.

The collapse of the Dow, the growing unemployment number
Proved more important than John, or Sarah, or Joe the Plumber.

The year of course, was more than just this
And if Neal allows me, I'll continue my list.

Religion was important, and family too,
Just ask Vito Fossella, he had two.

And poor Tim Mahoney, he who replaced Mark Foley
The Florida Democrat had his own sex scandal; holy moly!

Bill Jefferson, his money in the freezer, he couldn't explain how,
No matter, he lost his seat, to a Vietnamese American named Cao.

President Bush, down on his luck,
Went to Baghdad, and managed to duck.

Two shoes were thrown, was the journalist's role
Bush saw the reporter, and looked into his sole.

Caroline Kennedy, as a child there was no one cuta,
Now has to spend her weekends, and Christmas, in Buffalo and Utica.

But if you think campaigning for the Senate is really a bitch
Just think, it could be worse, you could be Rod Blagojevich.

Wanna buy a Senate seat? Do you have money I can keep?
If you don't, then all I can say, is bleep bleep bleep.

I'm sorry for this poem, it is a bit clunky,
But I urge you to read my daily blog, which just so happens can be found at npr dot org slash junkie.

Happy Holidays!

4:09 PM ET | 12-24-2008 | permalink

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Today On TOTN: 2008 In Review, Plus A Rudin Christmas Poem

Make sure to tune in today to NPR's Talk of the Nation. It's the last Political Junkie segment of the year, a jam-packed program that includes:

-- the latest campaign news;

-- a special review of politics in this amazing year of 2008;

-- a farewell to some political giants who passed on; and, most troublesome ...

-- my attempt at a Night Before Christmas poem.

Remember, the Political Junkie segment airs every Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Talk of the Nation, NPR's call-in program, where you can often, but not always, find interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes.

And remember, if your local NPR station doesn't carry TOTN, you can hear the program on the Web or on HD radio. And if you are a subscriber to XM/Sirius radio, you can find the show there as well (siriusly).

(You can listen to last week's show here.)

Wanna be on the Junkie mailing list? Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

No Junkie blog or TOTN Junkie segment next week. No "It's All Politics" podcast this week, but there will be one next week.

Chappy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and a safe, healthy and Happy New Year to all!

11:54 AM ET | 12-24-2008 | permalink

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Obama Report Says No Inappropriate Contact With Blago; Questions Remain On Craig's List

A report prepared by Greg Craig of the Obama transition team says that neither the president-elect nor anyone associated with him engaged in any unethical or inappropriate conduct in dealing with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich regarding Obama's former Senate seat.

In his cover letter sent to Obama, Craig writes,

The accounts support your statement on December 11, 2008 that you "have never spoken to the Governor on this subject [or] about these issues," and that you "had no contact with the Governor's office." In addition, the accounts contain no indication of inappropriate discussions with the Governor or anyone from his office about a "deal" or a quid pro quo arrangement in which he would receive a personal benefit in return for any specific appointment to fill the vacancy.

One member of the transition staff, Rahm Emanuel, did have contacts of the type covered by your request. I discuss the nature of those contacts in the attached report. David Axelrod and
Valerie Jarrett, two other individuals on the transition staff, did not have any contacts with the Governor or his office but are included in the report to address questions raised by the press.

Craig says that Obama "had no contact or communication with Governor Blagojevich or members of his staff about the Senate seat":

In various conversations with transition staff and others, the President-Elect expressed his preference that Valerie Jarrett work with him in the White House. He also stated that he would neither stand in her way if she wanted to pursue the Senate seat nor actively seek to have her or any other particular candidate appointed to the vacancy.

After Ms. Jarrett decided on November 9, 2008 to withdraw her name from consideration as a possible replacement for him in the Senate and to accept the White House job, the President-Elect discussed other qualified candidates with David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel. Those candidates included Representatives Jan Schakowsky and Jesse Jackson, Jr., Dan Hynes and Tammy Duckworth. The President-Elect understood that Rahm Emanuel would relay these names to the Governor's office as additions to the pool of qualified candidates who might already be under consideration. Mr. Emanuel subsequently confirmed to the President that he had in fact relayed these names. At no time in the discussion of the Senate seat or of possible replacements did the President-Elect hear of a suggestion that the Governor expected a personal benefit in return for making this appointment to the Senate.

As for Emanuel, Craig writes that he

had one or two telephone calls with Governor Blagojevich. Those conversations occurred between November 6 and November 8, 2008. Soon after he decided to accept the President-Elect's offer to serve as Chief of Staff in the White House, Mr. Emanuel placed a call to the Governor to give him a heads up that he was taking the Chief of Staff's position in the White House, and to advise him that he would be resigning his seat in the House of Representatives. They spoke about Mr. Emanuel's House seat, when he would be resigning and potential candidates to replace him. He also had a brief discussion with the Governor about the Senate seat and the merits of various people whom the Governor might consider. Mr. Emanuel and the Governor did not discuss a cabinet position, 501c(4), a private sector position for the Governor or any other personal benefit for the Governor.

In those early conversations with the Governor, Mr. Emanuel recommended Valarie Jarrett because he knew she was interested in the seat. He did so before learning -- in further conversations with the President-Elect -- that the President-Elect had ruled out communicating a preference for any one candidate. As noted above, the President-Elect believed it appropriate to provide the names of multiple candidates to be considered, along with others, who were qualified to hold the seat and able to retain it in a future election. The following week, Mr. Emanuel learned that the President-Elect and Ms. Jarrett with the President's strong encouragement had decided that she would take a position in the White House.

Between the time that Mr. Emanuel decided to accept the position of Chief of Staff in the White House and December 8, 2008, Mr. Emanuel had about four telephone conversations with John Harris, Chief of Staff to the Governor, on the subject of the Senate seat. In these conversations, Mr. Emanuel and Mr. Harris discussed the merits of potential candidates and the strategic benefit that each candidate would bring to the Senate seat. After Ms. Jarrett removed herself from consideration, Mr. Emanuel -- with the authorization of the President-Elect -- gave Mr. Harris the names of four individuals whom the President-Elect considered to be highly qualified:D an Hynes, Tammy Duckworth, Congresswoman Schakowsky and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

In later telephone conversations, Mr. Emanuel -- also with the President-Elect's approval --presented other names of qualified candidates to Mr. Harris including Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Ms. Cheryle Jackson. Mr. Harris did not make any effort to extract a personal benefit for the Governor in any of these conversations. There was no discussion of a cabinet position, of 501c(4), of a private sector position or of any other personal benefit to the Governor in exchange for the Senate appointment.

Although Mr. Emanuel recalls having conversations with the President-Elect, with David Axelrod and with Valerie Jarrett about who might possibly succeed the President-Elect in the Senate, there was no mention of efforts by the Governor or his staff to extract a personal benefit in return for filling the Senate vacancy.

It's certainly plausible that Emanuel, the ultimate political insider and deal maker, only had "one of two" phone calls about the Senate seat with Blagojevich, none since Nov. 8, and "about four" calls with Harris, the former Blago chief of staff who was also arrested with the governor on Dec. 9. Had there been no contact between Rahm and Blago, well, that would have raised eyebrows. But since all the conversations ended early, and with Valerie Jarrett withdrawing her name from Senate consideration early, two questions stand out:

Was anyone on Obama's team warned in advance by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald about the wiretaps into Blagojevich's office? Did Jarrett take her name out because the transition team learned about the attempt to sell the seat?

Then again, the fact that Blagojevich was under investigation for corruption has been known for years. Even before his re-election in 2006. So maybe that's why the conversations ended early. Ultimately, this may indeed be much ado about nothing. And while there has never been any indication of any nefarious behavior by anyone on the Obama team, there is still something interesting about a report absolving a team written by a member of the team.

By the way, President-elect Obama is vacationing in Hawaii. And, according to Huffington Post's Sam Stein, Emanuel left earlier today for a "long planned family vacation in Africa."

4:07 PM ET | 12-23-2008 | permalink

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Someone Is Reading This Blog

The Political Junkie, at 12:24 pm today:

It's cold outside, the economy stinks, and the Yankees still haven't signed Mark Teixeira.

The Associated Press, two minutes ago:

The New York Yankees have reeled in another prime free agent, reaching a preliminary agreement with first baseman Mark Teixeira for $180 million over eight years.

A person familiar with the negotiations disclosed the agreement, which is subject to a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet final.

Coincidence? I think not.

3:36 PM ET | 12-23-2008 | permalink

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A Pre-Holiday ScuttleButton Puzzle!

Wait, wait, wait! Before you leave town -- to be with family and friends and celebrate the holidays -- you must first take time out to check out this week's ScuttleButton puzzle. It's the last one of the year, and we can't guarantee prices will stay the same come 2009.

The concept is the same, though: Take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and what do you get?

A correct answer chosen at random gets his or her name in this column. You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

Note: This will be an occasionally recurring feature on the Political Junkie blog. You can still see last week's contest.

Plus, you can add your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, even though these are the first people they will come after when you-know-who takes over. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org.

2:37 PM ET | 12-23-2008 | permalink

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Gubernatorial Races In 2009-10

It's cold outside, the economy stinks, and the Yankees still haven't signed Mark Teixeira. Worse, everyone is fleeing town. So what better time than now to list the states holding races for governor in 2009 (two) and 2010 (36). Governors whose names are in boldface are eligible to run again.

2009 -- 2 (2 Dem)

New Jersey: Jon Corzine (D) is likely to seek re-election. The Republican most often talked about is former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, but he has yet to announce his intentions. The GOP field is still being sorted out. Primary: June 2.

Virginia: Tim Kaine (D) is limited to one term. The Republican nominee will be Bob McDonnell, the state attorney general. Three Democrats have expressed interest in running: former state Del. Brian Moran, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds and ex-Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe. The primary is June 9. Click here for more on the race.

2010 -- 36 (20 Dem, 16 GOP)

Alabama: Bob Riley (R) is term-limited. Among the Democrats looking at the race is Rep. Artur Davis.

Alaska: Sarah Palin (R) is expected to seek a second term. There have been some reports that Palin might take on GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the primary, but that's unlikely.

Arizona: Jan Brewer (R), the secretary of state, will become governor when Janet Napolitano (D) resigns to join the Obama Cabinet as secretary of homeland security. Brewer is expected to run in 2010.

Arkansas: Mike Beebe (D) is expected to seek a second term.

California: Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is term-limited. Former Rep. Tom Campbell, eBay exec Meg Whitman and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner are potential GOP candidates. List of possible Dems includes Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi.

Colorado: Bill Ritter (D) is expected to seek a second term.

Connecticut: Jodi Rell (R) is expected to seek a second full term.

Florida: Charlie Crist (R) is expected to seek a second term.

Georgia: Sonny Perdue (R) is term-limited. GOP field may include Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine.

Hawaii: Linda Lingle (R) is term-limited.

Idaho: Butch Otter (R) is expected to seek a second term.

Illinois: Rod Blagojevich (D) may resign early to become King of Neptune.

Iowa: Chet Culver (D) is expected to seek a second term.

Kansas: Kathleen Sebelius (D) is term-limited. Sen. Sam Brownback (R) is expected to run for governor.

Maine: John Baldacci (D) is term-limited.

Maryland: Martin O'Malley (D) is expected to seek a second term. Bob Ehrlich, unseated by O'Malley in 2002, is the most prominent Republican name mentioned.

Massachusetts: Deval Patrick (D) is expected to seek a second term.

Michigan: Jennifer Granholm (D) is term-limited. Among the Republicans looking at this are state Attorney General Mike Cox, Secretary of State Terri Land and Rep. Peter Hoekstra, who recently announced he won't seek re-election to the House.

Minnesota: Tim Pawlenty (R) may seek a third term.

Nebraska: Dave Heineman (R) is expected to seek a second full term.

Nevada: Jim Gibbons (R) may seek a second term.

New Hampshire: John Lynch (D) is expected to seek a fourth two-year term.

New Mexico: Diane Denish (D) becomes governor when Bill Richardson (D) resigns to join Obama Cabinet as secretary of commerce. Denish was already planning to run to replace the term-limited Richardson.

New York: David Paterson (D), who became governor after Eliot Spitzer (D) resigned in the wake of a prostitution scandal in March, is expected to seek his first full term.

Ohio: Ted Strickland (D) is expected to seek a second term.

Oklahoma: Brad Henry (D) is term-limited.

Oregon: Ted Kulongoski (D) is term-limited.

Pennsylvania: Ed Rendell (D) is term-limited.

Rhode Island: Donald Carcieri (R) is term-limited.

South Carolina: Mark Sanford (R) is term-limited.

South Dakota: Mike Rounds (R) is term-limited.

Tennessee: Phil Bredesen (D) is term-limited.

Texas: Rick Perry (R), who became governor when George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000, may seek a third full term. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) is expected to run regardless of Perry's decision.

Vermont: Jim Douglas (R) is expected to seek a fifth two-year term.

Wisconsin: Jim Doyle (D) is expected to seek a third term.

Wyoming:: Dave Freudenthal (D) is term-limited.

Click here for our list of the 36 Senate seats up in 2010.

12:24 PM ET | 12-23-2008 | permalink

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Today In Political Junkie

-- The Obama transition team releases a report of its contacts with Gov. Rod Blagojevich regarding the vacant Illinois Senate seat;

-- New numbers are expected in the Minnesota recount between Sen. Norm Coleman (R) and challenger Al Franken (D). But don't expect a winner anytime soon;

-- List of 2010 gubernatorial elections;

and ...

most important ...

-- Pre-holiday ScuttleButton puzzle!

10:03 AM ET | 12-23-2008 | permalink

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We Have A ScuttleButton Winner!

Is this exciting or what?

Friday's button puzzle -- where we lined up three buttons, and your job was to take one word or one concept per button to arrive at a saying or a name -- has produced a winner.

And that winner, selected at random among the correct responders, is (drum roll) ... Maura Spiegelman of Silver Spring, Md.

The answer: Minnesota Twins -- Minnie Soda Twins (that's what you get when you combine the Minnie Mouse button, the Democratic donkey drinking a Pepsi button, and a button celebrating the "Ress Twins").

And, asks Jon Harrison of Reno, Nev., who the heck are the Ress Twins? They're the sons of Manny Ress, whose Emress Specialty Co. (New York City) was among the biggest manufacturers of campaign buttons during the 1950s and '60s. Don't ask why I have that button. I have no idea.

Good news: Because of the shortened week -- though I'll be here blogging every day but Thursday -- a new button puzzle goes up TOMORROW!

4:01 PM ET | 12-22-2008 | permalink

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Everything You've Ever Wanted To Know About David Paterson

We always say that every vote counts, and that's certainly true in Minnesota this year (witness the still unresolved Senate race) and some of the House elections that were decided by a whisker.

But when it comes to filling Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat, only one vote counts: that of David Paterson. He's the Democratic governor of New York who ascended to the job in March after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer, who was embroiled in a prostitution scandal.

 

Paterson is the state's first African-American governor and, with Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, it is the first time in history that there is more than one at the same time. Which leads to a bunch of questions, starting with Greg Jackson of Burbank, Calif. (A similar question came from Brian Engel of Yokohama, Japan):

The other night on Jeopardy! the answer to a question was "David Paterson, governor of New York." Host Alex Trebek said that Gov. Paterson was the fourth African-American governor. I can think of only two others -- Deval Patrick in Massachusetts and Douglas Wilder in Virginia. Am I forgetting someone or is Alex wrong?

First things first: Greg, you should know that Alex Trebek is never wrong.

Paterson is indeed the fourth black governor. You correctly identified the second and third; Virginia's Doug Wilder (D) was elected to one term in 1989, and Deval Patrick (D) won in Massachusetts in 2006.

The first was P.B.S. Pinchback, who served as acting governor of Louisiana for five weeks, from Dec. 9, 1872, to Jan. 13, 1873. Pinchback, a Republican, was the state's lieutenant governor but moved up to fill the remainder of the term of white Republican Gov. Henry Clay Warmoth, who was suspended from office on corruption charges and was going through impeachment hearings. Pinchback had previously been elected to the Louisiana state Senate and was elevated to Senate president pro tempore. He succeeded to the position of lieutenant governor upon the death of incumbent Oscar Dunn, another African-American. It was this position that enabled Pinchback to become the first black governor.

Wilder was the first one to be elected, followed by Patrick. Paterson is expected to seek election in 2010.

A question from Barbara Hill of New York:

Is David Paterson the first New York lieutenant governor to become governor of the state? I can't think of any others.

Actually, there have been several, the most recent being Mario Cuomo (D). He was LG under Hugh Carey for Carey's second term (1979-82), succeeding Carey when the gov retired in '82, and going on to win two more terms before his defeat in 1994. Back in 1932, the year Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) was elected president, Lt. Gov. Herbert Lehman ran and won the governorship for the first of his four two-year terms.

(When Lehman resigned his office in December of 1942, Lt. Gov. Charles Poletti became governor, but just for a month.)

And, for the record, on my Facebook page, where I'm asked for my religious views, I wrote, "I feel that New York's Malcolm Wilson was one of the best lieutenant governors in history." I'm not exactly sure why I wrote that, but that's for another day.

A question from Steve Martin of Vernon Hills, Ill.:

Is David Paterson related to the Paterson who ran for lieutenant governor in 1970 on the Democratic ticket with Arthur Goldberg?

Yes. David Paterson's father is Basil Paterson, a longtime political power in Harlem, who was Goldberg's running mate in 1970. The Goldberg-Paterson team lost to the Republican incumbent ticket of Nelson Rockefeller and the aforementioned Malcolm Wilson.

Here's a non-Paterson question from Kenneth Chester of Washington, D.C.:

I heard someone say that Richard Viguerie, the conservative who died on Thursday, was "responsible" for the defeat of Texas Sen. John Tower for secretary of defense. What exactly did Viguerie do?

It was Paul Weyrich, not Richard Viguerie (another conservative activist), who died. And it was Weyrich, not Viguerie, who helped torpedo Tower's nomination.

On Jan. 31, 1989, testifying before a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, Weyrich questioned Tower's moral character and fitness for the job, citing widely whispered reports of the former senator's drinking and womanizing. The committee ultimately voted against the nomination, but the Bush administration decided to fight for Tower before the entire Senate. The Democratic-controlled Senate, using Weyrich as cover for its own dislike of Tower, rejected the nomination in a 53-47 vote.

As for Richard Viguerie, and the above-pictured button, he sought the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 1985 but lost at the state convention to Marshall Coleman. He also sought the presidential nomination of the American Independent Party in 1976, but the party instead chose former Georgia Gov. Lester Maddox as its nominee.

Weyrich never ran for public office.

Got a question? Send to politicaljunkie@npr.org. Please include your name and city/state.

2:54 PM ET | 12-22-2008 | permalink

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Overtime In The Apple

I'm not talking about last night's thriller in the Meadowlands, just outside the Big Apple, where (as long as we're on the subject) the New York Giants defeated the Carolina Panthers in OT and clinched home field advantage in the NFC playoffs. (Oh, did I tell you I'm a Giants fan?)

I'm talking about overtime in the other Apple -- the Minneapple -- where we are approaching seven weeks since Election Day and there's still no winner in the Senate race between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken. Here's the latest news:

Franken with a lead. For the first time since Nov. 4, Franken is ahead in the count. Four days of going over disputed and absentee ballots by the state Canvassing Board has given Franken a lead of 262 votes. But that lead could be short-lived because ...

Challenges. On Tuesday, the board is expected to reconcile some 5,000 ballots that had been, but are no longer, challenged by the two camps. That should alter the count. The state Supreme Court has also instructed counties to separate some 1,600 rejected absentee ballots and count them, but only if both camps agree that the ballot was mistakenly rejected. The court has given them a Dec. 31 deadline. The Coleman camp is insisting that hundreds of ballots should be disqualified because they will have been counted twice. The state Supreme Court will hear that challenge tomorrow. Meanwhile, the new Congress will be sworn in on Jan. 6. There's no guarantee that we'll have a winner by then.

Temporary senator? There has been some talk that Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) might want to name a temporary senator while the counting goes on, but this could only happen if for some reason the seat were declared vacant, and that (so far) is not the case.

Shades of Wyman-Durkin? The deadlock in Minnesota is starting to remind us oldtimers about the 1974 Senate race in New Hampshire between Rep. Louis Wyman (R) and John Durkin (D). I'll write a separate post on that one later today.

How about Minnesota 1962? That's before our time, but not forgotten by Steve Cain of Minneapolis, who sent in this note:

"Close statewide elections in Minnesota have occurred before -- significantly, in the 1962 gubernatorial race between Gov. Elmer Andersen (R) and Lt. Gov. Karl Rolvaag (D). That one wasn't decided until March 1963, in which Rolvaag came out ahead of the Election Day winner, Andersen, by 91 votes."

And David Inman of St. Paul, Minn., adds more info:

Back in October, I attended a program where Tom Swain, Gov. Andersen's chief of staff and campaign manager (now 87), discussed, amongst other things, the 1962 recount (who would have known how prophetic that would be). He stated that in March (2 1/2 months after the beginning of the term), Gov. Andersen decided that the recount had gone on long enough and that he would not appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Ultimately, it was a three-judge panel that had the final say.

David sent along a link from MinnPost.com, which gives fascinating detail about that race. The canvassing board back then was deadlocked over whether to accept amended returns from several counties. The state Supreme Court got the board to end its deadlock, which resulted in Andersen being declared the winner by 142 votes.

But Rolvaag insisted on a recount, which led to months of meticulous examination of each contested vote. The three-judge panel declared Rolvaag the winner by 91 votes. GOP leaders urged Andersen to take his challenge to the courts, but the governor refused to do so, saying a "competent and fair tribunal" rendered its opinion. Rolvaag was sworn in on March 25, 1963.

Heck, this is only Dec. 22.

7:56 AM ET | 12-22-2008 | permalink

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Second Time's Not The Charm For Abramoff Pal

David Safavian, a former Bush administration official whose 2006 conviction over lying about his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff was overturned on appeal, was convicted Friday on similar charges. Safavian was chief of staff at the General Services Administration when Abramoff gave him trips and gifts in exchange for advice on how to obtain two pieces of GSA property that he wanted.

NPR's Peter Overby, who has followed the Abramoff scandal from the outset and has closely watched as others in the case have been convicted and sent to prison, has this report:

In the sprawling criminal case still emanating from Jack Abramoff's lobby operations, there's just one defendant who has fought the feds in court. And now he's lost for a second time.

David Safavian was one of the duffers on Abramoff's ill-fated golf outing to Scotland in 2002. They were buddies. But Safavian was also chief of staff at the General Services Administration -- GSA is the government's property manager -- and Abramoff had a couple deals he wanted to work with GSA. Safavian was advising him on the QT.

In 2006, a jury found Safavian guilty of lying to investigators about that back-channel relationship. Safavian appealed and won a new trial. Now a new jury has found him guilty again on essentially the same charges.

Continue reading "Second Time's Not The Charm For Abramoff Pal" »

11:50 PM ET | 12-21-2008 | permalink

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Blagojevich: 'I'm Guilty Of Nothing, I'm Not Resigning'

In a brief appearance -- 2 minutes and 59 seconds to be exact -- before assembled media in Chicago, embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich insisted that he is "not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing," that he will "fight every step of the way" and that he is not going to quit the job voters elected him to do.

He took no questions.

Blagojevich was arrested last week on federal corruption charges, based on taped conversations via wiretaps. High on the list of charges is that the governor was trying to sell the now-vacated Senate seat of Barack Obama to the highest bidder.

Today's comments were the first public remarks Blagojevich made since the arrest. Here's what he said, according to my notes: "I'm here to tell you I'm not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing ... I will fight every step of the way ... I will fight, I will fight, I will fight until I take my last breath ... I'm not going to quit a job the people hired me to do ... a political lynch mob ... I'm dying to show how innocent I am ... I intend to answer every allegation in the appropriate forum, in a court of law ... I am absolutely certain I will be vindicated."

Then he quoted Rudyard Kipling.

And then he continued: "I have the personal knowledge I have done nothing wrong. ... I ask the people of Illinois to reserve judgment."

And with that, he wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

3:13 PM ET | 12-19-2008 | permalink

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It's ScuttleButton Time!

There's been a lot of anger expressed lately in my e-mail in box. About the Bernard Madoff alleged Ponzi scheme. About Rick Warren giving the invocation at the Obama inauguration. About Mark Teixeira not going to the Yankees (OK, that last e-mail was from me).

But people seem to be truly up in arms about how easy the last two ScuttleButton puzzles were.

This week, perhaps, is a little tougher.

You know the drill: Take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and what do you get?

A correct answer chosen at random gets his or her name in this column. You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

Note: This will be an occasionally recurring feature on the Political Junkie blog. You can still see last week's contest.

Happy Friday!

11:29 AM ET | 12-19-2008 | permalink

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Don't Throw Shoes At Me ... Throw 'Em At The Latest Edition Of The Podcast

If you, let's just say, wanted to hurl your shoes at Caroline Kennedy while she was purchasing a Senate seat in Colorado during the Minnesota recount, then you've come to the right place.

That, and more, are all part of this week's "It's All Politics" podcast. And in the wacky world of homonyms, you can hear it here.

Credits --
Nonstop talkers: Ron Elving and Ken Rudin
Producer: Evie Stone
Shoe-throwing sound effects: Kyle Gassiott

Wanna subscribe? You can do it through iTunes.

Wanna hear previous episodes? Click here.

10:59 AM ET | 12-19-2008 | permalink

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Mark Felt Dies; 'Deep Throat' In Watergate Investigation Was 95

For more than 30 years, it was the best-kept secret in journalism: Who was "Deep Throat," that mysterious informer who gave Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward the details behind the Watergate scandal that would bring down the presidency of Richard Nixon?

The break-in at the Democratic National Committee occurred in June of 1972. Nixon resigned two years later. But it wasn't until 2005, when Vanity Fair magazine published an article by John O'Connor, that the source -- with his assent -- was revealed to be W. Mark Felt. Felt was the No. 2 guy at the FBI at the time.

Felt died yesterday at the age of 95. He had been suffering from congestive heart failure.

Here's what I wrote in my Political Junkie column at the time:

Who was Deep Throat?

How many times have I asked, or been asked, that question over the past three decades? Granted, it may not have been the sort of question that kept me up late at night. But as one who breathlessly watched the entire unraveling of the Nixon presidency, from break-in and Sirica to Ervin and Rodino, it would be fair to say that guessing the identity of the most famous anonymous source in the history of political journalism was something I dabbled in now and then. And so, when the news hit late Tuesday morning, that the identity of "Deep Throat" was finally revealed, the resulting feeling was a confluence of emotions.

It was a time like no other. A president who, within just months of a smashing 49-state election landslide, found his administration falling apart, one indictment and one resignation at a time. Bumper stickers everywhere that read, "Honk If You Think He's Guilty." Or sentiments from the Nixon defenders: "Nobody Drowned in Watergate." Ultimately, after disclosures about cover-ups and secret tape recordings and damaging testimony, it seemed clear that it was time for him to go. No one talked about "Deep Throat" -- at least in political terms -- back then. In fact, no one knew of him until Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein wrote All the President's Men in 1974, though it wasn't until the release of the movie in 1976 whereby he grew to mythical proportions.

And then came his unmasking this week, after nearly 33 years. Along with it came a feeling of disbelief. Not because no one suspected it could be Mark Felt; truth be told, he was a prime suspect on nearly everyone's list of potential Throats. I guess it was just hard to fathom that after all this time, the answer to the question was at hand. It seemed like it would be the kind of question that would remain unanswered forever.

If it was disbelief for some of us, it was no doubt a relief for others... especially those who, like Felt, were long suspected to be the Woodward/Bernstein source: Fred Fielding, L. Patrick Gray, Al Haig, Leonard Garment, Henry Peterson, David Gergen -- the list is endless. (Full disclosure: For the longest time, until his death in 1987, I thought Mr. Throat was Bryce Harlow, the former Eisenhower and Nixon aide who I suspected did not look kindly at the Watergate shenanigans.)

It was remarkable that a secret could be held for so long in Washington, where secrets are routinely spilled, and ironic that The Washington Post, which protected the secret, was scooped on the story. And I guess it should be expected that the new parlor game in town is deciding Mark Felt's motives. Revenge for being passed over when J. Edgar Hoover died? Was it anger over the Nixon administration's attempts to keep the FBI in the dark about its illegal activities? I'll let others decide that. And I'll pass, for now, on whether Felt's actions -- feeding information to Woodward and Bernstein on what the FBI knew about the Watergate break-in and cover-up -- make him a hero or a villain.

See also my cast of characters in the Watergate scandal.

10:20 AM ET | 12-19-2008 | permalink

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Today In Junkie: The Death Of 'Deep Throat,' Good News For Franken In Minn., and ScuttleButton!

Here's what's coming up today in Political Junkie:

-- Mark Felt, the former FBI agent who became the "Deep Throat" source in the Watergate scandal, has died at age 95.

-- The Minnesota Supreme Court said that improperly rejected absentee ballots in the too-close-to-call Minnesota Senate race should be counted, which is good news for the camp of Democratic candidate Al Franken, not so for Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.

-- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich holds a news conference at 3 p.m. ET.

-- New "It's All Politics" podcast is up, for better or worse.

-- Another ScuttleButton puzzle!

9:35 AM ET | 12-19-2008 | permalink

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Trivia Question On Presidential Daughters/Candidates

Earlier in the week, in the aftermath of Caroline Kennedy's expressing interest in a Senate seat, we asked you who the first presidential daughter to run for office was.

The answer: Maureen Reagan, daughter of Ronald, who sought the Republican nomination for the Senate from California in 1982. She lost to Pete Wilson, who went on to win the seat vacated by S.I. Hayakawa (R).

More important, the first correct responder: Adam Larsen of Byron, Ill. The prize: his state's U.S. Senate seat!

Congratulations Adam. Patrick Fitzgerald will be calling you shortly.

5:45 PM ET | 12-18-2008 | permalink

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Completing The Obama Cabinet: Hilda Solis At Labor

We seem to have a better understanding of the two remaining unfilled Cabinet posts. Tomorrow, President-elect Barack Obama is expected to nominate:

Rep. Ray LaHood for secretary of transportation. The retiring Illinois lawmaker, the only Republican of the group (unless you count carryover Robert Gates at Defense), LaHood is widely liked on both sides of the aisle. A longtime fixture on Capitol Hill -- he was chief of staff to House Minority Leader Bob Michel for a decade before succeeding him in the House 14 years ago -- LaHood is one of just three Republicans of the Class of 1994 who refused to sign onto the Contract With America.

LaHood had made it clear that he was not happy with the rightward trend in his party, and was never a fan of Tom DeLay, the GOP power house from Texas who resigned in 2006 under an ethics cloud. He was close with then-Speaker Dennis Hastert, a fellow Illinoisian, but that never translated into his wielding much power in the party. He considered, but opted out of, challenging Gov. Rod Blagojevich two years ago in order to stay in the House. But he decided this year that he had had enough.

Transportation, though, is an interesting choice. LaHood was not a member of any transportation-related committees in Congress. HIs Peoria-based district is best known for grain, agriculture and ethanol interests.

Rep. Hilda Solis for secretary of labor. Solis was first elected to the House from east Los Angeles in 2000, unseating her fellow Democrat, Matthew Martinez, in the primary. A favorite of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she has been a tireless advocate for environmental, women's and workers' rights.

In addition, Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas who was the unsuccessful Democratic Senate nominee in 2002 against John Cornyn (R), will be the next U.S. trade representative.

And, in response to an e-mail request from Johnette Barham of Detroit, here are the rest of Obama's Cabinet picks:

Treasury -- Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York

State -- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)

Attorney General -- Eric Holder, deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration

Defense -- Robert Gates (holdover)

Homeland Security -- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D)

Commerce -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D)

Health and Human Services -- Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD)

Veterans Affairs -- Retired Gen. Eric Shinseki

Housing and Urban Development -- Shaun Donovan, NYC housing commissioner

Energy -- Steven Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics

Education -- Arne Duncan, Chicago superintendent of schools

Interior -- Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO)

Agriculture -- Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D)

Other posts filled:

National Security Adviser -- Retired Marine Gen. James Jones

National Economic Council Director -- Larry Summers, Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration

OMB Director -- Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office

EPA Administrator -- Lisa Jackson, former NJ environment commissioner

3:54 PM ET | 12-18-2008 | permalink

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TV Guide: Today, On 'Dynasty'

The objections to Caroline Kennedy becoming the next U.S. senator from New York -- a decision to be made not by the voters but by Gov. David Paterson (D) -- center mostly on the issue of privilege and entitlement. If she weren't a Kennedy, would she be seriously considered? Isn't this dynasty thing going a little too far?

Perhaps. But before we get all bent out of shape on this, let's remember who the president of the United States is. And, for good measure, take a look at the current (as well as incoming) Senate:

Alaska: Lisa Murkowski (R) -- daughter of former Sen./Gov. Frank Murkowski (heck, he appointed her to the Senate!)

Arkansas: Mark Pryor (D) -- son of former Sen. David Pryor

Colorado: Mark Udall (D) -- son of the late Rep. Mo Udall of Arizona

Connecticut: Chris Dodd (D) -- son of the late Sen. Thomas Dodd

Indiana: Evan Bayh (D) -- son of former Sen. Birch Bayh

Louisiana: Mary Landrieu (D) -- daughter of former New Orleans Mayor/Carter Cabinet official Moon Landrieu

Massachusetts: Ted Kennedy (D) -- brother of the late President John Kennedy

New Hampshire: Both GOP senators -- Judd Gregg and John Sununu -- are sons of former governors

New Mexico: Tom Udall (D) -- son of former Rep. Stewart Udall of Arizona

Pennsylvania: Bob Casey (D) -- son of the late Gov. Bob Casey

Utah: Bob Bennett (R) -- son of the late Sen. Wallace Bennett

Plus, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver (D) is the son of former Sen. John Culver. Democrats in Delaware seem determined to in effect hold open the Senate seat of Vice President-elect Joe Biden for his son Beau, the state attorney general currently in Iraq. Another political name in the news lately (and constantly) is Lisa Madigan, the attorney general of Illinois whose father is the powerful state House speaker.

And Jeb Whatshisname may run for the Senate from Florida.

Back to Caroline: There was one objection to my post of yesterday when, in talking about those opposed to her candidacy, I added a link to the Beach Boys' 1996 song "Caroline No." Neil Sapper complained that I should have added Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" in the interest of fairness and balance.

I'm sorry Neil but, fairness or not, I can never ever ever ever link to a Neil Diamond song. Even in a blog post.

1:28 PM ET | 12-18-2008 | permalink

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Paul Weyrich Dies; Conservative Icon Was 66

Paul Weyrich, the influential conservative whose leadership with social conservative groups and causes helped lead the way to Ronald Reagan's election as president in 1980, died early this morning. He was 66 years old.

Weyrich's last column, on the Minnesota Senate race, was published this morning on the CNS News site.

House Republican Leader John Boehner said in a statement, "Paul was one of the giants of the conservative movement — a man committed to family, faith, and preserving and expanding freedom both here in America and around the world. His passing is a great loss for conservatism, and for our country."

Details to come.

9:53 AM ET | 12-18-2008 | permalink

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Obama To Name New SEC Head; LaHood Transports Tomorrow

President-elect Barack Obama will name Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. The announcement will come at a Chicago news conference this morning at 10:45 ET.

Schapiro, a lawyer, is currently the chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. She was an SEC commissioner for six years until becoming chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Clinton administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Schapiro would replace Christopher Cox, the former California congressman who was named by President Bush to head the SEC.

The SEC has come under fire as major financial institutions in the country have collapsed and scandals — the latest being the $50 billion investment fraud scheme allegedly carried out by Bernard Madoff — have destroyed confidence in the industry.

Tomorrow, Obama is expected to name retiring Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood, a Republican, as secretary of transportation.

9:09 AM ET | 12-18-2008 | permalink

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Final House Race Decided: Perriello Ousts Goode In Virginia

This email came in just after today's Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. It's from Pete Marshall of Charlottesville, Va.:

It was stated on today's show that the only race yet undecided was the one between Norm Coleman and Al Franken in Minnesota. I may be wrong but I believe the House race between Virgil Goode (R) and Tom Perriello (D) in Virginia's 5th District is not official yet. Periello was declared the winner but the margin was close enough for Goode to demand a recount, which started yesterday.

Pete, your note was correct, but not for long. The race became official this afternoon. Goode, a six-term Republican, picked up 18 votes in the recount, but ultimately it wasn't enough; he lost to Democrat Tom Perriello by 727 votes. The result was certified today by a three-judge panel and Goode conceded defeat.

5:36 PM ET | 12-17-2008 | permalink

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Illinois High Court Won't Rule On Blago Fitness

The Illinois Supreme Court has refused to rule on a challenge to the fitness of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The court rejected the challenge without comment.

The challenge had been brought by state Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who argued that the governor — arrested last week on corruption charges — is no longer capable of running the state and thus should be removed from office. Much of the urgency rests with Blagojevich's power to appoint a Senate successor to Barack Obama.

It was that power — and Blagojevich's comments, caught on tape, that he was willing to sell the seat to the highest bidder — that is part of the vast corruption case against the governor.

Resignation. There is no sign at all that a resignation by the governor is imminent. In fact, by all appearances, he looks like he intends to fight not only the charges but any effort to remove him from office. Blagojevich said this morning, "I can't wait to begin to tell my side of the story. ... There's a time and place for everything. That day will soon be here and you might know more about that today, maybe no later than tomorrow." Stay tuned.

Impeachment. Meanwhile, the state Legislature has convened a 21-member panel to study the possibility of impeaching Blagojevich, something that has never happened to an Illinois governor. A House vote to impeach would be followed by a trial in the Senate.

Obama. Democrats want this over as quickly as possible; they squirm every time Obama is asked about the situation at press conferences, which happened both Monday and Tuesday. The issue with Obama is about the discussions anyone on his team — specifically, incoming Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel — may have had with Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. Obama has said that in deference to the inquiry undertaken by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, he will withhold comment on the matter. But the prez-elect has promised to release information next week.

Some conservative commentators are slowly losing their patience with Obama's answers, on this and other matters. Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard is quoted in today's Washington Post as saying of Obama, "The guy is strategically soporiferous. He's trying to be so boring that no one will notice that he has avoided taking a position on virtually every issue that we've seen arise over the past three months."

Special election. This was first raised by Sen. Dick Durbin (D), but Democrats have slowly been distancing themselves from that position. The Democratic-controlled Legislature seems to be putting that possibility on the back burner, if not eliminating it altogether, despite the arguments by many newspaper editorials and, less important, Illinois Republicans. Obviously, the GOP's best shot at the Senate seat would come via special election. An appointment, no matter who is eventually in charge of the state, will not go to a Republican. Asked about this yesterday at his news conference, Obama said simply that he'll leave the decision of a special election up to the Legislature.

Slander. A most egregious charge, this one coming from Janet Pickel of Pittsburgh. And it's not directed at anyone from Illinois.

I think your overwhelming interest of late in the Blagojevich scandal is because it is such a remarkable parallel to "Buttongate." I refer, of course, to your own "pin to win" extortion scheme. I had to read just two of your pre-election columns to find your oft-repeated, brazen request to your readers. From your column dated Oct. 1, 2008:

MEET THE CHALLENGERS: Back in 2006, we initiated this feature, in which we asked you to send in campaign buttons for candidates for the Senate, House and governor. Our end of the bargain — aside from satisfying Ken Rudin's button craze, which is bordering on the unhealthy — would be to feature the candidates in a "meet the challenger" section.

I find it interesting that you simultaneously boast of both your button addiction and your corruption while seeking to remove yourself from them. You attempt this by referring to yourself in the first person plural ("we initiated" and "our end of the bargain"), as though others were involved in your "end of the bargain" AND in the third person ("Ken Rudin's button craze"), as though you weren't even in the room when the request was being made. I'm not a lawyer, but doesn't referring to yourself in the plural elevate this to a conspiracy?

3:12 PM ET | 12-17-2008 | permalink

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Today: Dynasty And Destiny On TOTN

The Empire State Strikes Back today on the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. The news about Caroline Kennedy actively seeking New York Gov. David Paterson's imprimatur for Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat is topic No. 1.

As long as there's a Kennedy running, we'll always have something to talk about.

Special guest: Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), one of three or four Democrats in the state who are not seeking the appointment (but who seriously looked at the Senate seat in 1999 until Hillary Clinton decided she was a New Yorker).

Also on the show: new Cabinet appointments. Ken Salazar to Interior means there will be a new senator in Colorado. And Tom Vilsack to Agriculture means that, um, that Vilsack has a job.

Speaking of which, now that he has resigned his Senate seat, Barack Obama is currently unemployed. This economy is worse than I thought!

Remember, the Political Junkie segment airs every Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Talk of the Nation, NPR's call-in program, where you can often, but not always, find interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes.

And remember, if your local NPR station doesn't carry TOTN, you can hear the program on the Web or on HD radio. And if you are a subscriber to XM/Sirius radio, you can find the show there as well (siriusly).

(You can listen to last week's show here.)

10:53 AM ET | 12-17-2008 | permalink

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Caroline Kennedy: Appointment Or Disappointment?

Yes, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is interested in the Senate seat from New York. That was established Monday and confirmed by many New York Democrats, including the guy who's going to make the appointment, Gov. David Paterson. Front page headlines everywhere.

So, end of story? Paterson picks Kennedy, Camelot redux? Not so fast.

For weeks now, there has been breathless speculation about what the daughter of President Kennedy might do. For most of her adult life, she has gone out of her way to stay out of the limelight. She has never actively participated in campaigns, let alone run for office. But this year was different. A very public endorsement of Barack Obama back in January. Participating in his VP vetting team. A speech at the Democratic National Convention this summer. Active campaigning on behalf of Obama in key battleground states this fall. And now this.

In 1994 it seemed that everywhere you looked a Kennedy was running for office somewhere.

In addition to the governor, Caroline has sought out the Rev. Al Sharpton, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and senior Sen. Charles Schumer. A tour of upstate New York by the longtime Manhattan resident is next.

But it's one thing to run for the seat. Anyone can do that and, by the looks of things, nearly everyone might want to. But only one person will be appointed to fill the seat once Hillary Clinton gets confirmed as secretary of state. And Caroline Kennedy is one on a quite sizable list. A list of politicos with sizable qualifications and experience.

Plus, there was something Paterson said at Monday's news conference that stuck with me: "She told me she was interested in the position," the governor said. "She'd like at some point to sit down and tell me what she thinks her qualifications are" (emphasis mine). It almost sounded as if he was wondering whether she was the most qualified candidate.

Others have been thinking the same thing. Rep. Gary Ackerman of Queens, one of the nine Democrats in the state not considering the Senate seat, made his feelings clear in an interview last week: "I don't know what Caroline Kennedy's qualifications are. Except that she has name recognition, but so does J Lo." Hank Sheinkopf, a party strategist, was unusually antagonistic toward Kennedy on interviews replayed all day Tuesday on CNN.

At some point, I expect to see an approach similar to what Ted (officially, Edward Moore) Kennedy faced in 1962. At his Democratic primary debate, opponent Ed McCormack made the famous remark, "If your name were Edward Moore instead of Edward Kennedy, your candidacy would be a joke." Will people be asking that about Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg?

But there are also signs that Democrats will embrace her candidacy. Already Rep. Louise Slaughter of Rochester has endorsed her, spurning her many congressional colleagues who are actively seeking the appointment. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R? D? I?) sounded very supportive as well. Although the Empire State GOP is in shambles, whichever Democrat is appointed will still have to run in 2010 (to fill the Clinton term) and again in 2012 (for a new term), and that means a lot of money is going to have to be raised. The Kennedy name alone might be able to get to some of the required $70 million. And running with a Kennedy in 2010 may not be the worst thing in the world for Gov. Paterson.

One serious question: What does Hillary want? Or, better put, how would Sen. Clinton feel about Caroline Kennedy taking her Senate seat, given Kennedy's influential snub of Clinton in favor of Obama last winter?

Huffington Post's Sam Stein reports that Kennedy has called Clinton to let her know of her interest in the seat but that they have yet to speak. Stein writes that Hillary may not exactly be a Caroline booster:

The key sticking point for Kennedy remains: whether or not she can placate Clinton's backers in New York, many of whom seem tepid or antagonistic towards her candidacy.

Multiple reports indicate that supporters of the former first lady -- not to mention the Clintons themselves -- weren't willing to simply forget Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama during the Democratic primary. Others, including several Clinton fundraisers, have made public statements that the former first daughter simply isn't qualified for the Senate. But the source close to Clinton insists that their differences are not caused by hurt feelings, but rather preferences for other New York politicians.

"The Clintons aren't going to do anything against her," said the source. "I think they had just been more emotionally attached to names that surfaced before hers did, like Randi Weingarten [of the United Federation of Teachers] and [Rep.] Carolyn Maloney."

And it's not just Clinton allies, or Gary Ackerman, or Hank Sheinkopf. There are also the sentiments of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson to consider.

7:31 AM ET | 12-17-2008 | permalink

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Seniority Among Colorado Senators

With all the speculation that Barack Obama is about to name Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado his choice for secretary of the interior, an interesting question from Julia Moss of Washington, D.C.:

If Sen. Salazar is picked, would Mark Udall -- who was just elected in November -- become Colorado's senior senator?

It depends on when Gov. Bill Ritter (D) makes the appointment to replace Salazar. Udall, who won the seat vacated by retiring Republican Wayne Allard, is scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 6. If Salazar is tapped for the Cabinet, resigns in December and Ritter names a replacement before the 6th, this new senator would be the senior senator. If the resignation/replacement occurs after that, Udall would be Colorado's senior senator.

Got a question? Send to politicaljunkie@npr.org. Please include your name and city/state.

7:04 PM ET | 12-16-2008 | permalink

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Not For Political Junkies. This Is For Certifiable Political Junkies

Yes, yes, yes. You're interested in what happens in the Minnesota Senate race. You want to see who wins between Coleman and Franken. You read the papers, you read this blog, you follow the stuff. Blah blah blah.

But do you really care?

If you did, then you would be watching live coverage of the Minnesota Canvassing Board's proceedings. And now, thanks to a live feed provided by the Minnesota Secretary of State, you can!

Life doesn't get better than this.

2:51 PM ET | 12-16-2008 | permalink

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Crunch Time In Minnesota Senate Count

Six weeks since Minnesota voters went to the polls, we may now finally be close to finding out who won the Senate election.

Maybe.

We're getting there. We're just not there yet.

 

Two point nine million people had their say on Nov. 4, choosing among Norm Coleman, the Republican incumbent; Al Franken, the Democratic challenger; and a third candidate, Dean Barkley. At the end of the day, Coleman had a 215-vote lead, a margin so narrow that it led to an automatic recount -- a hand recount, of all 2.9 million voters.

That ended on Dec. 5, and Coleman had a slim lead then as well (though the Franken camp claims they're up by four votes). But there are still some 1,500 ballots that remain in dispute, and today the five-member state Canvassing Board begins the process of trying to decipher the intention of the voters and whether to accept them. Some ballots were partially filled out, some have extraneous markings on them, and some have a box filled out for one candidate and then crossed off in favor of another. If enough of the disputed ballots go Franken's way -- and there is a sense out there that they may -- a Franken victory is a strong possibility.

One reason for that "sense": Several media outlets in the state, including Minnesota Public Radio, have shown sample disputed ballots on their Web sites, and many of those who examined them (online at least) have indicated that Franken deserves more of them than Coleman.

The counting is supposed to be certified by the state on Friday. The loser can then take the decision to court, which would extend the uncertainty at least until Jan. 6, when the 111th Congress is sworn in.

12:05 PM ET | 12-16-2008 | permalink

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Salazar To Interior Would Open Another Senate Seat

The buzz is that President-elect Barack Obama is close to announcing Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) as the next secretary of interior. The pick is a bit of a surprise for us — we were guessing it would be Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) — but if it's true, it will be the fourth Democratic Senate seat to open up in the wake of the Nov. 4 results: Obama's in Illinois (say, what's going on with that one?), Joe Biden's in Delaware, Hillary Clinton's in New York, and now the Salazar seat.

Colorado has been, to say the least, trending Democratic of late. In 2004, Salazar won a GOP Senate seat and his brother John did likewise with a GOP House seat. Democrat Bill Ritter won the governorship in 2006 after eight years of GOP rule as Ed Perlmutter (D) picked up a Republican House seat. This year, Rep. Mark Udall (D) won the Senate seat vacated by Republican Wayne Allard, and Betsy Markey unseated GOP Rep. Marilyn Musgrave.

And did we mention that Obama carried the state? He's the first Democratic presidential candidate to do so since Bill Clinton in '92 and only the second Dem since LBJ in '64.

If Salazar is indeed chosen to lead Interior, Brother John is perhaps the most widely mentioned name to succeed him. Other Dems thought to be in the mix include the current Denver mayor (John Hickenlooper) and a former Denver mayor (Federico Pena). Gov. Ritter would make the appointment, which would last until 2010, when Salazar's term was due to expire.

Unnamed sources say the only thing delaying the naming of Salazar is a background check. NPR's Jeff Brady suggests something else may be afoot:

Last week a coalition of over 100 environmental groups — many of them based in the West — signed a letter asking Obama to nominate Grijalva. He currently chairs the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.

"Oregon and the rest of the West need an Interior secretary who understands the damage done over the last eight years and is willing and ready to step in and begin charting a new course for the department," said Steve Pedery, conservation director with Oregon Wild. "Representative Grijalva has demonstrated that he is ready to restore integrity at Interior."

As Salazar's name began to emerge Monday as Obama's pick, the groups behind that letter were clearly disappointed. The only ones pleased with the rumored pick were those in the agriculture and mining industries. During the campaign these folks, generally, were counted as supporters of Republican John McCain.

"Of all the names mentioned, Salazar is the one we're happiest with," said Dan Keppen, head of the Family Farm Alliance.

"Salazar is the first name mentioned that we could support," said Laura Skaer, executive director of the Northwest Mining Association.

It appears the environmental groups are beginning to concede they've lost their bid to have Grijalva nominated.

In a press release, Brian Vincent of the Oregon-based group Big Wildlife said it would "withhold judgment over President-elect Obama's selection of Senator Ken Salazar" and the group pledged to "hold his feet to the fire on key wildlife issues."

9:55 AM ET | 12-16-2008 | permalink

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Yesterday In 'Political Junkie'

If you weren't so busy throwing shoes at Bernard Madoff you would have seen these postings yesterday in Political Junkie:

The prospect of Caroline Kennedy actively seeking Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat.

The incident Sunday in Baghdad is not the first time a shoe has been used as a political metaphor.

The Electoral College, and a listing of electors in the past who failed to vote for the candidates to whom they were pledged.

Nobel Prize winners in the Cabinet.

9:45 AM ET | 12-16-2008 | permalink

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Nobel Prize Winners In The Cabinet

In light of today's announcement by President-elect Barack Obama that Dr. Steven Chu is his choice for secretary of energy, we got this question from Mark Bernkopf of Arlington, Va.:

When was the last time that a Nobel laureate (other than a Nobel Peace Prize laureate) sat in the Cabinet? Has this even been the case?

Chu, a professor of physics and molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1997. Chu may indeed be the first Nobel laureate to enter the Cabinet. Henry Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his efforts to end the war in Vietnam, but he was already in the Cabinet (secretary of state) at the time.

Got a question? Send to politicaljunkie@npr.org. Please include your name and city/state.

5:34 PM ET | 12-15-2008 | permalink

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Caroline Kennedy For Senate?

The New York Times is reporting that Caroline Kennedy will "pursue" the soon-to-be vacant New York Senate seat of Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton.

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg speaks at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 25 in Denver.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

 

Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy and niece of another Kennedy who previously held the seat — the late Robert F. Kennedy — decided "after a series of deeply personal and political conversations, in which Ms. Kennedy, who friends describe as unflashy but determined, wrestled with whether to give up what has been a lifetime of avoiding the spotlight." That, according to the Times' Nicholas Confessore, who reports that Kennedy will ask Gov. David Paterson (D) for consideration for the appointment.

Two years after JFK was elected president, his brother Ted won a Senate seat in Massachusetts, and brother Bobby was elected in New York two years after that. JFK's grandfather John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, mayor of Boston, failed in a 1916 Senate bid against Republican Henry Cabot Lodge.

 

Sen. Clinton said she will resign the seat once she is confirmed to the Obama Cabinet.

There has been no shortage of names thrown in the mix of potential candidates for the Senate post. As we wrote on Dec. 2, the list is thought to include state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand from upstate, Rep. Brian Higgins of Buffalo, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan, and Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi.

But Kennedy's name has always been the most intriguing. Despite near-universal name recognition, she has never taken an active political role until this year, when she endorsed Barack Obama's presidential candidacy and later served on his VP vetting team. She was even mentioned by some as a potential Obama running mate.

There had been some speculation that Kennedy's name was thrown out there simply as a distraction — that Gov. Paterson resented (according to some of the whispering going on) the ambitions of AG Cuomo, and the public mulling over of Caroline was an opportunity to buy Paterson some time to come up with an Anyone But Andrew appointment. (It should be noted that Caroline's cousin, Kerry, had a very public and very nasty divorce from Cuomo, so there's no love lost between them.)

(And you wonder how much warmth there is between Caroline and Hillary. The Clintons had lobbied hard for the endorsement of Sen. Ted Kennedy, and many in the Clinton camp were thrown for a loop when Ted and Caroline joined the Obama bandwagon.)

But it no longer looks like Caroline is a smoke screen. According to the Times' report, she wants it and has been lobbying Dem pols such as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

For the record, it should be pointed out that not everyone is falling over himself praising the possibility of Caroline Kennedy in the Senate. Rep. Gary Ackerman, a Democrat from Queens, said in a WOR radio interview last week, "I don't know what Caroline Kennedy's qualifications are. Except that she has name recognition, but so does J Lo. I wouldn't make J Lo the senator unless she proved she had great qualifications, but we haven't seen them yet."

On the Republican side, Rep. Peter King of Long Island says he is planning to run regardless of whom Paterson appoints. (There will be a special election in 2010 to fill the last two years of Clinton's term, and then another one in 2012 for the full term.)

No Republican has ever unseated a Democratic senator in New York.

Trivia question: Who was the first daughter of a president to run for public office? (First correct answer gets 15 seconds of fame in Political Junkie.)

2:33 PM ET | 12-15-2008 | permalink

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Electoral College Dropouts

One of the interesting quirks in our Constitution takes place today: the meeting of the Electoral College. You might have thunk that voters on Nov. 4 — all 131 million of them — determined the 44th president. That was only the first step.

Today, electors from all 50 states are meeting in their respective state capitals to ratify last month's will of the electorate. Actually, what voters were actually doing was deciding their states' "electors." There are 538 total electors, and a majority — 270 — is required for a candidate to be declared the winner. It's not the popular vote that decides the election, as Al Gore (2000), Grover Cleveland (1888), Samuel Tilden (1876) and Andrew Jackson (1824) learned to their dismay.

Kevin Christie (right) of White River Junction, a Vermont member of the Electoral College, smiles after casting his ballot for Barack Obama in Montpelier, Vt., on Monday. Elector Euan Bear of Bakersfield sits next to Christie.

AP

 

According to what transpired on Nov. 4, Barack Obama (D) received 365 electoral votes to John McCain's (R) 173. It was the most EVs for a prez winner since Bill Clinton had 379 in 1996.

In terms of both popular vote and electoral vote, the race wasn't close. But when it is close — as it was in 2000 and 2004 — then the counting of electoral votes becomes a closely watched and potentially nail-biting event. Because, in most states, these electors are not bound by law to vote for their states' presidential winners. And there have been instances in the past where these electors — call them "faithless electors" — strayed from voting for the candidate who won their state. There has never been a case where these strayers have altered the outcome of the election. But it could happen.

Here is the list of those "faithless" folks since 1900:

— 1948, a Harry Truman (D) elector in Tennessee voted instead for States Rights Democrat Strom Thurmond;

— 1956, an Adlai Stevenson (D) elector in Alabama voted for a local judge named Walter Jones;

— 1960, a Richard Nixon (R) elector in Oklahoma voted for Sen. Harry Byrd (D-VA);

— 1968, a Nixon elector in North Carolina voted for American Independent Party nominee George Wallace;

— 1972, a Nixon elector in Virginia voted for Libertarian Party nominee John Hospers;

— 1976, a Gerald Ford (R) elector in Washington voted for former Gov. Ronald Reagan (R-CA.);

— 1988, a Michael Dukakis (D) elector in West Virginia voted for Dukakis' running mate, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX);

— 2000, an Al Gore (D) elector in Washington, D.C., cast no vote in protest of the District's lack of statehood; and

— 2004, a John Kerry (D) elector in Minnesota voted for Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards (D-NC).

12:59 PM ET | 12-15-2008 | permalink

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We Have A ScuttleButton Winner!

Friday's button puzzle — where we lined up three buttons (well, two buttons and an NPR press pass) — has produced a winner.

And the winner, selected at random among the correct responders, is: Brian Tristam Williams of Johannesburg, South Africa.

The answer: It's the Economy, Stupid (when you combine NPR's John Ydstie + Economy + Stupid)

Once again, a so-called button puzzle was only 2/3 buttons. Yes, I broke the rules. Maybe the Illinois state Legislature can add one more impeachment for their consideration. Let 'em try.

12:14 PM ET | 12-15-2008 | permalink

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The Shoe As A Campaign Metaphor

To paraphrase his relationship with Russia's Vladimir Putin, President Bush looked into the eyes of an Iraqi journalist and saw his sole.

It was a dramatic moment on Sunday as Bush and Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki held a news conference in Baghdad. It was a farewell of sorts for Bush, who made a surprise visit to the country to celebrate the newly adopted security agreement between the two countries that would result in the withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.

Not long into the presser, an Iraqi journalist stood up and threw a shoe at Bush — the ultimate insult in Iraq — and shouted, "This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog! ... This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!" The journalist missed his intended target, and missed a second time when he threw his other shoe. Bush made light of the incident, though it clearly shook up U.S. and Iraqi officials.

(The fact that Bush was still standing when the second shoe came at him raises a serious question about his security detail, but that is for another day.)

This may very well prove to be a defining moment for Bush and his war policy, but it's not the first time a shoe became a metaphor in politics.

 

Khrushchev. On Oct. 12, 1960, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev disrupted a U.N. General Assembly session by repeatedly banging his shoe on the desk.

Stevenson. During the 1952 presidential campaign, Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson was photographed with his legs crossed, showing a huge hole in the bottom of his shoe. The Eisenhower (R) campaign responded with ridicule and — far more important — buttons, suggesting what a Stevenson victory might lead to. The Stevenson camp responded with buttons of its own, and a campaign song for Adlai led off with, "I'd rather have a man with a hole in his shoe than a hole in everything he says."

Marcos. In 1986, Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family — including wife Imelda — fled the country in advance of a coup that was about to topple him. Among the extravagances left behind were an estimated 1,000-plus pair of shoes owned by Imelda.

Powell. Shortly after Illinois Secretary of State Paul Powell (D) died in 1970, some $800,000 in cash was found in shoeboxes (and other receptacles). Ever since, "Powell" and "shoebox" have been metaphors for corruption in Illinois politics. Thank goodness that era is long gone.

 

As long as we're on the subject, we can't ignore Jim Shue, who was the Republican nominee for Congress in New Jersey's 11th District in 1970. He lost in a landslide to Democratic incumbent Joseph Minish.

And there's also Richard Celeste, a Democrat elected governor of Ohio in 1982. Yes, he proved to be a "shoe-in," but this button refers to the fact that he picked state Rep. Myrl Shoemaker as his running mate for lieutenant governor.

Note: I received an e-mail from Larry Mattivi of Broomes Island, Md., suggesting a Political Junkie feature on famous shoes in history. But I swear I thought of it first!

9:51 AM ET | 12-15-2008 | permalink

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The Sunday Blogo On Blago

Here's the latest on the continuing saga of embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich:

Resignation. Well, if it comes, it's not happening Monday. That, according to his spokesman, Lucio Guerrero. Guerrero was apparently responding to a comment made by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on NBC's Meet the Press, in which she said, "We have heard that there is a possibility that tomorrow he will make an announcement where he will step aside." Not so, said Guerrero: "I can confirm the no resignation."

Meanwhile, the Democratic-controlled state Legislature is expected to meet as early as Monday (tomorrow) to discuss ways to take the power of filling the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama away from the governor. If that happens, presumably the power would go to Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. But Madigan, as well as many others, say that the only way to restore confidence in government would be for the seat to be filled via a special election.

Blagojevich was arrested on Tuesday on charges that, among other things, he offered to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Blagojevich, Madigan and Quinn are all Democrats.

The List. There have been widespread reports that Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the guy who succeeded Blagojevich in the House and who has been tapped to be Obama's chief of staff, has talked with the governor — pre-arrest, of course — to go over names of those who would be acceptable to Obama for Blago to appoint to the Senate.

The surprise, as per Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell, came on the aforementioned Meet the Press program earlier today. The "shocking thing" about the list, said Mitchell, is that it "didn't have Congressman Jesse Jackson's name on it."

That just kind of blew my mind. Jackson worked for — on the Obama campaign, he was always running around talking about how close he was to the Obama family, but his name wasn't on the list? I mean, people are going to start asking questions about that, too. So besides the congressman been worried about the taint, now he's worried about his relationship with the president-elect.

3:24 PM ET | 12-14-2008 | permalink

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Ex-Tiger Bunning No Hall Of Famer In Detroitland

Jim Bunning, now a Republican senator from Kentucky, once pitched a perfect game against the New York Mets when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

He also spent nine seasons pitching for the Detroit Tigers. In fact, he was scheduled to sign baseballs on Sunday in Taylor, Mich. At $35 a pop.

It seems a bit unseemly for a United States senator to be selling his autograph, baseball great or not. But that's not the point of this post.

Bunning opposes the government bailout of the U.S. auto industry and voted against the House-passed bill last night, causing the deal to fall apart. Whatever you think of that position, it does have deep implications for Michigan and those whose livelihoods depend on the health of the industry. Nonetheless, Bunning was scheduled to come to the city of Taylor — the "deepest part of UAW country," according to the Detroit Free Press — to sell his autograph.

Bunning has gotten a rough shake from the press in recent years. Time magazine once listed him as one of the Senate's five least effective members. Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson notes that when Bunning barely won re-election in 2004 (while President Bush had an easy go of it in Kentucky), it was because "many Kentuckians suspected his elevator no longer went all the way to the top."

Well, Mr. Bunning will not be signing balls on Sunday. Jim Koester, the president of the Gibraltar Trade Center in Taylor, canceled the appearance altogether, having read about the senator's position on the bailout in the Free Press. Said Koester, "I simply cannot support anyone who, in my opinion, votes against the economic well-being of our great state."

Bunning is 13th on the all-time list of pitchers who hit batters. Looks like he got, if nothing else, a bit of a brushback himself.

4:35 PM ET | 12-12-2008 | permalink

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It's ScuttleButton Time!

Let's be honest here. You're not going to be appointed to the vacant Illinois Senate seat, no matter how much you beg me. But you can, quite possibly, solve this week's ScuttleButton puzzle and see your name in lights!

You know the drill: Take one word or thought per item, add 'em up, and what do you get?

A correct answer chosen at random gets his or her name in this column. If the person is from Chicago, you'll know something is up.

You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

Note: This will be an occasionally recurring feature on the Political Junkie blog. You can still see last week's contest. As for this week:

-- OK, OK, the first item is NOT a button, it's an NPR ID badge. Sheesh.

-- Anybody know who this Janet character is?

-- Hmm, not really a political button. But it's the best I could do. C'mon, it's Friday!

2:35 PM ET | 12-12-2008 | permalink

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Robin Toner Dies; N.Y. Times Political Reporter Was 54

Robin Toner, the first woman to become the national political correspondent for The New York Times, died early today following a battle with colon cancer. She was 54.

For nearly a quarter-century at the Times, Robin was best-known for her coverage of politics and elections. She was the lead reporter for the paper on the Bill Clinton campaign in 1992 and also covered congressional and gubernatorial campaigns. Robin was a familiar face at countless campaign events in Washington and around the country. In the 1990s, after marriage and the birth of twins, she held the title of senior writer, covering many social and political issues.

In addition to her twins, who are now 11, she is survived by her husband, Peter Gosselin, the chief economic correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.

2:19 PM ET | 12-12-2008 | permalink

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Blago Chief Of Staff Resigns, Three Days After Arrest

John Harris, the chief of staff to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) who was arrested along with the governor on Tuesday on corruption charges, has resigned.

Harris is accused of plotting with Blagojevich ways the governor could enrich himself, including a "pay to play" scheme to sell the rights to the Senate seat once occupied by Barack Obama to the highest bidder.

Earlier today, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan petitioned the state Supreme Court to strip Blagojevich of his powers. She, like many Democrats, fears that an impeachment and trial in the Legislature could take weeks, if not longer. "I recognize that this is an extraordinary request, but these are extraordinary times," the AG said.

And the Chicago Tribune, citing unnamed sources, reports that Jonathan Jackson, brother of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., was a participant at a meeting where there was a discussion about raising $1 million for the governor in exchange for his appointing Congressman Jackson to the Senate seat. The congressman denies any involvement by his brother or himself in any such scheme.

2:02 PM ET | 12-12-2008 | permalink

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AG Madigan Goes A'Courting; Is Blagojevich Close To Resigning?

One wonders how long this can continue.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has finally done what she has been hinting at: She's filed a motion with the state Supreme Court declaring that Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, is "unable to serve as governor due to disability and should not rightfully continue to hold that office."

Blagojevich is under relentless pressure, from Democrats in Illinois and nationally, to resign in the wake of his arrest Tuesday on corruption charges. The specter of governors being forced out is not an unusual occurrence — witness New York's Eliot Spitzer and New Jersey's Jim McGreevey in recent times — but a lot is at stake here. There is a vacant Senate seat. Illinois is under dire financial stress. Many Democrats in the state have their entire political futures in jeopardy because of whispers and rumor. And then there is the issue of the president-elect, who happens to hail from Illinois.

This is a situation Democrats want over, and fast. Barack Obama has been, and will continue to be, in the uncomfortable position of having to answer questions over and over — as was the case yesterday — regarding any conversations his team may or may not have had with the governor about the Senate seat. His incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel — Blago's successor in the House — is known to at least have some kind of a relationship with the governor. Were there discussions about the seat? No one has said a word so far, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

AG Madigan, while acknowledging that the state Legislature will meet in special session next week to take up impeachment, said such a process could take a long time, which would be untenable for the state.

There are hints that a resolution could come soon. But as with so much about this story, who knows what's going to happen? This morning, the governor prayed with several ministers at his Chicago home, telling them that he is innocent and expects to be vindicated.

12:29 PM ET | 12-12-2008 | permalink

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Web Chat: Blagojevich and Bailouts

Today at 11am ET, Political Junkie will feature a live Web chat with national correspondent Liz Halloran and me. The chat will be hosted by NPR.org Editorial Director Dick Meyer. We'll discuss the week's political events, from the Rod Blagojevich scandal to last night's collapse of the auto industry bailout in the Senate. If you'd like to propose any questions to us ahead of the chat, please post a comment below.

9:39 AM ET | 12-12-2008 | permalink

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Latest 'It's All Politics' Podcast Is Up And Begging To Be Heard

It will cost you up to a million dollars to buy a Senate seat in Illinois, but listening to the new episode of our podcast is free!

This week's show, as always, covers the latest political news in a way that only Ron Elving and I can provide. (Sorry.) The topics: What to do with Blagojevich, the soon-to-be-vacated New York Senate seat, and the surprise verdict in the New Orleans congressional race. The producer: Evie Stone (a/k/a Senate Candidate No. 9).

You can hear it here. Become the other Listener by subscribing to our podcast through iTunes.

And you say you want to hear previous episodes? Well, you've come to the right place!

9:12 AM ET | 12-12-2008 | permalink

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Governors And Their Lieutenants

Today, on NPR's All Things Considered, Pat Quinn, the Democratic lieutenant governor of Illinois, says he hasn't spoken to Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic governor of Illinois, since August of 2007.

Sounds like they're married.

But what is it with governors and their lieutenants? The problem is that many are elected together in what amounts to shotgun marriages. Sometimes they run together as a team, but sometimes they are separately nominated or even elected. And whether or not they start off as partners, they don't always end up that way.

That's certainly the case in Illinois. As it was, before the latest scandal broke, the feeling all along has been that it was the state attorney general, Lisa Madigan — not LG Quinn — who was planning to take on the governor in the 2010 Democratic primary. But the case of lieutenant governors hoping to move up by challenging their bosses in the primary are not completely unusual.

In 1980, Montana Gov. Tom Judge was defeated in the Democratic primary by his own LG — Ted Schwinden.

Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes challenged his fellow Democrat, Gov. Preston Smith, in the 1972 primary. Barnes finished two times better than Smith, but that wasn't good enough. Smith placed fourth in the primary and Barnes third — a primary won by Dolph Briscoe, who went on to win the governorship.

And one famous contest in which a lieutenant governor of one party ousted a governor of another came in Minnesota in 1962, when Karl Rolvaag (D) defeated Elmer Andersen (R) by 91 votes — an election that was eventually decided by the state Supreme Court.

According to the National Lieutenant Governors Association, govs and LGs run together as a team in 24 states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin.

Of those states, seven nominate gov and LG candidates separately: Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York and Wisconsin.

Eighteen states hold separate gov and LG elections: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

Seven states have no lieutenant governors: Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In Tennessee, the speaker of the state Senate is also the lieutenant governor, but there is no election in Tennessee for LG. New Jersey will elect its first LG next year.

2:25 PM ET | 12-11-2008 | permalink

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The Latest In The Blagoje-mess

Here's the latest on the scandal involving Rod Blagojevich, the first Illinois governor to be accused of corruption since George Ryan:

Resignation: State officials, including leaders of the Legislature, are preparing to put in motion the mechanics that get Blagojevich out of office, one way or another. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan, both Democrats, have demanded the governor's resignation. Michael Madigan, the powerful speaker of the House and Lisa's father (a longtime foe of Blagojevich), says he will begin the process of impeachment hearings as soon as next week. His counterpart in the upper body, state Senate President Emil Jones, says the same.

Everyone on the face of the Earth now knows how to pronounce it.

Lisa Madigan said on CNN today, "I am prepared to take action. ... I have the opportunity to go to our Illinois Supreme Court and ask them to declare our governor is unable to serve and put in our lieutenant governor [Quinn] as acting governor."

The governor has given no indication he is contemplating quitting, but for all we know, a plea bargain that includes his resignation could be in the works.

Senate Appointment: Throughout all this, Blagojevich retains the power to name a successor to Barack Obama, who resigned his Senate seat last month. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called on the governor not to do it, reminding him that the Senate might very well reject the appointment, which it has the power to do.

Special Election: First floated on Tuesday by Sen. Dick Durbin (D), this may be the subject of a special session of the Legislature next Monday — to remove the power of appointing a senator from the governor and put it in the hands of the voters. One thing a special election does is take away the certainty of Obama's successor being a Democrat. Voter revulsion to the current situation — not to mention a potential negative fallout to the Democrats who had been angling for the appointment — could benefit a Republican candidate. Congressman Mark Kirk, who survived the Obama juggernaut last month, winning a fifth term in his district in the northern suburbs of Chicago, is a likely candidate.

Perhaps for that reason alone, Quinn has hinted that his preference, should he become governor, is to make the appointment himself.

Those Democratic "Candidates": Certainly not good news for Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., identified as "Senate Candidate 5" in secretly taped phone recordings of the governor — someone who was said to be willing to "pay to play." But Jackson, son of the civil rights leader and the national co-chair of the Obama campaign, insisted that neither he nor anyone associated with him offered the governor any financial incentive to appoint him to the Senate. "I did not initiate nor authorize anyone, at any time, to promise anything to Governor Blagojevich on my behalf. I never sent a message or an emissary to the governor to make an offer or to propose a deal about the U.S. Senate seat." Jackson added that he was told by prosecutors that he is not a target of the investigation. He has also called on the governor to resign.

Other names bandied about as potential appointees to the Senate are three other members of Congress — Luis Gutierrez, Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis — as well as the aforementioned Senate President Emil Jones and state veterans affairs chief Tammy Duckworth. It is unclear how much any or all of them are now tainted as potential replacements.

Another name thought to be on the list is Lisa Madigan, but for a completely different reason: Madigan had long been thought to be weighing a primary challenge to Blagojevich in 2010, and so some were speculating that the gov might appoint her to the Senate to get her out of Springfield. That never seemed a realistic possibility to us.

Obama connection: The president-elect, who has already called on Blago to go, expanded on that at a news conference today. He said he never spoke to the governor about the appointment, and "I'm confident that no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat." Some are wondering, though, if incoming presidential Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel — who won Blagojevich's House seat and if nothing else is thought to be on better speaking terms with the governor than Obama — had such conversations with him about the Senate vacancy.

Ryan's Song: The current ethics imbroglio surrounding Blagojevich may make life more difficult for his predecessor. That's the opinion of ex-Gov. Jim Thompson (R), who has been leading the effort to get President Bush to pardon George Ryan, the Republican who served one term as governor immediately prior to Blago. It's not clear whether Bush ever had the inkling to pardon Ryan, who was convicted of corruption in 2006 and is serving a 6 1/2-year prison term, but I suspect the likelihood has now evaporated.

2:01 PM ET | 12-11-2008 | permalink

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Today: A Corrupt Junkie Edition On TOTN

I wish there was something to talk about today when NPR's Talk of the Nation hosts the Political Junkie segment. There's just not that much going on.

Well, I guess we could talk about the astonishing story that keeps getting better in Illinois. Or maybe speculate about Caroline Kennedy and that other open Senate seat, in New York. Say, how about the surprise defeat in Louisiana of William Jefferson? Or the Democratic pickup in Ohio?

Will Rod Blagojevich join Arizona's Evan Mecham on the list of impeached governors?

And there will be a call-out to you. What about corruption in your state? Talk about some memorable scandals? Has your faith in politics/politicians changed because of l'affaire Blagojevich?

Remember, the Political Junkie segment airs every Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Talk of the Nation, NPR's call-in program, where you can often, but not always, find interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes.

And remember, if your local NPR station doesn't carry TOTN, you can hear the program on the Web or on HD radio. And if you are a subscriber to XM/Sirius radio, you can find the show there as well (siriusly).

10:58 AM ET | 12-10-2008 | permalink

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When Governors (Not Blagojevich!) Appoint Themselves To The Senate

On a day filled with eye-rolling and hand-wringing in the aftermath of the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges, one quote of his from Nov. 5 comes to mind. When asked if he would consider appointing himself to fill the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, Blagojevich said he was "not interested."

Whew. That would have been something.

As it is, the governor still, after all this, retains the power to name Obama's successor. That's why the state Legislature is quickly talking about impeachment, and why Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is proposing that Illinois voters decide who it should be in a special election. And who in their right mind would accept an appointment from Blagojevich in the first place?

But back to the original, now wacko thought ... that Blagojevich might have appointed himself. That was the subject of a Junkie question last month submitted by Rob Rosenberg, a student at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md. Shortly after the election, when we knew for sure that Obama's Senate seat would become vacant, Rob asked for examples of self-appointments in the past. The history is not promising.

Under arrest or not, governors who finagled getting themselves appointed to the Senate don't fare very well when they have to face the voters. With one exception, every governor who tried to win favor with the electorate has been defeated.

(For the record, these governors do not exactly appoint themselves; they resign as governor and have their successors name them to the Senate.)

The most recent example occurred in Minnesota, in 1977. After Sen. Walter Mondale (D) ascended to the vice presidency, Wendell Anderson (D) resigned as governor and had his successor, Lt. Gov. Rudy Perpich (D), appoint him to the Senate. At their first opportunity, in 1978, voters let Anderson know what they thought of his maneuver.

By the way, they're still calling that 1978 election the "Minnesota Massacre." Republican Rudy Boschwitz trounced Sen. Anderson in November. Gov. Perpich lost his bid for a full term to GOP Congressman Al Quie. And in the race for the other Senate seat — a special election necessitated by the death of Hubert Humphrey — the Democrats carved each other up in the primary and the seat went to Republican Dave Durenberger.

Of all the governors who had themselves appointed to the Senate, only one was able to win a subsequent election on his own. Kentucky Gov. Albert B. "Happy" Chandler (D), who came to the Senate in 1939, won in a special election in 1940 and again in 1942. (He resigned his seat in 1945 to become baseball commissioner.)

Here is a list of governors appointed to the Senate and the result of the succeeding election:

Montana, 1933 — Sen. Thomas Walsh (D) died. Gov. John Erickson (D) appointed self, lost 1934 primary.

Kentucky, 1939 — Sen. Marvel Logan (D) died. Gov. Happy Chandler (D) appointed self, won elections in 1940 and 1942.

Nevada, 1945 — Sen. James Scrugham (D) died. Gov. Edward Carville (D) appointed self, lost 1946 primary.

Idaho, 1945 — Sen. John Thomas (R) died. Gov. Charles Gossett (D) appointed self, lost 1946 primary.

Wyoming, 1960 — Sen.-elect Keith Thomson (R) died. Gov. John J. Hickey (D) appointed self, lost 1962 election.

New Mexico, 1962 — Sen. Dennis Chavez (D) died. Gov. Edwin Mechem (R) appointed self, lost 1964 election.

Oklahoma, 1963 — Sen. Robert Kerr (D) died. Gov. J. Howard Edmondson (D) appointed self, lost 1964 primary.

South Carolina, 1965 — Sen. Olin Johnston (D) died. Gov. Donald Russell (D) appointed self, lost 1966 primary.

Minnesota, 1977 — Sen. Walter Mondale (D) elected vice president. Gov. Wendell Anderson (D) appointed self, lost 1978 election.

3:02 PM ET | 12-09-2008 | permalink

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Next For Blagojevich? Resignation Or Impeachment

I'm sitting here, having watched and listened to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald take questions from the media in Chicago about the government's case against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and I'm not sure I've blinked throughout the entire news conference. The magnitude of the charges is astounding.

One question Fitzgerald wouldn't — and, in reality, couldn't — answer is what the state Legislature should do about Blagojevich's continuing power to name a Senate successor to Barack Obama. Even though the charges against the Democratic governor involve his alleged efforts to sell the seat to the highest bidder, Blagojevich is still the person with the authority to name the next senator — which is, if nothing else, beyond surreal.

Some Illinois Democrats want that possibility eliminated. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn called on Blagojevich not to resign but to "step aside" — in effect taking the Senate appointment power out of his hands.

State Comptroller Dan Hynes (D) went further. He described the charges as "perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of Illinois government and a stain that will not be easily removed," and he called for Blagojevich to resign. "Our government's ability to deal on a daily basis with the fiscal and economic crises we currently face demands leadership and integrity," Hynes said in a statement. "Our governor cannot provide either, and he needs to do what's right for the people of Illinois."

The Illinois secretary of state, Jesse White (D), agreed, calling it the "honorable thing."

And if he doesn't resign?

State Rep. Jack Franks (D) said that the next step would be impeachment hearings in the House. "I'm not going to let it drag on. I'm just not going to let that happen," Franks said. "I'll do everything in my power to bring a swift conclusion to this dark episode." He was echoed by House GOP leader Tom Cross.

And then there's the solution offered by Dick Durbin, who with Obama's resignation is the only U.S. senator from Illinois.

NPR Senate correspondent David Welna reports that Durbin is calling for a special election to fill the Obama seat.

Durbin is calling on the Illinois state Legislature to meet as soon as possible and pass legislation with a big, vetoproof bipartisan majority calling for a special election. He says some broadly backed consensus replacement might emerge whom Blagojevich could appoint, but he thinks the odds are against it. Durbin also pointed out that voters will already be going to the polls for a special election to fill the House seat vacated by Obama's incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

As the Democratic whip, it's in Durbin's interest to have Obama's replacement sworn in to the Senate as soon as possible — that is, if it's a Democrat. Right now the Democrats have 57 seats for sure come Jan. 6, and Durbin says his priority is to get to 58 by having a replacement chosen soon — by the voters of Illinois.

12:47 PM ET | 12-09-2008 | permalink

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A 'Staggering' 76-Page Complaint Against Blagojevich

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich speaks to the media after visiting with workers occupying the Republic Windows and Doors factory on Dec. 8, 2008, in Chicago.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

 

Even taking into consideration the history of corruption in Illinois politics, this one is mind-boggling.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a 51-year-old Democrat serving his second term, was arrested this morning on a plethora of corruption charges, including one that accuses him of conspiring to sell the Senate seat recently vacated by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder.

Blagojevich has long been the subject of a federal corruption investigation, as reports have swirled about alleged kickbacks for companies attempting to do business with the state. Tony Rezko, a former Blagojevich and Obama campaign fundraiser, is awaiting sentencing after having been convicted of fraud charges. The governor's chief fundraiser, Christopher Kelly, stands trial next year on charges of obstructing the IRS.

Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris, was also arrested this morning.

The charges laid out in the 76-page FBI affidavit are, in the words of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, "staggering": "The citizens of Illinois deserve public officials who act solely in the public's interest, without putting a price tag on government appointments, contracts and decisions." Fitzgerald's office released a statement laying out the charges, alleging that Blagojevich and Harris are "engaging in ongoing criminal activity":

— conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator;

— threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich;

— and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions — both historically and now in a push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.

Court-authorized wiretaps show that, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed ways in which he and his wife, Patti, would be financially enriched, including outright "up front" payments, placing his wife on paid corporate boards, promises of campaign funds, and a potential Cabinet post or ambassadorship. The governor and his family were "financially" hurting, the wiretaps revealed. Said the gov: "I want to make money."

Yikes.

Not lost on anyone is that Blagojevich's predecessor as governor, George Ryan (R), is currently in prison, having steered state contracts to his allies while he was secretary of state and governor. Robert Grant, the special agent-in-charge of the FBI in Chicago, alluded to that. "Many, including myself," said Grant, "thought that the recent conviction of a former governor would usher in a new era of honesty and reform in Illinois politics. Clearly, the charges announced today reveal that the office of the governor has become nothing more than a vehicle for self-enrichment, unrestricted by party affiliation and taking Illinois politics to a new low."

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan speaks to the news media at the federal courthouse following a verdict of guilty on all counts in his corruption trial on April 17, 2006, in Chicago.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

 

OTHER ILLINOIS GOVERNORS: Ryan was convicted of corruption in 2006. His ethics woes forced him out of the 2002 campaign and led to Blagojevich's rise to the governorship — the first Democrat of Illinois to accomplish that since 1972, when Dan Walker was elected. Walker later went to prison himself on bank fraud and perjury charges. Another governor, Otto Kerner (D 1961-68), was convicted of bribery and tax evasion charges in 1973.

Former Illinois Gov. Dan Walker walks through the federal courthouse in Chicago on Aug. 5, 1987, after his indictment on charges of bank fraud, misapplication of bank funds and perjury were announced.

AP/Mark Elias

 

THE OBAMA SENATE SEAT: The obvious question is, what's next. Obama resigned from the Senate last month, and Blagojevich has said he will name a successor by the end of the year. It's pretty darn near impossible to imagine Blago having a say in who succeeds Obama.

But first, let's look at the potential candidates. As we wrote in the July 23 Political Junkie column,

A lot of variables face Blagojevich, whose popularity has fallen and whose relationship with many of his fellow Democrats is strained. The state has a history of having its senators coming from downstate or Chicago, but not both from the same geographic region. With Sen. Dick Durbin hailing from downstate, the betting is that an Obama successor would be a Chicagoan. Odds also favor the choice being either a member of the House or an African-American, and if the governor picked Danny Davis or Jesse Jackson Jr., all three criteria would be reached. Jackson seems far more ambitious than Davis, appears to have more advanced political smarts, and would probably be better prepared to run statewide in 2010. His admonishment/lecture of his famous dad, following the reverend's surgical suggestion regarding Obama that was caught on tape, probably helped his cause.

Other House members thought to be under consideration are Luis Gutierrez of Chicago, who is close to Blagojevich and who would be the state's first Latino senator, and Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, who like Jackson is an Obama national campaign co-chair. She might, however, be tarred by the ethics troubles of her husband, Bob Creamer, who went to prison for check kiting.

If Obama had a say, it might very well be Emil Jones Jr., the powerful state Senate president who is also from Chicago, African-American, and a Blago ally. Obama has given Jones much of the credit for his 2004 election to the U.S. Senate while he was still in the state Legislature. But sending Jones to Washington may be too great a loss for the governor, who needs him in Springfield. Plus, Jones will be 73 in October, so if he were appointed he might only be a caretaker, staying on until the 2010 election.

Other Blagojevich allies on the list: Tammy Duckworth, the state director of veterans affairs and Iraq war veteran who lost a 2006 bid to succeed retiring Rep. Henry Hyde (R) in Congress; and state Rep. Jay Hoffman, who carries the governor's water in the state Legislature.

Names also mentioned include three statewide elected officials, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes, but they are even more unlikely to be selected.

Of course, if any of these potential candidates come up in the Blagojevich investigation, you can kiss their chances goodbye as well.

If Blagojevich is removed from office — and, remember, he has not been convicted of anything — his successor will be a fellow Democrat, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. Officeholders under indictment have been known to hang on as long as they can. But with a Senate seat in the balance, Illinois Democrats may force Blagojevich's hand.

10:24 AM ET | 12-09-2008 | permalink

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Illinois Gov. Blagojevich Arrested On Corruption Charges; Whither The Obama Senate Appointment?

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested this morning on federal corruption charges, accused of trying to personally enrich himself and his wife in conspiring to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat for favors. Blagojevich, a 51-year-old Democrat who has been under various ethics investigations over the years, was heard on a court-approved wiretap over the past month saying, "I want to make money."

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said, "The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering."

More to come.

10:08 AM ET | 12-09-2008 | permalink

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Who Was That Masked Man?

Time for a day ender. And what better way to do it than with campaign memorabilia.

There was a wonderful moment, during the 1992 vice presidential debate, when Adm. James Stockdale, Ross Perot's running mate, opened his remarks with, "Who am I? Why am I here?"

It wasn't, of course, that Stockdale was clueless about himself. He was a decorated fighter pilot who spent years as a POW in Vietnam. He used the line as a rhetorical opening, to begin to explain who he was and how he arrived at that moment. Sadly, it made Stockdale a punch line, and the quote was widely repeated the rest of his life.

 

But here's where the "who am I?" question becomes relevant. As you may have noticed in the week-plus of the new incarnation of Political Junkie, I've been using old campaign buttons to illustrate aspects of the blog. And while I have a lot of them to choose from, I do have many from candidates I have absolutely no knowledge about.

If I may assume, for a minute, that many of you who are reading this are fellow political junkies who follow this stuff, maybe you might recognize some of the items pictured here? And maybe you'll help identify them?

Personally, I think America needs to know the connection between Judge Sutton and rice pudding.

Thanks!

4:18 PM ET | 12-08-2008 | permalink

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Coming Up ...

Some upcoming events of note:

Dec. 15 — Electoral College "meets." Presidential electors in the 50 state capitals ratify the 2008 election.

Dec. 16 — Election officials in Minnesota review the thousands of ballots objected to by Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken.

Dec. 17 — Connecticut Democrats vote on a resolution repudiating independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman (still a registered Democrat) for his support of GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

Dec. 19 — Minnesota hopes to certify winner in disputed Senate race.

3:21 PM ET | 12-08-2008 | permalink

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Longest Losing Streaks In The Senate

A question today from Gus Sperrazza of Washington, D.C.:

"I've read that no Democrat has won a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932. Is that the longest-running drought in the nation? What's the longest one state has gone with one party not winning a seat?"

It's certainly the longest current streak. Kansas Democrat George McGill (D) won a special election in 1930, defeating Republican appointee Henry Allen (who took the seat of Vice President Charles Curtis). McGill then won a full term two years later. But that's the last time a Democrat won a Senate election in Kansas, a streak that has spanned 28 contests. The closest a Democrat has come in recent years was in the Watergate year of 1974, when GOP incumbent Bob Dole nipped Congressman Bill Roy by just 13,000 votes out of nearly 800,000 cast (51-49 percent).

When Mark Begich defeated Sen. Ted Stevens last month in Alaska, it was the first Democratic Senate victory in the state since 1974.

Other recent streaks broken include what had been a total Republican drought in Louisiana, which elected its first GOP senator since Reconstruction in 2004, David Vitter. He's up for re-election in 2010. Similarly, Arkansas Republicans elected their first senator ever in 1996 with Tim Hutchinson, but he lasted only one term.

Here are the rest of the Top 10 leading current Senate streaks after Kansas:

(2) West Virginia —
Last Republican winner: 1956, Chapman Revercomb

(3) Hawaii —
Last Republican winner: 1970, Hiram Fong

(4) Utah —
Last Democratic winner: 1970, Frank Moss

(5) Wyoming —
Last Democratic winner: 1970, Gale McGee

(6) Massachusetts —
Last Republican winner: 1972, Edward Brooke

(7) New Jersey —
Last Republican winner: 1972, Clifford Case

(8) Idaho —
Last Democratic winner: 1974, Frank Church

(9) Maryland —
Last Republican winner: 1980, Charles Mathias

(10) North Dakota —
Last Republican winner: 1980, Mark Andrews

2:05 PM ET | 12-08-2008 | permalink

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We Have A ScuttleButton Winner!

Friday's button puzzle -- where we lined up three buttons (well, two buttons and a baseball card) — has produced a winner.

And the winner is: Ann Orr of Washington, D.C.

The answer: Saxby Chambliss (Sax + B + Chambliss)

Yes, it was an easy puzzle. Yes, I cheated by using a baseball card. Yes, yes, yes. But rest assured: Future ScuttleButton puzzles will not be this easy.

By the way, among the many answers were some that were especially creative. Kathi Rubin, an assistant professor at Baker College in Owosso, Mich., eschewed a serious answer and instead came up with this ditty:

Lil Bill Blue,

Come blow your sax.

Bush's crony Chambliss won re-election,

But without 60 Democrats can relax.

Erica Ryan of Alexandria, Va., on the other hand, was downright cruel. Deciding to reverse the order of the items, Erica, an online/new media editor here at NPR, came up with, "Yankees B[aseball] Blows." Look, I know all about freedoms and the Internets, but I'm not going to sit idly by while my Yankees are being demonized. Maybe Steinbrenner can buy Erica Ryan.

Two items of note: I turned off the comments section at the bottom of the puzzle page so people won't see an answer while the contest is still going on. And in the future, winners will be chosen at random (rather than first correct answer) — in case people don't get to play the game as soon as it goes up on the site.

10:45 AM ET | 12-08-2008 | permalink

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Bill Jefferson Joins A Select Group

There have been 94 African-Americans elected to the House since Reconstruction. On Saturday, Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) became just the third to be defeated in a general election.

Of the three, Jefferson is the first Democrat. The others:

Oscar De Priest (R-IL) —
first elected: 1928
defeated by: Arthur Mitchell (D) in 1934

Gary Franks (R-CT) —
first elected: 1990
defeated by: Jim Maloney (D) in 1996

In addition, 13 others were defeated in the Democratic primary, including one who was beaten on two separate occasions. They were:

Adam Clayton Powell (NY) —
first elected: 1944
defeated by: Charles Rangel in 1970 primary

Robert Nix (PA) —
first elected: 1958
defeated by: William Gray III in 1978 primary

Bennett Stewart (IL) —
first elected: 1978
defeated by: Harold Washington in 1980 primary

Katie Hall (IN) —
first elected: 1982
defeated by: Peter Visclosky in 1984 primary

Alton Waldon (NY) —
first elected: 1986
defeated by: Floyd Flake in 1986 primary

Gus Savage (IL) —
first elected: 1980
defeated by: Mel Reynolds in 1992 primary

Charles Hayes (IL) —
first elected: 1983
defeated by: Bobby Rush in 1992 primary

Craig Washington (TX) —
first elected: 1989
defeated by: Sheila Jackson-Lee in 1994 primary

Lucien Blackwell (PA) —
first elected: 1990
defeated by: Chaka Fattah in 1994 primary

Barbara-Rose Collins (MI) —
first elected: 1990
defeated by: Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick in 1996 primary

Earl Hilliard (AL) —
first elected: 1992
defeated by: Artur Davis in 2002 primary

Cynthia McKinney (GA) —
first elected: 1992
defeated by: Denise Majette in 2002 primary
elected again: 2004
defeated by: Hank Johnson in 2006 primary

Albert Wynn (MD) —
first elected: 1992
defeated by: Donna Edwards in 2008 primary

9:13 AM ET | 12-08-2008 | permalink

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Dems Pick Up House Seat In Ohio 15

The vote counters giveth, and the vote counters taketh away.

First, sorry about that lisp.

And second, less than a day after Republicans learned they would gain a seat in the House — by virtue of the upset victory of Anh "Joseph" Cao over indicted Dem incumbent William Jefferson in Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District — they got bad news in Ohio's 15th CD. The seat, which was being vacated by retiring Republican Deborah Pryce, has been won by Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy, who battled Pryce to a near draw in their 2006 contest. This time, Kilroy defeated GOP state Sen. Steve Stivers by just over 2,000 votes after provisional ballots were counted. Until that time, Stivers had held a 594-vote lead.

It's been 42 years since a Democrat last held the seat, which is centered in Columbus/Franklin County.

7:26 AM ET | 12-08-2008 | permalink

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'Cold Cash' Jefferson Ousted In Louisiana Shocker

Well, to use an old New Orleans expression, Holy Toledo!

Rep. William Jefferson, (D) who in 1991 became Louisiana's first African-American congressman since Reconstruction, was defeated Saturday by Anh "Joseph" Cao in a runoff. Cao, a Republican, becomes the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress. The district is overwhelmingly African-American and overwhelmingly Democratic.

Jefferson had been under indictment since 2007. Federal prosecutors said they had found $90,000 in alleged bribe money stashed away in his freezer. The FBI said it had Jefferson on videotape accepting bribes, money he received from businessmen in exchange for his influence in Congress to broker deals in several African nations. Jefferson says he is innocent.

Even when reports of wrongdoing came out in 2006 — and even when he became a national punch line with late-night comedians — Jefferson managed to win re-election. As it was, when he survived a multicandidate primary this year on Nov. 4 (a primary delayed because of Hurricane Gustav), most people thought he was, again, home free, at least politically. Cao, whose sum total of election experience was an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the state Legislature in 2007, was boosted by an aggressive GOP effort to portray Jefferson as corrupt. But practically no one thought the campaign would succeed.

Jefferson was first elected to Congress in 1990. The incumbent Democrat from the 2nd District, Lindy Boggs, bowed to reality and chose not to run again that year; she had been the sole remaining white incumbent in a black-majority district. Jefferson had won re-election handily ever since until 2006, when he was forced into a runoff as reports of his ethics woes became widespread. Nonetheless, he defeated fellow Democrat Karen Carter with 56.5 percent of the vote.

In another Louisiana runoff Saturday, in the 4th District (centered in Shreveport), Republicans apparently have retained the seat of retiring incumbent Jim McCrery. John Fleming, (R) a physician, held a 356-vote lead over Democrat Paul Carmouche.

12:03 PM ET | 12-07-2008 | permalink

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Former Rep. Ray Lederer, Ex-GOP Boss Joe Margiotta

Two notable political figures died this week: former Congressman Raymond Lederer (D-PA) and Joseph Margiotta, who led the Nassau County, N.Y., Republican Party organization for years.

 

Lederer is perhaps best known for his involvement in the Abscam scandal, where he was videotaped accepting a $50,000 bribe from an undercover FBI agent disguised as an Arab businessman in 1979. Lederer — along with Reps. Mike "Ozzie" Myers (D-PA), John Murphy (D-NY), Frank Thompson (D-NJ), John Jenrette (D-SC) and Richard Kelly (R-FL), as well as Sen. Harrison Williams (D-NJ), all of whom took bribes from agents disguised as Arab sheiks or their representatives — were all convicted and sent to prison.

Lederer was first elected to Congress in 1976, winning the Philadelphia-area seat vacated by Democratic Senate candidate Bill Green. He easily won re-election two years later. Even in 1980, while under indictment, he won a third term, although by a reduced margin. Two months later he was convicted for his role in Abscam. He resigned his seat in April, a day after the House Ethics Committee voted to expel him. He later served 10 months in prison.

Lederer, who died on Monday, was 70.

Joe Margiotta was the longtime — 1967-83 — head of the Republican Party in Nassau County (Long Island), N.Y., an organization that produced Al D'Amato, later a U.S. senator, and Dean Skelos, currently the majority leader of the state Senate. Even before Margiotta but certainly while he was there, Nassau County was one of the most reliable GOP bastions in the state. But his influence came to an end, starting on Dec. 9, 1981, when he was convicted of federal mail fraud and conspiracy charges in a kickback scheme. He went to prison and served 14 months.

Margiotta died last Friday. He was 81 years old.

NOTE: Later this month, in a longer Political Junkie post, I will reprise my list of political figures who died during the year.

You can also read the list of those who passed on in 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004.

4:15 PM ET | 12-05-2008 | permalink

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It's ScuttleButton Time!

The economic news is depressing, the future is iffy and we're all in a funk. The solution: a Friday button puzzle!

Take one word or thought per item, add 'em up, and what do you get?

First correct answer gets his or her name in this column. (Talk about 15 minutes of fame!!)

Send your answer to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

Note: This will be an occasionally recurring feature on the Political Junkie blog. For those of you detail-oriented folks:

-- The "Blow Bill Blow" stems from Bill Clinton's appearance on the Arsenio Hall TV program;

-- The Republican button is from New York; and

-- The baseball card is, well, because I couldn't come up with the buttons to fill out the puzzle.

3:12 PM ET | 12-05-2008 | permalink

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Tough Road Back For Virginia GOP ... Maybe

It's not a fun time to be a Virginia Republican.

A state (oops, commonwealth) long dominated by the GOP, Virginia has elected Democrats in back-to-back gubernatorial elections — Mark Warner in 2001 and Tim Kaine in 2005. Democrats have replaced GOP senators in two successive elections — Jim Webb ousting George Allen in 2006, and the aforementioned Warner replacing retiring Republican John Warner, no relation, last month.

In addition, three Republican House seats went from R to D this year: the 2nd District, where Glenn Nye unseated Rep. Thelma Drake; the 5th CD, where Tom Perriello apparently defeated Rep. Virgil Goode Jr.; and the 11th CD, where Gerald Connolly won the seat left by retiring Rep. Tom Davis. Democrats will now have a majority of the Virginia House delegation for the first time in eight years.

Oh wait, did I mention that a Democratic presidential candidate carried the Old Dominion for the first time since 1964?

It's under that cloud that Virginia Republicans are meeting in Richmond this weekend. There's another gubernatorial election coming up. Their candidate will be Bob McDonnell, the state attorney general. Democrats, on the other hand, seem to be bracing for a three-for-all, as state Delegate Brian Moran, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds and ex-DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe are all planning to run. There has already been some sniping among the candidates, mostly concerning McAuliffe's apparent candidacy. He's lived in McLean (Northern Virginia) for two decades, but he has hardly been involved in state government or politics. His name, in fact, had been floated not that long ago for governor of Florida.

Democrats have more to worry about than a bruising primary. There's that history stuff.

For the past 30 years — encompassing eight races for governor — the winner has always been of the opposite party of the person in the White House. That's good news for McDonnell and the GOP, now that Barack Obama will be president. Let's look at the record:

1977:
President — Jimmy Carter (D)
Elected governor — John Dalton (R)

1981:
President — Ronald Reagan (R)
Elected governor — Chuck Robb (D)

1985:
President — Ronald Reagan (R)
Elected governor — Gerald Baliles (D)

1989:
President — George H.W. Bush (R)
Elected governor — Doug Wilder (D)

1993:
President — Bill Clinton (D)
Elected governor — George Allen (R)

1997:
President — Bill Clinton (D)
Elected governor — Jim Gilmore (R)

2001:
President — George W. Bush (R)
Elected governor — Mark Warner (D)

2005:
President — George W. Bush (R)
Elected governor — Tim Kaine (D)

With this in mind, Republicans should relax. They've got the governorship in the bag.

1:15 PM ET | 12-05-2008 | permalink

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On This Day In Politics, 1956

Fifty-two years ago today, New York Gov. Averell Harriman (D), a two-time unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, announced he would seek re-election as governor in 1958 (Dec. 5, 1956).

Although 1958 would be a huge Democratic year, Harriman lost to Republican Nelson Rockefeller.

12:25 PM ET | 12-05-2008 | permalink

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Latest Episode Of 'It's All Politics' Podcast Is Up!

The podcast is up, and the Battery is down!

The latest episode of It's All Politics covers this week's political news, but in an informative and sophisticated way that only Ron Elving and I can provide. The topics: the new Cabinet picks, the Georgia Senate runoff election (with unusual tape of Chambliss declaring victory), and the announcement by Sen. Mel Martinez that he won't seek another Senate term. The producer: Evie Stone (blame her if you don't like it).

You can hear it here. Become the other Listener by subscribing to our podcast through iTunes.

And you say you want to hear previous episodes? Well, you've come to the right place!

8:47 AM ET | 12-05-2008 | permalink

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Sen. Hutchison Takes Step To Run For Governor Of Texas

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) has filed the required paperwork to begin an exploratory committee to run for governor of Texas in 2010 — a move she seriously considered four years ago but ultimately decided against to stay put in the Senate.

Republican Rick Perry, the current governor, has given no indication that he plans to step down after his term ends. Hutchison's Senate seat expires in 2012 — but she is expected to resign once her gubernatorial campaign is under way.

I could write more on this subject, but heck, it's easier just stealing the following from my Political Junkie column of April 13, 2005:

Q: I have seen reports that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) may challenge Gov. Rick Perry in next year's Republican primary. I can recall governors challenging senators in a primary before (such as Arkansas Gov. Dale Bumpers against Sen. J.W. Fulbright in 1974, or South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow against Sen. Jim Abdnor in 1986), but not senators challenging governors. — Harvey Hudson, Eden Prairie, Minn.

A: I agree. I cannot think of a single instance in which a sitting senator has gone home to run against an incumbent governor of the same party in a primary. As it is, the list of senators elected governor is small; just four have made the move in the past half-century: Price Daniel (D-TX) in 1956; Pete Wilson (R-CA) in 1990; Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) in 1998; and Frank Murkowski (R-AK) in 2002. And none challenged an incumbent to do so, in a primary or in the general.

Daniel ran only after Texas Gov. Allan Shivers (D), an ally, decided to retire. Both Wilson and Kempthorne succeeded retiring Republican governors (George Deukmejian and Phil Batt, respectively). Murkowski ran in Alaska to succeed a term-limited Democrat, Tony Knowles.

This year, Sen. Jon Corzine is the odds-on choice to be elected governor of New Jersey. Corzine's strength with Democratic county leaders is what forced acting Gov. Richard Codey, also a Dem, out of the race. But there was no primary. [Update: Corzine won, so add him to the list.]

And while I know there's probably more — and please write me if you know of them — I can only think of two other senators who ran for governor while still in office since senators were first popularly elected. In 1958, Bill Knowland, the Republican leader of the Senate from California, felt the best way for him to reach the White House was as a governor. The problem: Gov. Goodwin Knight, a fellow Republican (albeit more of a foe than a friend), didn't want to give up his job. A Knowland-Knight primary was averted when Knight gave way and ran for the Senate. As it was, both Republicans lost that year.

The other was Sen. Irving Ives (R-NY). When Gov. Thomas Dewey (R) announced late in 1954 that he wanted to retire, Republicans drafted Ives as their candidate for governor. He wound up losing to Averell Harriman, though he didn't have to give up his Senate seat.

One aside worth mentioning: Once upon a time, the thought of a senator going home to run for governor was seen as a step down. Why get lost in a sleepy state capital, the argument went, when you could be in Washington, where all the action was?

Many giants of the Senate — Hiram Johnson of California, Harry Byrd of Virginia, Richard Russell of Georgia, to name just a few — started off as governor. But lately, with partisan wrangling on Capitol Hill a constant and often tedious affair, the appeal of staying in Washington has lessened for some.

Pete Wilson, who served eight years in the Senate, said there was nothing more invigorating and stimulating than being governor. Dirk Kempthorne, who could have held onto his Idaho Senate seat forever, was anxious to go back home. A former mayor of Boise, he said when he left Washington that the power was shifting to the states, where the action was, and unlike D.C., where he was one of 100, he was now running the show.

Now that we've had our fun with political trivia, the bigger question is whether Hutchison will actually give up her Senate seat to challenge Perry. A source close to Hutchison tells me that anyone who says they know what she will do is lying, that a decision has still not been reached. But by all accounts, it looks like she's running.

That surprises me. Why would Hutchison give up a safe Senate seat to risk splitting the party back home? What did Perry do to invite a primary battle? Some Hutchison partisans have said that Perry has fallen down on the job and his numbers are declining, though I haven't seen much evidence.

And where is the White House in all of this? I don't know of any bad blood between President Bush and Rick Perry, who was W's hand-picked choice for lieutenant governor in his second term. So why is the administration silent? When conservative Rep. Pat Toomey challenged Sen. Arlen Specter in last year's Pennsylvania GOP primary, the White House didn't hesitate for a second — they embraced Specter, who clearly had a better chance of winning statewide, despite being closer ideologically to Toomey. But nary a word from Karl Rove about the Hutchison-Perry family feud.

Some have attributed Hutchison's decision to her public pledge to serve no more than two full terms in the Senate. I've also read that she is "tired" of commuting between Washington and Texas. That's all well and good, but do you make such a dramatic move because you're tired? Certainly, if Hutchison vacated her Senate seat, there would be a mad scramble among many Texas Republicans — state officeholders, members of Congress — to take her place.

The Perry people are prepared; they've circulated a video of Hutchison appearing with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) at a Washington ceremony from last month in which the two briefly embrace and Clinton calls Hutchison "my partner on so many important fronts." Perry has defended the tactic; Hutchison called it a "political cheap shot."

Stay tuned.

1:16 PM ET | 12-04-2008 | permalink

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McClintock Keeps California 04 For GOP

One down, still four to go.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R) is the winner in the battle to succeed Republican John Doolittle in California's 4th Congressional District. Doolittle, linked to the convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, retired rather than face Democrat Charlie Brown in a rematch. Two years ago, Doolittle defeated Brown in this rural, conservative district just north of Sacramento by a scant 49-46 percent margin.

McClintock, a strong conservative, had his hands full with Brown. In fact, it was one of three House races from Nov. 4 that were too close to call. Until yesterday.

Brown, trailing by more than 1,500 votes out of nearly 370,000 votes cast, conceded the race.

Still to be decided in the House:

OH 15: Steve Stivers (R) leads Mary Jo Kilroy (D) by 594 votes for the seat of retiring Republican Deborah Pryce.

VA 05: Tom Perriello (D) has declared victory over Rep. Virgil Goode Jr. (R), but Goode is asking for a recount. Assuming Perriello's lead holds, he is the 21st net pickup for House Dems in 2008. Republicans started the year with an 8-3 lead in the Virginia congressional delegation, but they've since lost three seats: VA 05, VA 02 (Dems ousted Thelma Drake) and VA 11 (Dems took open seat of retiring Tom Davis; Davis has since resigned from the House).

Then there are two Louisiana runoffs on Saturday.

In LA 02, Rep. Bill Jefferson (D), under indictment on corruption and bribery charges, faces Republican challenger Anh Cao. The New Orleans-based district is overwhelmingly Democratic, but it will be interesting to see what kind of vote Cao gets.

In LA 04, (Shreveport), where Rep. Jim McCrery (R) is retiring, Republican physician John Fleming faces local district attorney Paul Carmouche (D).

12:08 PM ET | 12-04-2008 | permalink

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Who Were The 'Ralph Naders' of 2008?

A question from Coleman Travelstead of Albuquerque, N.M.:

In North Carolina, Bob Barr, the Libertarian presidential candidate, got more than the vote difference between Barack Obama [who won the state] and John McCain. Were there any other states where votes going to a third-party candidate could have changed the results from that state?

No one can say for certain that votes going to Barr would have gone to McCain. We had a similar argument in 2000, when many Democrats insist that Ralph Nader cost Al Gore the presidency. And it's true that Nader's vote totals in Florida (97,488) and New Hampshire (22,198) surpassed the difference between Gore and George W. Bush, who won both states that year.

Nader and others argued that there were plenty of other reasons Gore lost in 2000, such as the fact that Gore failed to win his home state, or that 500,000 or so Democrats voted for Bush in Florida.

But for the most part, Nader is often thought of (by Democrats at least) as the reason Bush was elected president.

Brian Mann, a reporter for North Country Public Radio in upstate New York who writes a blog (My God, does everyone write blogs???), had this to say about Nader a few days after this year's election when it was clear that Nader received more votes in Missouri than the difference between McCain (who won the state) and Obama:

Ralph Nader continued his personal and political disintegration this week.

He suggested in interviews with Fox News that America's first black president, Barack Obama, could turn out to be an "Uncle Tom."

Most pundits have observed that Nader has already slouched into irrelevancy, following his dramatic spoiler role in the 2000 elections.

But it now appears that Nader did manage to give some very real aid and comfort on Tuesday — once again to the Republican ticket.

In the key battleground state of Missouri, John McCain won 1,442,673 votes, a scant 5,800 more than Barack Obama.

Ralph Nader's role? He stripped away 17,769 votes from the Democrat, apparently costing Obama the state. (Missouri hasn't been officially called yet.)

Of course, it turns out that this is a bit of election night trivia.

Obama won the electoral college vote by a wide margin.

But imagine a different (and entirely plausible) scenario, where Missouri had turned out to be the Ohio of 2008.

If Obama had needed the Show-Me State's 11 electoral votes to put him over the top, then Nader would have emerged as the spoiler once again.

Well played, Ralph — well played.

It's pretty much a given that more people seem to get worked up about Nader's proving (or seeming) to be a spoiler for the Republicans than they do about Bob Barr for the Democrats; Barr not only may have cost McCain North Carolina but Indiana too. Here are the final tallies in the three states:

INDIANA

Obama: 1,374,039
McCain: 1,345,648
Barr: 29,257
Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party): 1,024
Obama winning margin in state: 28,391

NORTH CAROLINA

Obama: 2,142,651
McCain: 2,128,474
Barr: 25,722
Obama winning margin in state: 14,177

MISSOURI

McCain: 1,445,814
Obama: 1,441,911
Nader: 17,813
McCain winning margin in state: 3,903

IN THE SENATE:

Conservative third-party candidates may have cost two Republicans their seats in the Senate as well. Ted Stevens lost his Alaska seat to Democrat Mark Begich by about 3,000 votes; Bob Bird of the Alaska Independence Party received 13,000 votes. In Oregon, Gordon Smith lost his seat by 50,000 to Democrat Jeff Merkley. Dave Brownlow of the Constitution Party won 87,000 votes.

In the House, there were several examples where the presence on the ballot of third-party or independent candidates may have thrown the race to one party or the other. The most notable was in Louisiana's 6th District, where the 36,000 votes won by Michael Jackson, an African-American independent, may have cost Democratic freshman Don Cazayoux his seat.

3:51 PM ET | 12-03-2008 | permalink

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Mike Huckabee Joins The Junkie Segment on TOTN

Iowa didn't quite help the cause.

Clearly, it's all downhill once you win the Iowa caucuses.

Dick Gephardt won them in 1988, and he hasn't been heard from since.

(OK, Barack Obama is another story.)

And then there's Mike Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor was the surprise winner for the Republicans this year, defeating ostensible front-runner Mitt Romney in the Hawkeye State and battling for the GOP nomination down to the wire. He withdrew on March 4, only after John McCain clinched it. As a campaigner, Huckabee won praise from Republican audiences for his affable manner and humor.

But, alas, he lost. And, to show how far he has fallen, he is today's special guest for the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. It's the place to be, every Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, especially if you want interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes.

And remember, if your local NPR station doesn't carry TOTN, you can hear the program on the Web or on HD radio. And if you are a subscriber to XM/Sirius radio, you can find the show there as well (siriusly).

11:18 AM ET | 12-03-2008 | permalink

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Chambliss Wins In Georgia Senate Runoff

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), forced into a runoff when neither he nor his Democratic opponent, Jim Martin, received a majority of the vote on Nov. 4, has won re-election.

With about 90 percent of the precincts reporting, Chambliss, seeking a second term, has about 59 percent of the vote. In last month's initial contest, Chambliss led Martin by 110,000 votes but fell just shy of winning a majority (49.8 percent), as required by state law; a third-party candidate siphoned off about 3 percent of the vote.

Chambliss' victory — in a state won by John McCain on Nov. 4 — ends Democratic hopes of achieving a filibuster-proof majority of 60 seats. Democrats will hold 58 seats in the 111th Congress, with results in one other state, Minnesota, still to be determined.

9:38 PM ET | 12-02-2008 | permalink

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The House Is Home For Nita Lowey

Back in 1999, after Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York announced his retirement, the speculation about who would succeed him as the Democratic nominee was the talk of the town. Topping the list was the first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, even though she didn't live in New York. So what, argued her supporters, pointing to both Bobby Kennedy and Jim Buckley when they ran for — and were elected to — the Senate, in 1964 and 1970 respectively. They just simply moved to the Empire State before the deadline.

Yeah, yeah, wrote the guy who wrote the Political Junkie column that appeared on the Washington Post Web site at the time. You can talk about Hillary running all you want, but it's just a fantasy.

The Bobby analogy doesn't entirely fit the Hillary situation. Kennedy's parents had owned a home in the Empire State since the 1920s. And he attended New York schools for six years until his father became ambassador to Great Britain. Hillary Clinton has no such roots.

I'll be the first to admit that this is a fun story. But she's not going to run. Rep. Nita Lowey, who represents a district that covers parts of Westchester, the Bronx and Queens, will be the Democratic nominee.

Well, that clown was clearly wrong. But here it is, all these years later, and that Senate seat is about to open up once again, once Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state.

The first name I thought of as a potential successor: Nita Lowey. She's still in Congress, in fact now in the majority, still fighting for abortion rights and health care. I pegged her as a strong choice for Gov. David Paterson (D) to consider.

But it's not going to happen. In an interview with the Associated Press yesterday, Lowey said she is going to remain in the House, that Paterson should look elsewhere.

Oh well. But not to worry. Even with Lowey taking herself out of the mix, Paterson has an easy choice to make. As Clyde Haberman wrote in The New York Times a week ago, "It should be a breeze."

Surely, in a pool that vast, Mr. Paterson will be able to find a gay, black, Roman Catholic woman with a Latino surname, thanks to her father, and a mother who was born in China to Christian missionary parents but who converted to Judaism. Oh, and this gay, black, Roman Catholic woman with a Latino father, etc., should live outside Rochester or maybe Syracuse. ... Thus will the governor be able to satisfy just about every constituency clamoring for the Clinton Senate seat.

A bit tongue-in-cheek, of course. But the list of possibles, and not-so-possibles, is huge. Alphabetically, it includes Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr., former President Bill Clinton, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand from upstate, Rep. Brian Higgins of Buffalo, Rep. Steve Israel of Long Island, Caroline Kennedy and her cousin Robert Kennedy Jr., Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan, Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of Manhattan, ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer (I swear I saw him mentioned), Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, and Rep. Nydia Velazquez of Brooklyn.

The good news is that Clinton has said she is not going to resign until the new Senate confirms her, which is at least a month away. That gives Paterson, and us, more time to consider the 3 million people who are potential successors.

4:57 PM ET | 12-02-2008 | permalink

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Guns, Bloomberg and Plaxico Burress

The charge is serious. And Mayor Michael Bloomberg is serious.

Plaxico Burress, the gifted and troubled receiver for the New York Giants, was arraigned yesterday for having an unlicensed (and thus illegal) gun in his possession early Saturday morning, when Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh.

Anyone who knows Mayor Bloomberg knows that regardless of what football team he roots for, he is not a fan of guns. He hates them. He has campaigned around the country against them. He has a no-tolerance position on them. City law requires a minimum 3 1/2-year prison sentence for conviction on possession of a weapon. Bloomberg said that not prosecuting somebody like Burress would make "a sham, a mockery of the law."

There is a way out for everyone involved. I say this not only as a Giants fan. Well, actually, I say this as a Giants fan.

My solution: Have the City Council change the law, but just for Plaxico Burress. It's sort of like what Bloomberg did with the city's term-limits law, something that voters have twice passed. But since Bloomberg wants to run for a third term next year, and since he knows that the Big Apple without Bloomberg would cease to exist, he had the City Council change the law ... but just for him. It allows him to run for a third term. And then the city can resume its term-limits thing. And everybody will be happy

The law is important, as we all agree. Guns can be dangerous. But, like with term limits, sometimes the law is not absolute. Just ask Michael Bloomberg.

3:45 PM ET | 12-02-2008 | permalink

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Down To The Wire In Georgia

Today's Senate runoff in Georgia has been called a lot of things. "The first salvo in the 2010 midterms!" No, wait: "The beginning of the battle for the White House in 2012!!" How about: "Retribution for 2008!!!" I've even heard someone call it this year's version of the Spanish Civil War, with both candidates used as proxies. (Wait, that was me.)

Whatever you want to call it, it has kept our attention these past four weeks.

The reason we're at this point is that although Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) received 110,000 votes more than Jim Martin, his Democratic challenger, he failed — because of the vote siphoned off by the Libertarian Party nominee — to break 50 percent, as required by state law; he wound up with 49.8 percent of the vote. And thus the runoff.

 

(The last time a Georgia Senate race went to a runoff? That was in 1992, and it was insightfully and emotionally recounted in a blog posting yesterday.)

Both parties have sent a virtual who's-who to the Peach State on behalf of the candidates — a list that includes a former president, a former almost-president, a former wishes-he-were-president-elect, a former wishes-she-were-vice-president-elect, and a whole slew of wannabe presidents. For the Democrats, Bill Clinton has been in to campaign for Martin, as have Al Gore and Congressman John Lewis, as well as hip-hop stars T.I., Young Jeezy and Ludacris. For the Republicans, there's been John McCain (who carried the state on Nov. 4 by 200,000), Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and, last but not least, Sarah Palin. FYI, there was more footage of the Alaska governor on cable TV yesterday than there was of the Senate candidates.

I'm not sure which was more surreal: the sight of Martin, a low-key former state legislator, campaigning with Ludacris, or the fact that at her Augusta appearance, there were tons of "Palin 2012" T-shirts and "Palin for President: You Go Girl" buttons. The 2008 elections are less than a month old and we're talking about 2012! Ludacris, indeed.

The importance of the race is clear: Democrats would love to get to the magic number of 60 Senate seats — they're currently at 58 — which, theoretically, would make the Senate impervious to Republican filibusters. The only way to get to 60 is for Martin to defeat Chambliss today, and for Al Franken to win the Senate recount in Minnesota over GOP incumbent Norm Coleman. And that one won't be decided for two more weeks.

Democrats would also love the chance for payback against Chambliss, who they say ran a nasty and dishonest campaign six years ago when he unseated Sen. Max Cleland.

Republicans, on the other hand, would love to rain on the Democrats' parade that has been all but nonstop since Nov. 4. They lost seven seats on Election Day — in Alaska, Colorado, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia — and a defeat today would be devastating, especially considering the fact that Martin wasn't initially seen as any kind of threat. They're talking about Martin being a "rubber stamp" for Obama, and that only Chambliss can keep the Senate GOP relevant. They need to come away with a victory, even though it's a seat that once was seen as a slam-dunk.

Big question: the size of today's black turnout. Without Barack Obama on the ballot — and without him even coming into the state to campaign (though he recorded a radio ad for Martin) — the number of African-Americans showing up is a question mark. There is anecdotal evidence showing a decline in black voter turnout for the runoff.

Polls close at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Atlanta weather (or at least north Fulton County weather), as per NPR's Kathy Lohr: sunny and cool, high of about 45 degrees.

Predictions, anyone? (I say Chambliss.)

3:18 PM ET | 12-02-2008 | permalink

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In Search Of The Podcast

"Where's the beef?" asked Walter Mondale of Gary Hart in their famous 1984 Democratic presidential debate.

"Where's the outrage?" asked an exasperated Bob Dole over the Clinton finance scandals in 1996.

Now comes, "Where's the podcast?" Matthew Bond of Nashville, Tenn., the Listener of NPR's "It's All Politics" podcast put together by what's-his-name and me, writes, "When I click on my 'It's All Politics' bookmark, I get a page listing podcasts from October 31st back, but nothing since. What's the deal?"

Similarly, Gregory Veevers of Ottawa, Ontario, from the continent of Canada — wait, does that mean there is more than one Listener?? — adds, "Where was the podcast the week of the 24th? I couldn't find it!"

Rest assured, listener(s), the Podcast is alive and well. Ron Elving and I recorded three episodes since the election (with a week off for Thanksgiving; hence the name "Thanksgiving"). I will make sure to find the missing links and alert Mr. Darwin.

12:38 PM ET | 12-02-2008 | permalink

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Martinez Departure Could Be Start Of Rocky 2010 For Senate GOP

The decision by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) to eschew a second term may not be the last shew (sorry) to drop among GOP senators who have decided enough is enough.

Already Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) has said he will not run again for the seat he first won in 1996. And while Arizona's John McCain has said he plans to seek a fifth term in 2010, not everyone is convinced. Plus, there are questions about David Vitter (R-LA), who was caught up in a prostitution scandal; Arlen Specter (R-PA), who turns 80 in 2010 and has been battling cancer; and Bob Bennett (R-UT), who is approaching 77 years of age.

One possible bright spot for the GOP in Florida: Rumors persist that should Sen. Martinez leave early, Gov. Charlie Crist might appoint his predecessor as governor, Jeb Bush. And not a moment too soon, if you ask me, because it's been over four years since a Bush was on the Republican presidential ticket.

Below is a chart of the 36 Senate seats at stake in 2010:

DEMOCRATS (17): Arkansas (Blanche Lincoln), California (Barbara Boxer), Colorado (Ken Salazar), Connecticut (Chris Dodd), Delaware special (open seat — Ted Kaufman, appointed to replace VP-elect Joe Biden, will not run), Hawaii (Daniel Inouye), Illinois (awaiting an appointment to succeed Prez-elect Barack Obama), Indiana (Evan Bayh), Maryland (Barbara Mikulski), Nevada (Harry Reid), New York (Charles Schumer), New York special (awaiting an appointment to succeed Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton), North Dakota (Byron Dorgan), Oregon (Ron Wyden), Vermont (Patrick Leahy), Washington (Patty Murray), Wisconsin (Russ Feingold)

REPUBLICANS (19): Alabama (Richard Shelby), Alaska (Lisa Murkowski), Arizona (John McCain), Florida (open seat — Mel Martinez retiring), Georgia (Johnny Isakson), Idaho (Mike Crapo), Iowa (Charles Grassley), Kansas (open seat — Sam Brownback retiring), Kentucky (Jim Bunning), Louisiana (David Vitter), Missouri (Kit Bond), New Hampshire (Judd Gregg), North Carolina (Richard Burr), Ohio (George Voinovich), Oklahoma (Tom Coburn), Pennsylvania (Arlen Specter), South Carolina (Jim DeMint), South Dakota (John Thune), Utah (Bob Bennett)

11:06 AM ET | 12-02-2008 | permalink

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Sen. Mel Martinez Won't Seek Re-Election In Florida

In a development that took the Republican establishment by surprise, Sen. Mel Martinez -- the former chair of the Republican National Committee who earlier served as President Bush's HUD secretary -- is expected to announce momentarily that he will not seek a second term. The St. Petersburg Times reports that Martinez may in fact leave the Senate in advance of his term in 2010, which would allow Gov. Charlie Crist (R) to appoint a replacement.

One of the Democratic Party's leading stars in the Sunshine State, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, is also expected to say she will forgo a Senate bid and instead seek re-election to her Cabinet post. Jim Johnson, who writes the StateofSunshine blog, says that no matter whom the Dems put up — he suggests state Sen. Dan Gelber — Martinez was in trouble.

He is not the darling of Florida conservatives. He is a former trial lawyer who backed President George Bush's immigration reform legislation -- a bill conservatives labeled 'amnesty.' Much like Senator John McCain, he just doesn't light the fire of the far right base of the GOP.

More to come.

10:35 AM ET | 12-02-2008 | permalink

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And The Answer Is ...

Yes, we know that before Hillary Clinton, the last senator named as secretary of state was Ed Muskie. But who was the last NEW YORK SENATOR who went on to become secretary of state? Why, that was ...

Continue reading "And The Answer Is ..." »

5:11 PM ET | 12-01-2008 | permalink

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That Last Georgia Senate Runoff

A new Democratic president elected at a time of economic uncertainty, a Georgia senator thrown into a runoff because while he won the most votes, he failed to reach 50 percent of the vote in the first go-around.

2008 yes, but also 1992. And maybe that's one of the reasons President-elect Barack Obama is not campaigning for Democrat Jim Martin in the Peach State for tomorrow's runoff.

Back in 1992, Bill Clinton, then the governor of Arkansas, was elected president, carrying Georgia in the process (the last Democrat to do so, by the way). Georgia was a completely different state back then. Its two senators were Democrats, its governor was a Democrat, and nine of the state's 10 members of the House (save one Newt Gingrich) were Democrats. In the Senate race that year, first-term incumbent Wyche Fowler led Republican challenger Paul Coverdell by 35,000 votes, but he failed to win an outright majority; he captured 49.2 percent of the vote against Coverdell and a Libertarian candidate.

 

Clinton decided to campaign for Fowler in the runoff, which took place three weeks later. But the Democratic base that came out on Nov. 3 was less energized for the runoff. Republicans, on the other hand, went all out for Coverdell, who as it was had to struggle to win his party's nomination against Bob Barr, at the time a former U.S. attorney and two years away from winning a seat in Congress. In the runoff, Coverdell unseated Fowler by just over 16,000 votes (out of 1.2 million cast), foreshadowing a Republican uprising that was to come two years later.

There is no shortage of Democrats campaigning on behalf of Jim Martin, notably Mr. Clinton himself, Al Gore, Donna Brazile and others. Just no Barack Obama. And, perhaps, with other things on his mind — he is still assembling his Cabinet, and the Dow is down more than 670 points today, not to mention the fact that John McCain, after all, carried the state — risking political capital less than a month after his election may not be the way to go.

3:16 PM ET | 12-01-2008 | permalink

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Before Hillary, It Was Who?

OK, so we know Sen. Hillary Clinton is President-elect Obama's choice to be his secretary of state. And we know -- since we all read the Nov. 17 edition of the Political Junkie column -- back in the days when Junkie was a weekly column (I know, so November 2008) -- that the last sitting senator named to the post was Maine's Ed Muskie in 1980, after Cyrus Vance resigned in protest of President Carter's failed attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran.

All this leads to ...

TRIVIA QUESTION! Name the last New York senator who went on to become secretary of state.

First correct answer wins nothing at all.

2:54 PM ET | 12-01-2008 | permalink

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Obama Brings Hillary to Cabinet, GOP to Ariz. State House

Last week, it was his economic team, stupid. This morning, President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team, naming Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as his designate for secretary of state, and keeping Robert Gates as secretary of defense. Both moves were expected for quite some time.

The Clinton announcement was conditional upon the willingness of her husband, Bill Clinton, to release the names of donors to his presidential library, as well as those foreign governments who gave to his international foundation. With that apparently resolved, and following the expected Senate confirmation, she adds another "first" to her resume: the first former first lady to become secretary of state.

Gates makes history as well, becoming the first defense chief to stay on from one party's administration to another. A former director of the Central Intelligence Agency under the first President Bush, Gates has been heading the Bush administration's war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan since Donald Rumsfeld was forced out immediately following the 2006 midterm elections. He may not exactly fit the "change" mode that Obama made during his campaign, but the Prez-elect probably decided he is best equipped to begin implementing his policy of withdrawal from Iraq while at the same time buffing up the number of troops in Afghanistan. And this is, after all, Obama's policy.

Also named today were Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security; retired Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser; Eric Holder, a Justice Department official under President Clinton, as attorney general; and Susan Rice, a long-time Obama aide, as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Obama has indicated that the latter position will be elevated to Cabinet-level, as it was under President Clinton.

Clinton, Holder, Napolitano and Rice require Senate confirmation. Jones does not, and Gates, as a holdover Cabinet official, has already been confirmed by the Senate (a 95-2 vote on Dec. 6, 2006).

Continue reading "Obama Brings Hillary to Cabinet, GOP to Ariz. State House " »

2:15 PM ET | 12-01-2008 | permalink

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'Political Junkie': The Blog

When my weekly Political Junkie column resumed on the NPR Web site back in January of 2004, I stated that my goals for the column were the same as when it ran previously (1998-2001) on the Web site of the Washington Post. It was sharing a love of politics: the campaigns, the candidates, the voters, the process, the history, the trivia, the lore. All of it.

Just as I could never talk about baseball (another passion) without reaching back into the past, I'm the same about politics. That's true whether we're talking about the race for president, the battle for control of Congress, state and national conventions, redistricting, third parties, primaries and caucuses. The confluence of the present with the past. That has been what each Political Junkie has been since Jan. 14, 2004 — encompassing nearly 200 columns, thousands and thousands of questions from readers from all over the world, with each column featuring vintage campaign buttons illustrating the subject(s) of the week.

And something very important happened in the process. It was not a monologue. It was a conversation. I would hear constantly from fellow political junkies from all corners of the globe (are there really corners on a globe?) about what they were seeing, and hearing, and discussing with their friends, neighbors and co-workers. For every fun fact or piece of trivia I included in my column, there were countless tidbits of campaign treasures I received from you. The conversation that went on in this column expanded, first to an appearance each Wednesday on NPR's Talk of the Nation program, and then to a weekly podcast (It's All Politics) with NPR Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving. Both the podcast and the Political Junkie segment on TOTN continue. But now comes a change in this column.

It will no longer be just once a week. As anyone who has been reading this from the beginning knows, it has multiplied in size. The columns were running close to 3,000 words, a bit much to be read online in one sitting. And so, starting today, Political Junkie goes from a once-a-week column to a blog featuring multiple posts each day. The format will be pretty much the same, only spaced out in the course of a week.

In the wake of one of the most intense and exciting presidential campaigns in recent memory, I have found more and more people interested in politics than ever before. This is not just anecdotal; my e-mail "in box" has been filled with far more questions about far more subjects than ever before. I'm hoping the same excitement and interest will carry on into this post-election phase: the transition from Bush to Obama; the new Cabinet and the resulting special elections; the still-undecided contests in Georgia, Minnesota and elsewhere; and the next round of elections in 2009, 2010, and (gasp!) 2012. That's the argument for taking the column to a daily presentation.

I've never had a rooting interest in politics; I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican. But for as long as I remember, I have had a deep passion about covering it, talking about it, writing about it. I hope the passion you experienced in this most amazing election season will continue as well. Please let me hear from you on this. Tell me what works and what doesn't. I know there are a lot of political blogs out there, and some readers might say the last thing we need is yet another one. They may be right. But unlike others, this is not one that preaches a point of view. It doesn't take sides, nor does it take positions. If it's yelling you want, there are plenty of avenues for you to find that; I'm not a yeller. No yeller journalism here. Above all, what I try to do is to make politics fun.

A tribute for the ages.

One more thing: a huge thank you to Evie Stone, who has been manning (or personning) the Vox Politics blog these past months. She has done a superb job, under trying conditions, and so she gets her very own "button puzzle" — a feature you may see appear now and then in this blog. Her name is spelled out in campaign buttons, something that I'm sure she will agree is far more rewarding than money.

Please see the FAQ if you have any lingering questions about PJ's transition to a blog. And don't ever hesitate to ask any question and offer any suggestion.

1:12 PM ET | 12-01-2008 | permalink

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 'Political Junkie' blog?

The Political Junkie column that you knew and loved each week on the NPR Web site is now a daily blog. The same features, insightful analysis and sophisticated jokes will remain.

It is written by NPR Political Editor Ken Rudin, a self-described political junkie who can remember the results of every congressional election since 1066 but somehow forgets to send his mother a birthday card each year. It is written for those political junkies out there who eat, breathe and sleep politics and campaigns — and their history, lore and trivia.

It will include postings and tidbits from NPR reporters and correspondents around the country.

It will also include questions from readers around the world, as was the case with the weekly column.

How can I send you questions for the blog?

Same as before: Send an e-mail to politicaljunkie@npr.org or submit your question through the Political Junkie contact form.

Can I send you private, not-for-publication e-mails?

Yes, to the same e-mail address or through the same contact form.

How can I contribute to the conversation on your blog?

There is a comment form at the bottom of each blog entry. Registered members of the NPR community can publicly comment on and discuss all posts. I'm hoping to have a civil conversation here. But I also understand that politics do generate some heated opinions. So, please read NPR's guidelines for commenting and Community FAQ.

Is there a way you can add me to your mailing list?

Absolutely. I had been sending out an e-mail notice each week when the new column was up on the NPR site. I don't think people are in the mood for a daily reminder. So, I will send out a weekly note summing up the hot topics discussed on the blog. Please send me your e-mail address if you want to receive my weekly update. Of course, you can take your name off the list whenever you like. In addition, you may subscribe to an RSS feed, something that I have no understanding about whatsoever.

Will a daily Political Junkie mean that the weekly PJ segment on NPR's Talk Of The Nation will end?

No, they continue each Wednesday, despite popular demand.

What about the weekly It's All Politics podcast?

That continues as well. The listener will be thrilled.

Can I link to your blog?

I would be honored.

Will you still be shamelessly asking for campaign buttons from your readers?

Yes. That goes without saying.

Who's going to be the Republican nominee for president in 2012?

Ask me in 2012.

1:01 PM ET | 12-01-2008 | permalink

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