Back from a week's absence, today's Political Junkie brings you:

— Bill Richardson withdraws: Obama gets his first embarrassment. It may be more than just embarrassing for Bill.

— Illinois Senate: Did Blagojevich really name a Senate successor to Obama while we were on vacation? What was he thinking?? The latest on Roland Burris' chances to get confirmed.

— Colorado Senate: Gov. Ritter has his say, and it's Bennet for the Senate. Not every Colorado Democrat is thrilled.

— Minnesota Senate: Schumer says it's time for Franken to be sworn in. Not so fast, says GOP. So much for the era of post-partisanship in Washington.

— This Day In Campaign History: A new daily feature starts today.

— Fan mail from those who missed the Junkie blog: I'm kidding. Nobody wrote.

— 2008 Obits: Our special feature on those in the political world who left us last year.

Welcome to 2009. I hope everyone had a healthy, safe and wonderful New Year's!