Illinois Senator Won’t Run in ’10, Officials Say (Burris)

[bemildred]

Source: NYT

WASHINGTON — Senator Roland W. Burris, the Illinois Democrat appointed by Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich before his ouster to fill the seat of President Obama, is expected to announce Friday that he will not seek election in 2010 to a full Senate term, party officials said.

The decision, to be announced in Chicago, does not come as a surprise, since Mr. Burris has not been raising much money or showing other signs of organizing for what would be a difficult campaign given the circumstances of his appointment.

Mr. Burris, 71, a former Illinois attorney general and longtime presence in state politics, was selected by Mr. Blagojevich after disclosures that the governor, who was later impeached and indicted on corruption charges, had sought to trade the appointment for personal and political gain.

Senate Democratic leaders initially challenged Mr. Burris’s appointment. They later relented, uneasy about being seen as blocking the entry of an African-American who had a credible legal claim on the seat.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/us/politics/10burris.html

[walkaway]

1. I think he wants us to beg him to stay!

Really.

[havocmom]

2. nah, he just wanted to add "Senator" to that fancy schmantzy monument to himself

we heard he built for his resting place.

[steven johnson]

3. While the transcripts didn't have a smoking gun, they didn't clear him, either

Good luck, Roland.

[saltpoint]

4. The Pukes were begging for Burris to remain hotly invested in this Senate

race and go whole-hog for his first full term.

It wasn't going to happen.

Had Burris opted to seek a full term his Democratic primary opponents would have tossed him far out into Lake Michigan and he would never have been heard from again.

He may never be heard from again with or without the lake toss.

Sharper knives than Roland Burris are flashing in this Dem Senate primary. The Pukes are now far behind in their chances to take this seat. Not entirely out of the picture, but much farther off the pace. Big money and stronger names are at work in this primary and it looks to me as if this seat will stay blue.

[Vidar]

5. Cool. An expiration date on Blago's revenge.