The President Elect has been receiving a great deal of support for his promise to change the old ways of politics.  Now he may be hoping for some change – sooner, rather than later.  Despite his wishes to deal with affairs of state, the matter of his succession is shaping up to be a serious problem.

The arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who allegedly attempted to sell Obama’s now vacated Senate Seat, is becoming a long, distracting situation.  As the scandal remained currant, Democrats began to wonder what alternatives they had to prevent the governor from appointing someone to the seat.  The governor seems utterly resistant to suggestions that he dop the decent thing and resign. Impeachment may do the trick, but it is time consuming, and the Governor can make an appointment at any time.

Today Governor Blagojevich has appointed Roland Burris, former Illinois Attorney General, and a Black, to fill the senate seat.  Democrats may not be happy about this – they had hoped to avoid a special election, which the Republicans might win – but an appointment by someone alleged to engage on high level corruption, is not something the Democratic Party can overlook, since they now will have to govern.  Because the Democrats hold both houses in Congress, and the Presidency, they cannot blame the Republicans for any failures to meet public expectations.  A lot of citizens are not willing to accept the sale of Senate seats, and Governor Blagojevich is now a liability to Democrats, regardless of his correct claim that he has not yet received due process.  Many people will view ANY person appointed by Governor Blagojevich to be suspect. And the Democrats really need to take that seriously, because they have spent four years campaigning as the party of clean, uncorrupt government.

The Senate leadership seem to believe that if nothin else presents itself, the Senate should simply refuse to seat Burris.  But, of course, following a half century of increasingly shrill identity politics, this promptly took a racial turn.  Former Black Panther and now preacher and Congressman from Illinois, Bobby Rush, promptly came to the Governor’s aid.  Rush argued that Burris is entitled to that seat because he’s Black, and that (implied) it would be a racist act, comparable to a lynching, to refuse to seat Burris.  Yes, Rush did make the comparison to lynching.  Senator Reid must have been greatly releived when the former Senator, AKA President Elect Obama, came out firmly, bluntly, against seating anyone appointed by Blagojevich.

The Democrats have not even gotten their man inaugurated, and the domesitc problems are beginning.  Many of these are of their own manufacture, such as Bobby Rush’s racist claim that Burris is entitled to a Senate seat by virtue of race, or the claims by feminists and Ivy Leaguers that Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is entitled to Hillary Clinton’s Senate Seat.  Then there are the looming ethical problems which seem to be part of Charles Rangel’s career.  Some of this may hit the fan before Mr. Obama even gets a chance to talk with world leaders about the situation in the Middle East.

Good Luck, Mr. Obama.  You promised to bring us change.  I hope you can do something to change the corruption in politics.  I am not particularly optimistic, but I do wish you success in the effort.