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The first thing the Senate leadership plans to do is to demand, under Rule 2 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, a certificate containing “the name of the person elected or appointed, the date of the certificate, the name of the governor and the secretary of state signing and countersigning the same, and the State from which such Senator is elected or appointed.”

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has said that he does not intend to sign the certificate–but that may not be all that much of an impediment. It turns out that Blagojevich–like every other Governor, I’m told–has a set of certificates that are pre-signed by the Secretary of State, to be used in the event of an emergency. If Burris shows up with one of those, the Senate leadership intends to reject it. But Senate leaders also are preparing for the possibility that Burris will get a Writ of Mandamus ordering the Secretary of State to sign the certificate.

At that point, the first order of business for the Senate would be to vote on a resolution questioning the validity of Blagojevich’s appointment of Burris, and specifically, raising the question that the Governor asked for or received something of value in exchange for naming Burris. (There is, of course, no evidence that anything like this happened.) The resolution would be nondebatable and nonamendable, which means the Republican minority would not be allowed to attach, say, a separate resolution blocking Al Franken from being seated from Minnesota. What happens then? The whole thing would be sent to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee for “investigation.” Said investigation would have a time limit, specifically written to give the Illinois Legislature enough time to impeach Blagojevich, put Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn in the job, and get a new appointment.

The scenario is plausible and why it was floated to the left-supporting Time Magazine for comment and vetting. But, what is in Burris’ interest to not raise a stink on the floor and then immediately march over to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the entire process as a subterfuge?

Maybe President-Elect Obama can promise him the Ambassadorship to some vacation resort island country?

Or maybe the U.S. Senate Democrats can let it go and allow this seventy-three year old African-American to serve two years, then retire and then get a federal appointment?

The deals will be made this weekend.

Does Patrick Fitzgerald have his microphones turned on?

New York Gov. David Paterson says the search is ongoing, but two people close to him tell The Associated Press they believe Caroline Kennedy will be appointed to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate.

Kennedy’s less than stellar public performance appeared to be on his mind because he cautioned that just because he selects someone it doesn’t mean they will win the election outright.

“The public does not regard my selection as an incumbent. The public regards this as a place holder for two years and then will make their own choice,” Paterson said. “And that takes the pressure off me.”

Paterson and the New York Democrat Party would be much better served by appointing a more seasoned pol or even Bill Clinton as a caretaker Senator but the Kennedy’s have probably promised Paterson an Obama apppointment to a federal position since Paterson is unlikely to win re-election in 2010. The voters of New York will be short-changed with a light-weight as their U.S. Senator but who cares what they think, right?

The Democrats will have quite the trio entering the Senate: Caroline Kennedy who knows how to say, “You Know”; Roland Burris who tried to execute an innocent man; and Al Franken (should his slim lead hold in Minnesota) a lefty comic.

And, the GOP should care about having only 41 votes in the Senate, why?

The story about Roalnd Burris’ egregiously poor judgment is well documented and can explain why this meat head has been unable to win statewide election on numerous occasions since.

Former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s pick to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, is no stranger to controversy.

Public fury over the governor’s alleged misconduct has masked the once lively debate over Burris’ decision to continue to prosecute, despite the objections of one of his top prosecutors, the wrong man for a high-profile murder case.

While state attorney general in 1992, Burris aggressively sought the death penalty for Rolando Cruz, who twice was convicted of raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. The crime took place in 1983.

But by 1992, another man had confessed to the crime, and Burris’ own deputy attorney general was pleading with Burris to drop the case, then on appeal before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Burris refused. He was running for governor.

The Illinois GOP should drop its hysterical efforts to force a special election. It very much looks like Burris will be a caretaker ONLY for two years or “easy pickin’s” for a Republican challenger in 2010.

Thanks Hot Rod……

He won the election but let’s see if he can perform.

So far, he plays golf while the Gaza burns and his kids start a swanlky private school today.

Some change, right?