There is not much political news right now but in the spirit of end-of-the-year wrapups, Politico has compiled a list of the 10 weirdest moments of 2008. Here it is.
1 - Mike Huckabee announcing he wouldn't go negative--and then showing reporters a negative adRep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) is resigning from the House today to become White House chief of staff. A special election will be called to fill the seat. The primary is Feb. 24 and the general election is April 7. The leading contenders for the Democratic nomination are state representative Sara Feigenholtz, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, and former TSA official Justin Oberman. All three are known to be progressives, which should play well in the Chicago district Emanuel won with 74% of the vote in November. Lesser known candidates will have trouble raising money fast enough to win the primary.
Pretty much everyone agrees that the Senate will not seat Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointee Roland Burris. The exact scenario is not clear though. The Senate could refer the matter to the Rules Committee, for example, and give the committee 90 days to report back, especially if Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White refuses the certify the appointment (which would give the Senate cover). By then Blagojevich will long since have been impeached and convicted. One source says that the new governor, Pat Quinn (D), will try to appoint a young, energetic black person to the seat. One possibility might be Dan Seals, who twice ran for Congress and just barely missed both times.