What a bizarre start to the year. What a bizarre start to a Senate career for Illinois Democrat Roland Burris, who looks like he soon will be in Barack Obama's Senate seat.
Burris' visit to the Capitol on Tuesday was much different than 24 hours earlier, when the Secretary of the Senate basically booted him out the door and refused to seat him.
One day later, Burris was in the second floor private suite of offices used by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - in other words - the center of power on the second floor of the Senate wing of the Capitol.
This time, Democratic Leader Reid emerged to say put the best face on what was basically a complete 180 degree turnaround on what to do with Burris.
A day earlier, there was no way Burris was going to be seated.
Tuesday morning, just before lunch, it was complete different.
"We don't have a problem with him as an individual," Reid said of Burris.
In other words, they still have a problem with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevitch, and they can swallow their pride and let Burris in, as long as he didn't promise Blago anything in exchange for a Senate appointment.
"There was certainly no pay-to-play involved," Burris told reporters later, "because I don't have any money."
What emerged later in the day on Wednesday was that President Elect Barack Obama had told Reid to solve things before this dust-up turned into a big time political problem.
Today Burris testifies before impeachment investigators in the Illinois state legislature. Once he goes on record as saying he did nothing improper, and then gets the Illinois Secretary of State to sign his appointment papers, he should be in as a Senator.
Sounds like a win for Gov. Blago, and a defeat for Sen. Reid.
Not that it really matters, but I'm sure it is driving some Democrats nuts.
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