Get and Stay Well, Tim Johnson

This just in at the time of this post: Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who became disoriented during a phone press conference today, did NOT suffer a stroke.

The reports that were filtering out earlier today sounded a lot more ominous. The scariest possible outcome would have portended a tragic conclusion to Johnson's service in a 51D-49R Senate. Not only that, but Johnson's replacement would have been appointed by that state's rabidly anti-choice Republican Governor, Mike "lock up the docs" Rounds.

And that appointment would have led to a 50-50 Senate in Republican hands due to one Mr. Cheney's constitutional authority to break ties.

And then the next Alito sails through. Break out the coat-hangers.

Of course, the imagined worst outcome from today's news would have brought out the moonbats from both extremes.

Some right-wing religious zealots would have said that in "striking down" Sen. Johnson, God made sure that the rights of the unborn will still be protected in this Senate. And, of course, giving Mike Rounds the appointment that would fix things is just part of the master plan.

On the conspiratorial left you would hear that the same "they" who "sabotaged" Paul Wellstone's and Mel Carnahan's planes might have slipped something in Tim Johnson's food.

Hopefully, and now by all indications, it won't come to that.

With both Houses of Congress soon to be in Democratic hands, we cannot afford a setback that would turn the clock back to yesterday.

That's why we, the American people, need you to get well and stay well, Senator Tim.