Appoint Abner Mikva To Obama's Senate Seat

It's a short-term solution but it's the only immediate solution I can see to the current mess created by Rod Blagojevich.

Illinois now faces the awful prospect of either having an appointed Senator who will be greeted with immediate suspicion (if, of course, the Senate allows such a person to be seated at all) or having Barack Obama's seat vacant when the new session begins in January.

Special elections take time. Impeachment takes time. Federal corruption trials take a lot of time.

Anyone who was under consideration before today (no matter how they gained office) would enter under a continuing cloud, one which could only darken as Blagojevich's case made its agonizing way through the federal courts.

But the 82-year old Mikva is beyond reproach - perhaps the only man alive in Illinois who could be appointed tomorrow without tarnish.

Absent any age-related health issues, Mikva would serve with distinction. It's the only thing he's ever done. He was a great Congressman (with the special honor of having been the target of redistricting ousters by both machine Democrats and Republicans), and he was a brilliant member of the D.C. Circuit. It doesn't hurt that he was one of the President-elect's earliest supporters. At a time when Ted Kennedy is stepping away from his seat on the Judiciary Committee, there is no one with greater wisdom or experience to oversee the first round of Obama appointments.

And, of course, he wouldn't be in contention for re-election. That would give Illinois Democrats time to regroup, settle on the best candidate for 2010, and allow that candidate to run without the current scandal's taint.

For that matter, Mikva could resign once there was a certainty that a selection process for the seat emerged and that the public was fully aware of who did and did not entertain Blagojevich's corrupt proposals.

It would be a lot to ask of Abner Mikva. But given the circumstances, he just might accept.

Comments

[Yalegirl03]

Abner Mitva is a great man. I would be sad to see UChicago lose yet another law professor! Obama, then Sunstein and next Mitva?

[CriticalDune]

Terrific thought. Have also seen Adlai Stevenson III and Alan Dixon floated. An appointment versus special election makes all the sense in the world to me.

[poomplet]

Sorry, but this Dem would LOVE to see Jim Edgar step in for a term (or 2...is he eligible for that). NOBODY...other than uber-liber­als...coul­d find a bad word to say about him. In 8 years, he had ONE brush w/scandal (MSI), but it was clear & proven that it was all done by underlings & he had zero influence/­culpabilit­y.

He's moderate, he is respected by every current power broker in Springfield. Don't let his party affiliation blind you to the fact he is THE best man for the job...yes, better than Mikva. Could anyone persuade him to run again? THAT'S another question, but I'd hope his sense of duty in this dark period for his state might pull him back.

SIDE NOTE...if the reluctant Edgar had decided to throw his hat in the ring for Jack Ryan's senate seat, he would have mopped the floor with the neophyte opponent. Instead, the GOP unearthed freakazoid Alan Keyes, so that dem guy w/the funny name won.

WIKI: "Due to his moderate views that appealed to Republicans and Democrats alike, he has been considered one of the most respected and popular governors in Illinois history, having been reelected by a large margin and leaving office with approval ratings well over 60%."

[bdl0715]

I think that is a wonderful idea. Abner Mikva has been a wonderful servant of the people and there has never been a hint of any scandal involving him.

[PerryWhite]

No one with decades in Illinois politics should be appointed. Maybe someone from another state.

[Huffpoor]

What a perfectly wonderful, and well argued, proposition.

[CCG]

Mitva is a great idea. He has the smarts and stature, he has never been tainted and has always been an independent, he would not not run again. He would be a caretaker but for a passive holder of the seat while this terrible mess gets sorted out. His brains and vote, in the meantime, would be well used in this senate where smart players are needed for the national/i­nternation­al challenges we are facting are being addressed