THE SENIOR SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS THINKS OBAMA SHOULD RUN FOR
PRESIDENT.
—
SPRINGFIELD—If the release of his second book Tuesday and an
appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show on Wednesday weren’t enough to keep Barack
Obama’s name in the headlines, another top Illinois Democrat is urging his
senate colleague to run for president.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Monday that he hopes the
first-term senator from Chicago ‘’seriously considers” making a bid in 2008.
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2006/10/16/afternoon_evening/doc4533d597b8c24194220902.txt
—
Let’s parse this a little more closely.
If Obama runs and doesn’t do well, Durbin is still senior
Senator, and a potential rival for influence in Illinois is weakened.
If Obama runs and has a positive experience, it’s more
influence for Illinois, it’s more people asking Durbin to introduce them to
Obama, and Durbin is still the senior Senator.
If Obama is President of the United States, that certainly
doesn’t hurt Dick Durbin. It means more
Democrat money for Illinois, more Democrat jobs for Durbin and his
friends. And it means a vacant
Senatorial seat that the Democratic
governor of Illinois can fill with one of Durbin’s friends.
Pro: Durbin’s
endorsement doesn’t hurt Obama.
Con: It doesn’t mean that much, either.
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Tags: Articles from Elsewhere, Obama
