Obama resigning Senate seat

[onehandle]

Source: AP

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that he will resign from the Senate, effective Sunday.

In a statement, the junior Illinois senator called his four-year term "one of the highest honors and privileges" of his life and said the people of Illinois will stay with him as he leaves the Senate to begin "the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation's next president."

The move was expected. Obama won the presidency last week over Republican John McCain.

Under state law, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich will name Obama's replacement for the remaining two years of his term. Blagojevich has said he expects to make a decision by year's end, and has ruled out appointing himself. Obama is the only black senator.

His resignation reduces the Democratic majority to a bare minimum for the post-election session that begins next week. The party retains control as long as Independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut sides with them.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081113/ap_on_el_pr/obama_s...

[Hawkeye-X]

1. IT doesn't matter. Democratic Party holds the majority per a binding agreement

signed in 2006.

Hawkeye-X

[T Wolf]

2. Is anything really "binding" where the pukes are involved? You must be very careful when

dealing with radioactive waste.

[azmesa207]

25. Obama

replacement should be Congressman Jessie Jackson JR. He was One of Obama biggest supporters .

[murielm99]

26. Says someone who doesn't live in Illinois

and doesn't understand our politics.

[underpants]

3. Senator Oprah?

[Bette Noir]

7. Why would she want the demotion and pay cut?

[Bushies gotta go]

4. Glad to see "that one" go....

cuz I know where he's a goin'!

[9119495]

5. Damn it. He was my favorite senator in the country.

[MidwestTransplant]

6. Hopefully he names Tammy Duckworth.

[KamaAina]

17. Gov. Rod Blagojevich names the successor.

Fortunately, a) he's a Dem, and b) he's apparently ruled out naming himself (he's, um, kind of ethically challenged).

[MidwestTransplant]

20. Right I mean I hope Blegojevich names Tammy

[davidinalameda]

24. kind of?

that's very generous

that's like saying Abe Lincoln is kind of dead

[Earth_First]

8. Why on EARTH would Obama do such a thing?!

[ronnykmarshall]

9. IT'S A TRAP!!

[tclambert]

16. John McCain said, "Now we've really got him right where we want him."

[deadmessengers]

10. Tradition, and a more important job to do.

It's traditional for outgoing Governors or Congressmen being elevated to higher office to resign a little ahead of time, to give their replacements a leg up seniority-wise.

[tclambert]

14. He needs more free time.

The President Elect stuff, like staffing a cabinet, really cuts into his "palling around with terrorists" time.

[IndyOp]

11. I think he should've held the seat in case he needed to vote on anything in the next few weeks.

Maybe he thinks it is a long-shot that there will be any votes that he would want to weigh in on...

[onehandle]

12. Based on the fact that most of the world already consider him President...

...I think he just wants to get things moving.

Work on his new administration.

Get an ally in place in the Senate.

Sounds good to me.

[KamaAina]

18. This puts some pressure on Blago to make his decision pronto

just in case there are any such votes... and you've gotta figure the 'pukes will do whatever they can to ensure that there are.

[high density]

13. "Obama won the presidency last week over Republican John McCain."

Who is the AP writing for? Sarah Palin doesn't read this shit.

[tclambert]

15. Back in the newspaper day, a sentence like that often appeared

when you needed to fill just one more line.

[4lbs]

21. They must get paid by the word.

[MonteLukast]

19. Isn't Rahm Emanuel going to need a replacement, too?

So the Gov. needs to fill both a Senate and a Congressional seat.

I nominate, respectively, Jan Schakowsky and Tammy Duckworth. (Tammy, in CD-6, wouldn't have to move too far away to be in Rahm's district.)

Then, of course, we'd need to find somebody else to replace Schakowsky-- and I nominate Dan Seals.

[TheWraith]

23. Governors don't fill congressional seats, special elections are held after no more than 90 days.

But Rahm hasn't resigned yet, as far as I know.

[murielm99]

27. Governors do not appoint Congressmen.

There will be an election for Rahm's seat.

[and-justice-for-all]

22. So that was the bargin?

a "We will not relieve you of your chairmanship as long as you side with us." I do not like this and Obama should have reappointed his seat, not doing so is a bad idea. LIEberman is a shady mother fucker.