There sure has been a lot of drama surrounding the appointments that are being made to replace two recently vacated U.S. Senate seats, the one in Illinois that Barack Obama has left, and the one in New York that Hillary Rodham Clinton is likely to be leaving to become Secretary of State.
By far, the biggest news about an appointment surrounds the scandal on Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The already scandal-tainted governor has decided that a responsibility to fill a vacant seat has instead become an opportunity. That is, an opportunity to either make some money out of it by putting it up for sale for favors, or appointing himself to the seat and positioning himself for a run for the U.S. Presidency in 2016.
This an an appalling and disgusting reflection on why many Americans have become tired of the political process. Instead of viewing government for what it is supposed to be - a limited body trying to help society move along smoothly - some officials see it as an opportunity to benefit themselves. Truly disgusting! Even though I find political watching a hobby, and I am a political science major at Tennessee Tech, even I get tired of the mess and find a lot of the elected officials truly revolting.
In New York, it isn't scandals that are the theme. It is rock star status that is looking to find its way into the Senate seat Clinton will probably vacate.
News first surfaced a couple of weeks ago that Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, is interested in positioning herself to be appointed by Democratic Governor David Paterson. She has not yet said for sure, however, that she wants the post.
Someone else who has surfaced as being even more interested is former Nanny star Fran Drescher, who has been vocal about her ambition to be appointed.
If either one is appointed, it would show that star power prevails over actual service, as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo actually is more qualified with his history of service.
Don't worry about turning on the TV set for primetime shows. The drama, and even the comedy, around the appointments to fill one, and likely soon two, vacant Senate seats is very much better than anything you'll find on NBC or CBS.
Stay tuned...
