Jamie Stiehm, Huffington Post
- Let Barack Obama’s open Illinois Senate seat go to Jesse L. Jackson — Senior.
He has talked a lot of talk, to be sure, but also walked the walk for 40 years. Serving two years in the U.S. Senate would be a fitting benediction for a remarkable career anchored in the civil rights movement. In one stroke, it would seamlessly tie together the past and the future of race in America.
The eloquent Jackson would be in seventh heaven because Senators talk all day long — with no time limits on speeches — and some actually might listen to him. To completely enjoy the experience, he should promise not to run for office in 2010 and step aside for a fair race for an open seat.
Yet Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., a Democratic congressman from Chicago, is seen as a frontrunner to be appointed to the coveted open seat president-elect Barack Obama will soon vacate. The Democratic governor, Rod Blagojevich, will name his pick.
Governor, let it be the Rev. Jesse Jackson — the older one, with tears streaming down his face on Election Night in Grant Park when it became apparent the dream of an African-American president was not just a dream anymore. Obama kept him at bay during the campaign, and this gesture would be a handsome one with more than symbolic value.
