Democrats Misstepped In Handling Burris Matter [View All]

[Purveyor]

(01-07) 16:17 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

Senate Democrats who thought they could push away Roland Burris misjudged the racial fallout, underestimated public reaction and wound up on shaky legal ground.

The blunders began when the Democrats, including President-elect Barack Obama, insisted they would not seat Burris as the Senate's only black member because the appointment came from a governor accused of trying to sell Obama' former seat.

On Wednesday, they all but admitted being outflanked by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, praising Burris and suggesting he soon will be a senator.

Eight days ago, Obama and Senate Democratic leaders saw Blagojevich as so politically damaged that they announced they would reject anyone he appointed to finish Obama's term. Every Democratic senator signed a letter to the same effect.

Privately, key Democrats now admit they miscalculated from the start. They spent this week trying to backtrack and save face.

They had overstated their legal powers to block Burris's appointment, they said, and failed to foresee the ability of Burris — a little-known Democrat with no apparent ties to Blagojevich's misdeeds — to make himself a sympathetic figure in the national media.

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AP: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/07/national/w161729S18.DTL