The WaPo is still around?

Oh, there you are, Perry. -Phineas -SLB-

Ok, Mr. Prescience, answer this question, which for unknown reasons, occurred to me this morning:

How long will Hillary Clinton last in the Cabinet?

And what will she do when she leaves?

(If you can make these predictions, then I start taking advice on the stock market from you.)

Of more relevance: when will Harkin actually take over? Is this immediate?

We don't wait for the WaPo; in fact we scoff at the WaPo's lack of prescience. Speaking of which, still wondering about Ben Nelson (see his latest acknowledging role for public option). Yesterday the thread pointed out that small farm or ranch is the same as small business (and small business owners are upfront about how medical insurance costs are ruining them) - but seems to me the % of voters engaged in small ranching/ farmiing in an ag state could be considerably higher than % of voters in non-ag states involved in small business, hence should carry more weight for the senator. Looking in to the statistics (nothing yet). Unlike NE, Conrad's ND has oil and gas, mining and food processing industries in addition to pure ag. (Has an honorary equine though, and that's impressive).

Viva Obama

Your musical chairs post presented several options for how things would shake out.

But which WaPo is this report from? the accurate WaPo or the political spin WaPo?

However, having Harkin chair HELP would be great.  Dodd has some work to do on Banking if he wants to stay around.  Lincoln on Ag is good as well.  If she gets re-elected, we watch her like a hawk.  If not, the next three in line are Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).  Ranking member is Saxby Chambliss.  We need to remember that Agriculture has jurisdiction over the Forest Service and Food Stamps as well as farm bills.

Yep, toot your own horn.  I read BooMan Tribune every day and rarely the WaPo, except as it's quoted.

50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts

That's why I would read you instead of the Washington Post.

This is a good reason, but there are many others:

1. No global-warning deniers here;
   
2. No neo-con apologists here;
   
3. No humor-impaired, web-confused clowns trying to do standup on YouTube (looks in Milbank's direction).

not the first time you've been way ahead of the curve.

and you still can't get a paying gig...what fools must be in charge.

the revolution will not be televised...

You're the Man!

Isn't it kind of "Joke Line"-ish to give answers that cover all possibilities and then claim you were right when a third of your story is wrong?

So, what happens if he opts to drop his Banking chair for the chair of HELP? Next in line to take over Banking is Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota. Sen. Johnson suffered a stroke in 2006 and he spent a good deal of time convalescing. In his absence, Barbara Boxer took over his chair of the Ethics Committee, and Johnson let her keep it after he returned. Johnson's speech is still impaired and I think he uses a wheelchair at least some of the time. It could be that Johnson is recovered enough to resume the duties of a chairman, even of a demanding committee like Banking. If he does take over the chair, we'll have a senator from South Dakota in charge of the financial overhaul, and that is not a good thing. This is especially true when you consider the alternative. If Johnson doesn't feel up to the challenge of chairing the Banking Committee then that duty will fall to Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island. Reed is one of the most progressive members of the Senate. We would much rather have him in charge of the financial overhaul than a guy whose state is predicated on low corporate regulation.

If the Blogosphere is going to kick Joke Line for doing it, should we kick the Blogosphere for doing it too? Mind you, your other scenario there is a pretty decent argument, on its own, for why it wouldn't happen.

Anyways. :) The real difference here is that your speculative post was partially correct and the WaPo report is news of the day as opposed to telling the future. Then there is this part...

And, no, we can't make any difference in how this shakes out. It's all inside baseball.

This is what? About the third or fourth inning of this particular game as Arlen Specter has yet to figure in the mix... If the switch hitter knocks it out of the park in the next elections there will still be some more musical chairs in the cards, right?

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"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.