Quick thoughts with links

• Mary Landrieu is in for yet another very close reelection campaign in 2008. Treasurer John Kennedy is the most well positioned opponent she has faced in a career which has seen her barely squeak past two far less palatable individuals. Landrieu narrowly defeated Uptown New Orleans society Republican Suzie Terrell in 2002 and fundie wacko Woody Jenkins 1996. Plus her involvement in this less-than-above-board D.C. public school system earmark could be a problem if Louisiana is still in the throes of Dragonslayer fever by election time. But it's likely to amount to very little because
  1. I'm expecting the Dragonslayer narrative to have lost some of its thrust now that Jindal has been elected.
  2. It's hard to get Louisiana voters too riled up over something that doesn't at least appear to directly affect Louisiana.
  From a purely progressive standpoint, Landrieu hasn't been the best Senator. See here for a short enumeration of her various failings. But she is the most effective advocate for the State at a time when its Congressional delegation is weaker than it has been for generations. That plus the advantage of being a two term incumbent Senator should be enough to put her over the top. But stranger things have happened, of course.



• D-BB has been going after Landrieu (and anything else that stands in his way) as only D-BB can.



• Thank God (or thank Dodd) Hillary and Obama are doing the right thing on FISA. Despite what you hear, this decision can only help either of them if he or she becomes the Democratic nominee.



• Tonight is probably the final time the Union will be blessed with George W Bush's assessment of its State. This morning, a remarkable 50% of WWL radio's notoriously conservative listening audience described the State of the Union as "Pretty Weak" of "Very Weak"



• It's true. George W. Bush really is the Worst President Ever. And, in this country, kids, that is certainly saying something.

Update: For the record, Mary Landrieu is actually a worse Senator than Hillary today.