* Dick Durbin has been the heart of this Burris problem all along…

The day Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on charges of allegedly trying to sell an appointment to the Senate for personal gain, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin called for a special election to fill the seat. […]

The next day, he backed off calls for a special election and penned a letter to the governor saying any future appointee would be rejected.

When Blagojevich defiantly appointed Roland Burris on Dec. 30, Durbin then said the former statewide officeholder wouldn’t be seated. […]

And over the ensuing weeks, the flip flops have only continued.

He pushed the special election before considering the impact on his own party. He brashly baited the governor by declaring the Senate would never seat anyone the governor appointed - never apparently taking into consideration that the governor is far more brash than Durbin is. Once Blagojevich appointed Burris, Durbin tried to make Secretary of State Jesse White the fall-guy by pointing to White’s refusal to sign the appointment proclamation instead of taking the heat himself. And then he even backed off that when White signed a separate piece of paper.

Go back to November when Durbin said he wanted to see George Ryan’s sentence commuted and you’ll see that the senior Senator from Illinois has been on a roll. And not a good roll, either.

Durbin needs to keep his mouth shut for a while. He needs to realize that he’s done more damage to his party and to his state’s reputation than anyone except Rod Blagojevich and, perhaps, Roland Burris.

Clarence Page mocks Harry Reid…

If Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid actually thought his fellow Democrat would take the hint and refrain from appointing anyone, he’s been spending too much time in the genteel legislative culture of Washington.

The problem with that logic is Durbin has been the one calling the (wrong) shots. Reid’s misktake was that he listened to his top deputy’s strategy for dealing with a problem in his home state. Reid now looks weak, and Durbin has undoubtedly lost a lot of respect for his abilities.

* Related…

* Some GOPs still pushing for Senate special election

* IL Dems Shoot Down Special Election

* Illinois lawmakers can rewrite rules before next crisis

* Democrats for Rod

* Roland Burris, on being seated as Illinois senator: Transcript

* Burris strikes conciliatory tone as he heads toward swearing-in

* Burris: I’m ‘humbled’ to be next Ill. senator

* Senate lets Burris in

* Burris seeks to clear Senate hurdle

* Burris’ time in Senate will be one of division

* Political games put Burris in Senate seat

* IL GOP Leaders React to Burris Anouncement