* I keep hearing this over and over about Sen. Mark Kirk…

He hasn’t had much of a filter on what he says in recent years. Whether that has anything to do with the stroke he suffered in 2012, I don’t know. It seems he was once more cautious. Now words just pop out of there.

Um, wait.

This is the guy who repeatedly embellished his military record. He even apparently exaggerated a near drowning experience.

Kirk has always had a mouth problem. That didn’t stop him from thumping his opponent five years ago. Underestimate him at your own risk.

I’m not making any excuses for his “bro with no ho” remarks. There are no excuses. But he’s apologized, so let’s move on to the question of whether he can hold his own against whomever the Democrats nominate.

* Take a look at Kirk’s recent speech and Q&A at the City Club…

Now, you may not agree with everything he said, but you have to admit that he was quite sharp and handled himself very well.

He has trouble giving long speeches (which don’t happen much in politics these days anyway), but he appears to have no trouble at all with answering questions.

* And here he is being interviewed at length not long ago by Bruce Dold at Elmhurst College…

Again, you may not agree with some of his statements, but he doesn’t look weak or ineffectual to me.

Kirk obviously needs to hold his tongue more often, but I think he’ll hold his own in the coming campaign, particularly with a potential opponent like this…

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrea Zopp was one of 19 character witnesses listed to testify Friday in Springfield for her friend Quinshaunta Golden, who is facing a decade or more in prison for her role in a multimillion-dollar theft and bribery scheme involving government grants and contracts awarded by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

But Zopp — who’s seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois — said Wednesday, “I’m not going to be able to testify.

“The sentencing’s been moved countless times,” Zopp said. “I couldn’t make it work to go to Springfield. It’s an all-day trip. I couldn’t rearrange my schedule to make that happen.”