Alan Keyes- The Black Kermit

If anyone remembers SNL's sketches about the 2000 Republican Primary, you might remember Tim Meadows portrayal of the right wing talk show host/ Muppet. When I saw earlier this week that the Illinois GOP was strongly considering Keyes, and now that they have offered him the position, I was flabbergasted. He has no ties to the state of Illinois, none. And this is a person who ripped Hillary Clinton for "carpet-bagging" in 2000, and no he's doing the same. Look, I know that no one who went after the position here, meaning those who lost in the primary was particularly attractive, as they all lost very badly, and no one in the GOP establishment wants to run out and get crushed by Obama. I would have thought about nominating Chirinjeev Kathuria, who finished last in the primary, but would give the Illinois GOP good press for being the first party to nominate a Sikh for higher office. Plus it makes the party more outwardly "inclusive". Anyway, Keyes is so far out to the right he's falling off, and his natural constituency, African American Fundamentalist Catholics, is not particularly large. He is a very eloquent man, plus he was the only candidate to say yes to debating at Albion when we were trying to get a Republican debate in 2000, so I don't hate him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he lost by 25 or more points in November.

By the way, PTM should get on the phone with Butch Hollowell as soon as possible if Kerry loses the election. Hollowell is the head of the Michigan Democratic Party and an Albion grad. If we could get Albion arranged as a debate site, and put it on in say, early January, the Cable Networks would cover it, the way they do other debates around the country, giving Albion a lot more exposure.

They should do the same thing if the Lions ever decide to train somewhere other than Allen Park.

I've liked the way people have covered the Bears camp in the Chicago area so far. Obviously, there have been two main storylines, Lovie Smith coming in with a new, tougher training regimen, and the injuries, particularly to Hamstrings that it may have caused. Urlacher will likely be out for preseason. This bodes well for the Lions, especially when you consider that a lot of the Bears players who were told to lose weight will not have adjusted to their new bodies by the time they play Detroit in week one. On the plus side for the Bears, David Terrell has been lighting it up so far, which is good. He went to a fine institution.

Kris Benson is a lucky man. He pitches for the Mets now, which is good for Anna, New York needs this sort of thing.