Durbin the Bumbler

Interesting--what does this say about future prospects for legislation, even with all Dem majorities and The One as president, ready to sign? Illinois has two less than illustrious Senators claiming to represent us. Durbin in the spotlight. Politico:

No Democrat under the dome seems better positioned to capitalize on the election of Barack Obama than Durbin, an Obama friend, ally and Illinois mentor who introduced the unknown Senate hopeful to the Democratic National Convention 4½ years ago.

But Durbin has had a bit of a bumpy ride in the Obama era so far.

The cramdown vote, while not a career-changer, exposed what some Durbin critics describe as his political impulse-control problem — a tendency to bull ahead on issues even when there’s no clear strategy for victory or even a face-saving retreat.

Worse, he has a cartoon-like view of the issues and little consideration for real-world consequences. And his judgment on letting Blago and Burris horsetrade the Senate seat rather than pushing for a special election was a scandal--showing a contempt for Illinois voters.

I would also add that this bull-ahead bullying style, shown to have backfired here among Democrats as well as the GOP, seems of a piece with the shocking handling of the Chrysler bankruptcy by the Obama administration-- badly damaging confidence in the economic recovery.