Illinois Knows How to Pick 'Em

Sometimes -- usually -- it takes a while to clear away the junk mail accumulation on our former dining table. Today in the pile I noticed an oversized postcard with a picture of hands exchanging cash, captioned by the words: "If You're Tired of Politics as Usual..."

On the other side of the card is the message: "Then Vote for Scott Lee Cohen. NOT a Career Politician."

And, I should add at this point, NEVER to be one. Instead he will be a punch line on late-night television for a short while.

The Tribune wrote this morning: "Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen, a Chicago pawnbroker whose surprise primary win last week was followed by scandalous revelations about his troubled past with a prostitute ex-girlfriend, said Sunday night he would quit as nominee...

"In a steady torrent following the Tuesday primary, leading Democrats called for Cohen to step aside as new details were revealed about his relationships with his now-ex-wife while using anabolic steroids and his ex-girlfriend, convicted as a prostitute, whom he met at a massage therapy spa. Other revelations showed that as he pumped millions into his campaign, his ex-wife filed a mid-December lawsuit seeking $54,000 in back-due child support."