Senate Dems Caving on Burris

Looks like Sen. Dianne Feinstein has more influence on the Senate than Harry Reid. Reid denied Roland Burris a seat in his hallowed chamber, but after Di Fi said Burris should be seated, suddenly it looks like the Dems want to put this disaster behind them:

Senate Democrats plan to accept Roland Burris for President-elect Barack Obama's vacant seat.

Burris was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the Senate's top two Democrats -- Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and assistant leader Dick Durbin of Illinois -- on Wednesday, a day after his paperwork was rejected at the opening of the 111th Congress.

Senate officials in both parties, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for Senate members, said there is a growing expectation on Capitol Hill that the saga will end with Burris being seated.
Burris was selected by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in late December, and went to the U.S. Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, but he was denied access to the Senate floor.

This was always going to be the end result. I can't imagine why Reid and his counterparts were so insistent on turning it into a media disaster.

UPDATE: Not so fast. Harry Reid is not done sabotaging his leadership yet. He now says they still won't accept Burris unless the Illinois Secretary of State signs the certification, thus giving the SoS the power to overturn the choice of the governor. I fully expect the State Supreme Court to bat that one away rather easily.

Burris will be seated whether Harry Reid likes it or not.