Who Is Candidate 5?

I’m guessing we’ll know by the end of today or tomorrow. For now, though, why not engage in reckless speculation? Well, it’s a man, which rules out Jan Schakowsky — though Schakowsky’s husband Robert Creamer has been a good and generous friend to Blagojevich, e.g., Creamer has raised money for Blagojevich’s legal defense fund — and I really don’t think, contra Marc Ambinder, that it’s Jesse Jackson, Jr. Blagojevich already has plenty to fear from Jesse Jackson, Jr., who holds a lot of cards.

I think it’s Emil Jones. “Joined the bidding” indeed, my friend! Of course, I should give the guy the benefit of the doubt. And I do. Perhaps this was all a misunderstanding. By “something tangible,” Candidate 5 may well have promised some handmade crafts or a craypa self-portrait.

On an unrelated note, I’m not sure I’d agree with Mike Ditka on every particular issue, but I do love the guy’s accent and facial hair, which would doubtless make a significant contribution to the diversity of the Senate. The theoretical addition of Senators Ditka and Elway to the Republican caucus would make the GOP the powerhouse of Congressional intramural sports.

P.S. I’d really like to see Mark Kirk run in 2010. But I also want to see him have a long career in office, so he’d need the support of the national party and a lot of dough. Given that the Democrats will probably carve him out a safer seat in the next round of redistricting — so they can snatch some of his affluent suburbs — he definitely has something to lose.

P.P.S. Dylan Matthews makes a strong case for Rep. Danny Davis.