The Trib cites “Republican sources” as saying Marylander Alan Keyes has agreed to run for the U.S. Senate in far-off Illinois (state fact for the Keyes campaign: It’s called the “Land of Lincoln” on the license plates, but some people call it “the Prairie State,” too, so remember to sprinkle that into your speeches).
Support from GOP heavyweights has no doubt swayed Keyes to jump into the race. The Trib quotes two enthusiastic backers:
“No comment,” former Gov. Jim Edgar, a moderate, said of the offer to Keyes, a line that may speak volumes considering Edgar’s role as chairman of an already uphill battle to win Illinois for President Bush’s re-election.
Former Gov. James Thompson said he had “no idea” whether he was going to endorse Keyes. “I’ll wait and see what he has to say.”
That’s lusty stuff, right up there with Eisenhower’s 1960 comment on the big contributions Nixon made to his administration: “If you give me a week, I might think of one.”