Ye gods!

I... I can hardly believe my eyes. Could it be? Could a Democratic governor be planning to fill a vacant Senate seat with a qualified candidate with no whiff of drama or shady dealings? Is this even possible?

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Denver Public Schools superintendent Michael Bennet will be named Saturday as the future U.S. Senate replacement for Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar, according to two Democratic sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

[snip]

Though he's never run for office, Bennet, 44, has strong connections to Colorado's power base: He's been the school superintendent for 31/2 years and was Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's chief of staff.

Mercy me and mine! Lookee there! A man that, while perhaps not the first on anyone's list (from what I see), has a documented career in public service and doubtless will be able to contribute a great deal with regard to particular policies, in this case education. And while he is replacing Ken Salazar, and thus everyone will be clucking that this pick lessens the Senate's diversity quotient, nobody can claim that he was selected for the purposes of appeasing a particular interest group.

Because you know what happens when you louse up the process for appointing Senators? You give Pat Buchanan an excuse to open his pie hole.

(Hat tip TPM.)