If you are one of those people that thought Martha Coakley was a bad candidate, let me introduce you to Alexi Giannoulias. The man nominated by Democratic voters to fill the seat once held by Barack Obama has prevailed in the primary over his strongest rival, David Hoffman. Republicans were foaming at the mouth for months, praying that Democrats would be stupid enough to nominate this guy, and of course, we obliged.
The attacks have already begun from the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, and it's going just the way we thought it would. Alexi Giannoulias' ties to the failure of Broadway Bank for bad loans he gave out to known mobsters is going to destroy this candidacy before it even gets off the ground. Democrats are going to be forced to make a serious decision very quickly. Do they go all in, immediately - and pledge to sink the $10 million that will be necessary to win this race, only to lose anyway, or does the president call this guy and tell him that for the good of the party, and for the country, he step back and reconsider his decision to run. He can say it's for "personal reasons," but one way or another - Giannoulias has to be let go. The president can't be schlepping for this guy all year - he simply doesn't have the political capital that would be necessary to guarantee a victory.
Giannoulias was the vice-president and Chief Loan Officer of his family bank, Broadway Bank before assuming his position as Illinois State Treasurer. During that time, he made many questionable decisions, approving risky loans and allowing his bank to become over-leveraged. Of course, now the bank is one of the banks on the verge of collapse, but that's of no concern to Alexi, because he walked away with millions of dollars before the crash actually happened. Some of the loans he approved were to known mobsters, and even though the Republican ad seems sleezy - it's true. All of it.
David Hoffman was our only chance to hold the seat - and still is. The President needs to ask Giannoulias to step down in order to avoid a repeat of Massachusetts. Can you say Senator Kirk?