The Republicans of Illinois apparently have found someone to run against Barack Obama ... wait for it ... yes, Alan Keyes. Sure, his popularity has not been shown to be exactly up there. Yes, he strongly criticized Hillary Clinton for being a carpetbagger, when he himself is a resident of Maryland offering to run for Senate in Illinois. Sure, his views are a tad extreme, though Jacob Levy is hopeful:
There's a chance that Keyes-Obama debates could make for the political television of the year, with Lincoln-Douglas parallels getting drawn by the media: the two best debaters in the country are running for Illinois Senate, and this time, instead of debating slavery, they're both black! You get the idea. Hype notwithstanding, they could be really marvelous debates-- again, assuming Keyes doesn't go off the deep end and start screaming at Obama for being a baby-killer or moshing or something.
Josh Marshall suggests those who think (forlornly hope?) Keyes will hurt Obama a bit given his skillful oratory are probably dreaming:
If and when these two guys debate what we're going to hear are rants from Keyes -- both spellbinding and inane -- about how tort reform is necessary to bring America back into compliance with natural law, how drug reimportation is incompatible with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence and how gun control has been outlawed by God.
I don't see how any of that is going to set Obama back much.
I'm inclined to agree; clearly Keyes is a sacrificial lamb. I'd hope that they would find some other person for that role, but I guess they thought tossing a bone to the conservative base (though Keyes is probably too principled for these guys, media hog he might be) is what the state party wants to do. If they want to go that route, Keyes isn't that bad of a choice, I guess. It has entertainment value, and as I said, he seems actually to have some principles.
Some might say this suggests how desperate state Republicans truly are.