Courtesy of Jacob Sullum, noting the news that the Senate Democratic leadership will back down and seat Roland Burris after all:

That’s the right decision, since it’s the one required by law. But by announcing that Burris would be barred from the Senate as a matter of principle and quickly giving in, Reid and his allies look like the spineless, shifty hacks they are. By trying to avoid the embarrassment of serving with a man appointed by a fellow Democrat accused of corruption, they have only magnified their humiliation.

Republicans could not have possibly invented a better Senate Democratic leader.