Michelle Obama for Senate? Talk about fun

Psst! Did you hear the one about Hillary Clinton? She is moving back to Chicago to run for the U.S. Senate? Oops — I mean, Michelle Obama.

It has a familiar ring.

That tasty bit of political gossip was revived last week when Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet reported that Illinois U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is taking the first lady’s name in vain in a campaign fundraising pitch.

Sweet quoted from Kirk’s Sept. 5 letter to supporters:

“I’m not one to believe rumors or engage in political gossip, but when it comes to defending the Illinois Senate seat that I’m honored to hold, I take all potential threats seriously.

“. . . The press and rumor mills ponder the ‘will she or won’t she’ question with regard to Michelle Obama,” Kirk writes. He adds that “the circumstances (and denials) are reminiscent of 1999 when First Lady Hillary Clinton was the subject of whirlwind speculation about a run for the United States Senate.”

Kirk urged: “Help me fend off a challenge from a Democratic opponent who will be backed by the national Democrat party as well as the home state political operation of the President.”

(No, politicians never engage in rumor mongering, especially if it might bring in some cash).

As Sweet notes, this morsel has been juicing up the political grinder for months. She debunks the theory, reminding that the Obamas have publicly ruled out a political future for native of Chicago’s South Side.

Yet politicians always say no. Until they say yes.

Ya gotta love it. No wonder Kirk is pushing the notion. Another Obama in politics would give the GOP major heebie-jeebies.

CONTINUE READING AT SUNTIMES.COM