Monday Rundown

With tonight being George W. Bush's last State of the Union address, we should remember how Susan Collins, Norm Coleman, Gordon Smith, Elizabeth Dole, and Mitch McConnell regarded the previous SOTU speeches; they loved 'em!

South Dakota: From the pages of the Argus Leader comes a glowing endorsement of why South Dakotans should re-elect Senator Tim Johnson.

Maine: Finally, the Maine media is beginning to pick up on what a fraud Susan Collins is when it comes to oversight on waste and mismanagement in Iraq. Collins looks out for the interests of George W. Bush and his corporate cronies more than she looks out for the interests of Maine's families. Why? Because she's a "team player" (emphasis added by me):

After a while I got up to go get something from the café cart, and it turns out the guy sitting behind me was Rick Santorum, which makes it all the more fun and all the more interesting. So pretty much the whole trip this guy is working his cell phone, talking to people about how anyone is better than McCain and Giuliani would be better than McCain because then at least he wouldn't betray the conservative movement… yeah, Giuliani is bad on some issues like abortion, but at least he would stand with the conservative movement. He was saying that there are people like Susan Collins who vote moderate sometimes, but at least she is a team player who always plays with the team and never plays against the conservative side even if she has to give the liberals a vote because she's from Maine.

Rick Santorum knows that Susan Collins is in the Bush administration's pocket. (HT: Collins Watch) Let's all help Congressman Tom Allen make sure that Maine voters know that Susan Collins is in the Bush administration's pocket by contributing to his campaign to oust Collins.

Massachusetts: The National Republican Senatorial Committee's blog declares that Senator John Kerry should "watch out" for the candidacy of Republican Jim Ogonowski. If the NRSC thinks that Ogonowski is truly a candidate worthy of making Senator Kerry "watch out," then surely they'll commit to spending a significant amount of money in Massachusetts (say, a few hundred thousand dollars) on Ogonowski's behalf. Of course, if the NRSC is not willing to get behind his campaign with a financial commitment, then they must not really think all that much of his candidacy. Ball's in your court, NRSC.

Colorado: Backwards Bob Schaffer knows that his conservative record won't get him elected, so he's running from the conservative label.

Illinois: The Associated Press is blunt but accurate:

The U.S. Senate candidate officially endorsed by the Illinois GOP's leadership doesn't even have one-hundredth the campaign cash of incumbent Dick Durbin.

Durbin has $7.3 million in his bankroll, compared with $67,000 in Republican Steve Sauerberg's account (and that's after Sauerberg loaned $250,000 to his campaign).