Facing a tough runoff, Saxby Chambliss vows to vote for Ted Stevens' expulsion. (Which reminds me of the old joke: If we're hiking and we see a bear, I don't have to outrun the bear--I just have to outrun you.)
Meanwhile, McCain is headed down to Georgia to campaign for Chambliss. And while Democrats backing his challenger, Jim Martin, would love to see Obama pay a visit, Martin's spokesman tells the WSJ today that Obama "is obviously extremely busy with the transition and other responsibilities." (Translation: We're not holding our breath.)
Obama may be wary of the eerily parallel here with 1992, when a newly-election Bill Clinton campaigned in Georgia then-incumbent Wyche Fowler. Fowler lost anyway, in what this good NY Observer summary says "was regarded as a clear slap in the face of the incoming president." Maybe so, but hardly a very damaging one. Clinton's mini-defeat seemed to have little or no effect on the opening days of his presidency, and the whole episode was almost completely forgotten until this month.
--Michael Crowley