Which Comes First: Farce or Tragedy?

Based on the latest from Illinois Republicans, I’d say farce:

Illinois Republican leaders late Wednesday asked conservative talk-show host Alan Keyes to be their candidate for the U.S. Senate, but Keyes said that he would take until Sunday to decide whether to run.

… Perhaps most problematic for Keyes is that he has few connections to Illinois and has criticized others for carpetbagging. In 2000, conservatives courted Keyes to drop his presidential bid and run against Hillary Rodham Clinton for U.S. Senate in New York, but Keyes blasted the idea and ripped Clinton.

“I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton’s willingness to go into a state she doesn’t even live in and pretend to represent people there. So I certainly wouldn’t imitate it,” he said on Fox News on March 17, 2000.

The farce is the Illinois GOP asking Keyes to run; the tragedy is that he’s making them wait for an answer. Or perhaps the request is tragedy and Keyes stringing them along is the farce. Other than the theatrical component, the choice is of course moot, as the “skinny kid with a funny name” will crush anyone the GOP proffers.

AB