Was there ever any doubt that Harry Reid and the senate Democrats would cave in and seat Roland Burris as a senator from Illinois?

There were if you listened to the Majority Leader the day disgraced Governor Rod Blagojevich announced his choice of Burris:

The governor's announcement came less than an hour after U.S. Senate Democratic leadership issued a statement saying the Senate will not seat anyone Blagojevich chooses to fill Illinois' vacant Senate post. The statement also is signed by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who has repeatedly urged Blagojevich not to name a replacement for the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

"This is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat," the statement read. "Anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus."

Sounds pretty definite doesn't it? Apparently, the Democrats don't mind seating someone who "cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinoi" which tells you a lot about how they feel about us rubes here in flyover country.

But there's more than one way to skin a cat - or sit a senator appointed by a crook:

Roland Burris heads into a pivotal meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin on Wednesday with an unmistakable sense of momentum.

He’s now got a top Senate Democrat on his side, a growing chorus of Congressional Black Caucus members backing him and an apparent edge in pending lawsuits.

Burris’ Senate appointment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich has caused an uproar because Blagojevich has been charged with trying to sell that Senate seat, vacated by Barack Obama.

The key question now for Reid and Durbin: How do they find cover in a political story that has run amok? One idea being considered is to have Burris win an endorsement from the sitting lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn, one Democratic insider said.

A Democratic aide familiar with the process said that the idea of urging Quinn to endorse Burris is being seriously considered, and that strategy may emerge depending on the outcome of the meeting. Democrats are also considering urging Burris to not run in 2010 as one condition for their support, aides said.

What really turned this around was the prospect of having to hold an open election where a decent Republican candidate had a good shot of winning, given the corruption that's been exposed at the highest levels of the Democratic party in the state. This idea was first advanced by the #2 Democrat in the senate Dick Durbin who is also from Illinois but who has since climbed down from that lofty moral perch now that it is clear that no Democrat would be a shoo in for the job.

Burris will be a senator by the end of the week. Book it.

UPDATE

AP is reporting that the Senate will, in fact, give Burris his seat. No details yet but I wonder if they even waited until Lt. Governor Pat Quinn - who will take over for Blago when he is impeached - made his feelings known about the matter?

UPDATE II

Not so fast, says Harry Reid. This from Politico:

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is denying an AP report that Roland Burris will be seated in the Senate. The report is "wrong," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley.

"There are have been no decisons," Manley said.

My guess is that either Pat Quinn is balking at naming Burris or he hasn't made up his mind yet.