Our blogs: All the news that fits and then some

More-cynical voters often ascribe to the position that anyone who seeks a political office is prima facie unqualified to hold it. Political jobs in themselves don't pay enough to be appealing financially. They demand outrageous hours of work. They open one's private life to constant public scrutiny. And, they are magnets for outrage and complaints at all hours of the day and night. Anyone who could want such a job must either have figured out a way to game the system in his or her favor or have a dangerous attraction to power. Of course, there is always the possibility an individual is an actual saint, but that is so remote as to be at least statistically irrelevant.

In that context, I found Chris Kennedy's announcement that he would not seek a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois - reprinted Tuesday on the Daily Herald's Animal Farm blog - especially interesting. Kennedy, whose last name tells you much of what you need to know about him, is president of Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. in Chicago and had been frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for the Senate seat left vacant by Barack Obama's election to president and Roland Burris' decision not to run for a full term. We carried in Wednesday's paper a short notice explaining in general terms his decision to focus on his family and Merchandise Mart job, but Politics and Projects Editor Joseph Ryan posted the full text of Kennedy's statement at the blog site.

The announcement is warmly written, with a blend of seriousness and humor. But its most intriguing message is tucked somewhere between the lines. After expressing his love of his adopted state of Illinois and his respect for people who serve others, Kennedy writes, "They say love conquers all, and in my case, it conquered ambition. I realize that I would rather be a good husband and a good father than a good Washington politician."

He goes on to explain how his "Uncle Teddy" showed him the "enormous contributions" one can make in the U.S. Senate, but his "Aunt Eunice" showed how one can "accomplish enormous goals, affecting millions of people without going into politics." And he prefaces those observations with his own experiences at the Merchandise Mart that have reinforced his "Uncle Sarge" Shriver's statement that "running the Mart was one of the best jobs in the whole world."

And then he explains that all those things and his family's influence considered, he'll stick with the best job in the whole world, thank you, and find other ways to "use the gifts I have been given to serve the country that has been so good to me." In other words, he says he's flattered people have encouraged him to run, but he'd rather make his contributions outside the field of politics.

Hmmm. The choice of love over ambition. Sounds to me like someone who might be qualified for office. But I draw your attention to the note here because it's the kind of thing you might be missing if you're not tuning into our blogs occasionally.

Similarly, you might be interested in Lance Briggs' take on the prospect of facing Brett Favre as a Viking on Bob LeGere's Bear Essentials blog or the fine points of Jerry Angelo's drafting philosophy at Lindsey Willhite's Joe Sports blog or the feel of a Demi Lovato concert at Sean Stangland's Widescreen blog.

We hope your experience with the printed Daily Herald is engaging and enjoyable every day, but it's also worth noting that thanks to the near infinity of the Web, there's always more where that came from.