Senator Duckworth? It Could Happen By Xmas

Now that Barack Obama is going to be our next President, that leaves Illinois with a vacancy in the Senate (Delaware too) and Governor Blagojevich will have to appoint someone that can fill in until a special election can be held. Names being tossed around include Dan Seals, Jesse Jackson Jr., Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky but there is another that is being looked at closely, Purple Heart recipient and Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth.

From Army Times:

Tammy Duckworth, who earned the Purple Heart for her service in Iraq, may be moving up with President-elect Barack Obama.

Duckworth, now the Illinois Veterans Affairs director, has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Obama in the U.S. Senate or as Veterans Affairs secretary in an Obama administration.

She accompanied Obama yesterday as the Illinois senator marked Veterans Day by placing a wreath at the bronze soldiers memorial between the Field Museum and Soldier Field in Chicago.

Duckworth, then a pilot with the Illinois Army National Guard, lost both her legs in Iraq in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.

She has said she would be interested in either the Senate seat or a post in Obama’s administration.

The chance of her directing the VA at the national level is a real possibility and a great thing for Veterans, especially being served by one of their own. Anyone who knows the VA knows it needs a lot of help and Duckworth can definitely head there and make a difference. On the other hand, Senator Duckworth can also do an incredible amount in the Senate, as Jim Webb (D-VA) has already shown with his incredible new GI bill passed earlier this year.

So wherever she goes, Tammy Duckworth will do great things and as Governor Blagojevich said, she's a "superstar."