YES

"Roland Burris is not Rod Blagojevich. Nor is he mentioned in the Fitzgerald papers, as far as I know. He may not be the strongest pick, but if we believe we are a nation that follows the Rule of Law, then the assumption is that he should be seated unless the Senate has reason to act differently or the Illinois Legislature removes Blago. A better solution would have been Illinois maneuvering to have a special election. That did not happen; this is the result." Greg Dworkin, Daily Kos

"Absent any evidence at all of wrongdoing on Burris' part, the furor that will accompany an effort not to seat him is not worth the trouble. The legal issues are too uncertain; the Senate's authority to refuse to seat him is too shaky. Much more here." David Kravitz, Blue Mass Group

"The appointment is legal, and refusing it will only create an unnecessary circus. Further, it would set a dangerous precedent if they refused him. Just do it, and back someone in a primary against Burris next year." Chris Bowers, Open Left

"Jane Hamsher really wrote it best over at Firedoglake, something I hadn't considered until reading her post on it. If the Dems are going to support Joe Lieberman, including giving him a committee, why not seat Burris?" Taylor Marsh

"While it might not be what either side of the aisle in the Senate wants to do, Supreme Court precedent does not give them the authority to deny Burris the seat. He is qualified under the rules set forth in the Constitution, and thus the Senate should not deny him the seat." Brian Leubitz, Calitics

"There is no legal basis on which to refuse seating him. There is still a presumption of innocence in this country." Susie Madrak, Suburban Guerilla

"His appointment is clouded by the reputation of his nominator, but I don't see how, if his appointment meets legal requirements, the Senate can't seat him." Tracy Viselli, Reno And Its Discontents

"At the end of the day, the rules are the rules are the rules. And until Blago's not the governor, he gets to make the pick. So the Senate should just get on with business." Lee Papa, The Rude Pundit

"Yes, and be done with it. The better question is, who plays Burris in 'Gangster: The Rod Blagojevich Story'?" Robert Farley, Lawyers, Guns And Money

NO

"The process Blagojevich ran was so permeated with corruption that no result of it can be considered legitimate. Once he has been convicted on impeachment, his successor can appoint someone (perhaps even Burris) who could hold the seat untainted." Mark Kleiman, The Reality-Based Community

"Will Harry Reid fight as hard to seat Al Franken as he's fighting to not seat Roland Burris?" David NYC, Swing State Project

"It's impossible for this appointment to be legitimate under the circumstances, so the Senate should flex whatever procedural muscle they have to prevent it." Dean Barker, Blue Hampshire

YES

"It's important to follow the rules in unsympathetic cases. And the wrong kind of precedent could easily encourage a proliferation of future challenges." Walter Olson, Overlawyered

"A brilliant move by Blagojevich. He's turned a constitutional issue into a race issue, and now Harry Reid is clumsily navigating the race minefield usually left for Republicans. A joy to watch." Bob Parks, Black And Right

"They have no legal basis for not seating him." Soren Dayton, The Next Right

"The Senate will eventually have to seat Burris, if the process drags out long enough. However, they are smart, politically, to drag out the situation as long as possible in the hope that Blagojevich is impeached and removed." Steven Taylor, PoliBlog

"As the state legislature has not acted to strip Illinois' governor of the right to make this appointment, clearly, Burris is the new senator until an election can be held. Unless the Senate has suddenly decided to change the Constitution without our knowing it, Burris is -- rightly or wrongly -- the guy." J.R. Hoeft, Bearing Drift

"I don't think anyone, right or left, likes the idea of an appointment by Blago being in the Senate, but like it or not, he is still the governor. The law is the law, and we can't just ignore it when it's convenient." Rob Port, Say Anything

"If one believes in the concept of 'states' rights' within the context of a 'United States,' then a governor is and must be relatively sovereign, in the absence of a crime. With the special prosecutor playing his hand too soon, while a crime was discussed, it appears it went uncommitted." Doug Lambert, Granite Grok

"They're going to have to do it anyway, and the Dems will not risk alienating their black constituency. Blago finally found a buyer!" Robert Miller, JoshuaPundit

"While the spectacle of Dems arising en masse to prevent Burris from walking into the Senate should be fun, I think the race issue makes that a very dangerous move for the Dems. Additionally, with Burris' reparations background, you'd think Dems would welcome someone with the cut of his political jib in that exclusive club. Lastly, his remarkable ego pretty much makes him a natural for that august group." Bookworm, Bookworm Room

"Unseemly isn't the same thing as illegal or improper. The Democrats may not like the inauguration of President Obama to be tarnished, but to expect that someone who benefited from the Chicago machine to be free from any taint was hoping too much." David Gerstman, Soccer Dad

"The Democrats made this mess, now they have to live with its consequences. Obama should have considered this before he endorsed Blagojevich's re-election in 2006." Dan McLaughlin, Baseball Crank