Roland Burris must have had the desk next to Obama at Chicago School of Politics. You know the, "I don't know the guy--he's just a guy from the neighhood--I thought he'd been rehabilitated--I shared an office with him" truth onion. You just have to keep peeling to get to the heart of the matter.

Burris has gone from saying he had no contact with Blagojevich bagmen and never received a solicitation for a 'contribution', to meeting with the former governor's brother and being asked for a campaign donation, to now acknowledging that he actively sought to get the money and buy the seat.

Though Burris insists he never raised money for Blagojevich while the governor was considering whom to appoint to the seat President Barack Obama vacated, the revelation that he had attempted to do so is likely to increase calls for Burris' resignation and an investigation into whether he committed perjury before the panel. Illinois Democrats have forwarded documents related to Burris' testimony to a county prosecutor for review.

Burris would not answer questions Tuesday in Peoria about his attempts to raise funds for Blagojevich, but said he didn't do anything wrong and encouraged officials to look into the matter.

"I welcome the opportunity to go before any and all investigative bodies, including those referred by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the Senate ethics committee to answer any questions they have," he told reporters Tuesday.

Well, you know what's coming next of course--a cancelled check to the Blagojevich campaign fund.

This guy is so hosed. I suspect he will be asked and then forced to resign, so the real question is what happens after that. Do the Democrats sidestep what will surely be a loud and insistent call for a special election, or will they simply move to appoint Lisa Madigan?

Its not an easy question to answer. There is bound to be a political maelstrom surrounding the appointment and a lot of angry people no matter what happens. The winner has to run for election next year anyways, and its unlikely that an appointed Democrat can realistically wipe their hands of this mess. It might make better sense to actually fight an election while Obama is still popular support.

Patterico notes the similarity to Monty Python's Holy Grail:

BEDEMIR: Did you dress her up like this?

CROWD: No, no… no … yes. Yes, yes, a bit, a bit.