When the New York Times called for Tom Daschle to step down from HHS, it took less than twenty-four hours. The Chicago Tribune and the  Washington Post call today for Roland Burris to go, in light of his revelation that, well, yes, there really was a quid pro quo of some type and Burris hadn’t been forthcoming about it under oath.

So will the “deux ex op-ed” do the trick this time? Well, that would mean Burris was capable of being shamed into resignation as Daschle was. Or it would require that the Democrats decide to boot out Burris, which seems possible but not imminent. And then what — another appointee?

This three-ring circus is the result of allowing the Illinois political machine to run amok. It sounds like the job of the Agent of Change to clean up his own state and party. Let’s see if the White House can get it right this time. Two sentences will suffice: “Burris must go. An election must be held.” If they can’t manage that, I suspect they’ll be in for a heap of trouble.