Ooh, Harsh!

The LATimes on Keyes:

Then there is affirmative action. Keyes, as a principled conservative, is vigorously against any form of racial favoritism. He will be glad to know, therefore, that race had nothing to do with his selection as the Republican Senate candidate. In fact there were two finalists in this latest round of pick-the-loser-to-Obama, and by an even more remarkable coincidence, both of them are black. "These two were selected because of their strengths, not because of their color," a member of the Republican State Central Committee told CNN. "Voters are smarter than that. That clearly wasn't the intent."

We are often called upon to wonder whether politicians are cynical or stupid. The Illinois Republican leaders, in their case, have made that choice unnecessary.

Harsh... but true.