In the middle of a soggy Washington spectacle, there stood Kurt Schmoke, steady legal hand and umbrella-holder.
The former Baltimore mayor and current Howard University Law School dean is part of the legal team representing Roland Burris, the man who claims to be Illinois' junior senator but has so far failed to convince the secretary of the Senate, who rejected his credentials yesterday.
Having not been seated, Burris opted to stand - in front of reporters, outside the Capitol, in the rain. Burris' lead counsel, Timothy W. Wright III, did most of the talking. Citing a 206-year-old legal precedent, Wright said they had Marbury v. Madison on their side.
And in the matter of Mother Nature v. Man, they had Schmoke on their side.
As Burris and Wright spoke, Baltimore's 46th mayor held an umbrella aloft, protecting them from the elements - and landing his face squarely on national TV, including C-SPAN, where I watched him.
Reached by phone later, Schmoke said he had been asked to help out a few weeks ago - "This is 'How I spent my Christmas break' " - because Burris is a friend and Howard Law grad (Class of '63).
"He thought it important to try to put together a legal team that was comprised of some lawyers from some major firms and some from academia," Schmoke said.
Schmoke's political background also might come in handy, he said, because "the questions involved are a mixture of law and politics."
"I really just think that Burris is being treated poorly, that the law is on his side, and he needed some assistance from lawyers with different points of view," Schmoke said.
Not to mention some gallant umbrella work.
"I can say with certainty I've been asked to do more than hold the umbrella," Schmoke said with a laugh. "From Burris' point of view, this may have been very significant so he didn't have to blink throughout the interview."
Fundraisers and photographs
Let other lawmakers have their pedestrian bull roasts and banquet-hall fundraisers. State Sen. Jamie Raskin, an American University law professor and Montgomery County Democrat, looks for unusual ways to raise campaign dough.
His first fundraiser was a party with poets and writers from his district, headlined by George Pelecanos. Then came the hoedown and square dance with Jim Hightower, the Texas populist.
