I’ll be on a plane early this morning so I’ll try to catch up later on more topical news. But, let me celebrate here for a moment. "Dollar Bill" Jefferson bit the dust:

Representative William J. Jefferson was defeated by a little-known Republican lawyer here Saturday in a late-running Congressional election, underscoring the sharp demographic shifts in this city since Hurricane Katrina and handing Republicans an unexpected victory in a district that had been solidly Democratic.

The upset victory by the lawyer, Anh Cao, was thought by analysts to be the result of a strong turnout by white voters angered over federal corruption charges against Mr. Jefferson, a black Democrat who was counting on a loyal base to return him to Congress for a 10th term.

   Jefferson was the bottom of the pond. This is a long saga–After a business associate pled guilty to bribing an official, Jefferson was getting pretty close to the edge. His offices were raided by the FBI, and in a prior raid, the cops found $90,000 in cash stuffed in his freezer (after all, that’s where we all keep our money–the mattress just isn’t what it used to be). He was finally indicted in June 2007.

   But, the reason I was particularly focused on Jefferson is simple: he was one of only 15 Democrats to vote for CAFTA. Corruption is not tolerable but selling out working people, and your constituents, is far worse.

   Good riddance.