He thought wrong.

No Senate Democrats responded to his racial challenge. And they got support from President-elect Barack Obama, who will be the first African-American in the White House.

Rush, D-Ill., dared Senate Democrats Tuesday to block Roland Burris from becoming the Senate's only black member, urging them not to "hang and lynch" the former state attorney general for the alleged corruption by his patron, Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Obama was having none of it, siding with Senate Democrats who vowed to turn Burris away should he show up in Washington to be sworn in.

"They cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat," Obama said in a statement. "I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it."

Obama voiced disapproval for the spectacle unfolding in his home state.

"I believe the best resolution would be for the governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place," Obama said.

It was unclear what that process would be and who would choose Obama's successor.

On Tuesday, Blagojevich declared himself the decider, defying the leaders of his party and naming Burris, 71, the next senator from Illinois. At a news conference in Chicago, he urged the Senate not to allow the charges that he tried to sell the same Senate seat to taint a well-respected man.

Republican Brian Krolicki, who is considering a 2010 run against U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, appeared in Clark County District Court and spoke only to answer brief questions from a hearing master and to enter his plea.

He has claimed that the charges are politically motviated, and outside of court he maintained his innocence.

"I look forward to getting my story out soon, and we'll do that. The facts will absolutely vindicate me in this," he said.

The court set a July 14 trial date.

Krolicki, 47, was indicted by a Las Vegas grand jury this month, along with his chief of staff, Kathryn Besser, who also served as his chief of staff in the treasurer's office. Krolicki served two terms in that office before being elected lieutenant governor in 2006.

He is charged with two counts of misappropriation and falsification of accounts by a public officer and two counts of misappropriation by a treasurer. The four felony counts each carry a possible sentence of up to four years in prison.

Michigan law bars felons from serving on a jury.

But the high court voted 5-2 to uphold the conviction, ruling there was no evidence the juror was biased in the trial of Michael Allen Miller in Ottawa County.

Miller, now 31, was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2006 for forcing the 7-year-old daughter of his girlfriend at the time to perform a sex act on him.

Before his sentencing, Miller learned that a juror had concealed that he was convicted of assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct in 1991 and 1999 for assaulting his sister and a child.

Justice Stephen Markman wrote that defendants have a constitutional right to an impartial jury but don't have a constitutional right to be tried by a jury without felons. The ruling reversed a decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which in January ordered a new trial.

"There is simply no evidence that this juror improperly affected any other jurors," Markman said.

Dissenting Justice Marilyn Kelly called the majority's opinion "unworkable" and "unjust," arguing that jurors' honesty is essential to picking a fair jury.

Gary Kohut, Miller's court-appointed appellate attorney, said he doesn't know yet whether a federal appeal will be filed.

"It's dangerous to say a fair and impartial jury can exist with a convicted felony on the jury," Kohut said. "It really is a fraud on the court for that (juror) to have done what he did."

The ruling upholds the felony guilty plea of Mark Jahnke, who videotaped his girlfriend while she was naked and while they were having sex. He argued in his appeal that because the woman agreed to be naked around him, she had no reasonable expectation of privacy.

The state Department of Justice argued that shared intimacy does not give a person the right to film another unknowingly.

Jahnke's attorney, Michael Herbert of Madison, argued that the court had found in a previous case that a reasonable expectation of privacy existed when a nude person reasonably believed he or she was "secluded from the presence of others."

Prosecutors argued the video voyeur law would make no sense under that interpretation. The appeals court agreed, saying the definition in the previous case was not intended to cover all circumstances.

Judge Charles Dykman, the dissenter in the 2-1 decision, said the 2001 law does not specifically prohibit what Jahnke did.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen praised the ruling.

"Wisconsin's citizens enjoy a reasonable expectation of privacy not to be secretly videotaped while in the nude, and Wisconsin's criminal law has been correctly interpreted to protect that expectation," he said.

Solamere Capital said Tuesday that Blunt will be a senior adviser at the Massachusetts firm, led by Tagg Romney. It cited his experience with Missouri's budget.

Blunt was an early supporter of Mitt Romney's failed Republican presidential bid. He announced in January 2008 that he would not seek a second term as governor. He leaves office Jan. 12.

His administration gained attention over accusations of violating an open records law. His office recently released e-mails to settle a lawsuit brought by media organizations.

A spokesman says Blunt will continue to live with his family in Springfield, Mo.

The SEC said Tuesday that Susan Markel, chief accountant in the agency's division of enforcement, is taking a job in the corporate investigations practice of AlixPartners LLP, a turnaround consulting firm.

Her departure comes as President-elect Barack Obama's SEC chairman-designate, Mary Schapiro, is likely to face tremendous pressure to bring sweeping changes to the agency, said James Cox, a Duke University law professor and securities law expert.

The SEC has come under fire for failing to detect signs that major Wall Street firms were in trouble. It also has been criticized for ignoring allegations brought to SEC staff about Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff's businesses. Madoff has been accused of engaging in a massive fraud that may end up costing investors $50 billion.

With the SEC under intense scrutiny from the incoming administration and lawmakers a Capitol Hill, more high-level staff changes could be in the works, Cox said.

For current staffers, it is often better "to leave on your own accord than to face the awkwardness of being asked to leave," he said.

Markel has been at the SEC since 1994, working on the agency's inquiries into Xerox Corp., Cendant, WorldCom and Cardinal Health Inc.

Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, praised Markel saying in a statement that "her instincts are superb and her investigative abilities are unparalleled"

Obama has promised a tougher regulatory and enforcement approach after he takes office on Jan. 20.

"Instead of appointing people with disdain for regulation, I will ensure that our regulatory agencies are led by individuals who are ready and willing to enforce the law," Obama said earlier this month.

The trial of Muntadhar al-Zeidi was to begin Wednesday on charges of assaulting a foreign leader, which his defense team said carried a maximum sentence of 15 years. But court spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar said that the trial was been postponed pending an appellate court ruling on what charges the journalist should face.

Bayrkdar said the defense team was seeking a lesser charge. Two of his lawyers said they want a reduced charge of insulting a foreign leader — which carries a maximum sentence of three years.

"There is a difference between assault and insult, al-Zeidi wanted to express his objection to the occupation. So the case is within context of an insult and not an intention to kill," his lawyer Diaa al-Saadi told Associated Press Television News.

If the appellate court decides to reduce the charges, then al-Saadi said al-Zeidi could be released on bail. It was unclear when the appellate court would issue its ruling.

Al-Zeidi threw his shoes at Bush during a Dec. 14 joint news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The gesture of contempt for the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq made al-Zeidi a folk hero in Iraq and thousands of people have demonstrated for his release.