And you thought that Barack Obama was getting presumptuous in his race for the White House. You should see the guy looking to take over his current job as U.S. Senator from Illinois — Jesse Jackson, Jr.!

It seems that Jackson, Jr. is assuming that Obama will win the presidency and vacate his Senate seat, and he is eagerly maneuvering to replace him.

If Obama does vacate his seat, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (a Democrat) would name his successor. There are a number of Illinois Democrats who would certainly be up for consideration, including Representatives Rahm Emanuel and Jan Schakowsky. Blagojevich has not commented on the matter, and needless to say a President Obama would be pretty influential in making the decision as well.

To his credit, Jackson, Jr. has an amazing number of details in common with Obama when he won his Senate seat in 2004, including…

* 43 years old.
* African-American.
* Distant, preoccupied father.
* Popular elected official representing Chicago's South Side.
* Problems with being associated with a controversial preacher.

Now all that Jackson, Jr. really needs to do to fully fill Obama's shoes is to obliterate a carpet-bagging Alan Keyes in an election, appear dozens of times on the cover of Rolling Stone, and be threatened with castration by Jesse Jackson, Sr.