I met Roland Burris one day back in the 1990s. I did a story on some grant he was doling out to a service agency in downtown Bloomington, Ill.

It was a forgettable event -- so much so that I can't approximate the year, don't remember the agency, don't remember the grant. So forgettable that I didn't remember whether Burris was the comptroller or the attorney general at the time. (The New York Times biography on him tells me he was AG.)

What I remembered was: He was early and he did his little spiel early.

I was writing for the local paper, and I came on time. So I missed his forgettable talk. I grabbed a press release and caught him on his way out for a comment or two. He seemed anxious to leave. I filed a forgettable, short story for the next day's paper.

Here's why the memory is so vivid, even though the specifics aren't: It was the most politically inept showing by a statewide officeholder that I'd ever witnessed. On time is fine. A few minutes late is standard. A lot late is obnoxious.

But starting and finishing an event early -- an event for which the press is invited -- is politically unforgivable. I predicted then that the guy would not rise higher. He ran for senator, governor and mayor of Chicago. He kept losing. I didn't wonder.

Roland Burris' ambitions exceed his abilities. Our new senator is soft-spoken; kinda boring to be honest. But his ego and ambition, we see, are immense, and the result is that he's another national embarrassment for my state.

He told us he had nothing to do with the scandals of our Governor Blago. Then he admitted, yeah, Gov. Rod's brother the bagman had contacted him. Then he admitted, yeah, he was asked to raise money and, okay, he tried to raise money for our governor at a time when he sought a senate appointment from the governor.

In Illinois, we're pretty far beyond shockable when it comes to our politicians. For me, here's the least surprising part of Roland's story: He says he failed to raise any money for Gov. Rod.