"Poor Ken Salazar is getting a taste of what it's like to block senate confirmations. The former senator now has to deal with the aggravation of senate confirmations as the new head of Interior."

"Probably no other member of the Obama Cabinet has racked up as many frequent-flier miles over the past three months than former Colorado Senator Ken Salazar. As the new sheriff in town at the Department of the Interior, he's been taking his agenda on the road -- presiding over offshore lease sales in New Orleans, visiting Indian schools in the Dakotas, studying global warming in Alaska and drought in California, denouncing ethical lapses under the former regime in Lakewood.

"This is a good reality check for the pixie dust* energy pushers in the Democrat Party. Money quotes:

"This week's feature, "The Zen of Ken," deals with the formidable challenge facing Colorado's own Ken Salazar at the Department of the Interior. It also notes in passing the growing contingent of politicos with Colorado connections that the new Secretary is adding to his leadership team, including former Senate candidate Tom Strickland, former Great Outdoors Colorado director Will Shafroth and Hickenlooper aide Chris Henderson."

"It’s too early to grade former U.S. senator Ken Salazar in his role as the nation’s new Interior Department secretary. So say oil-and-gas industry experts, who want to exploit America’s natural resources, as well as environmentalists, who tend to want to stop them. As Westword writes, Salazar has already ruffled a few feathers, but his biggest task is to “reform the toxic culture inside the sprawling bureaucracy.”"

"While many politicians have yet to start thinking about their plans for 2010 and 2012, Ken Salazar might be more of a long-term thinker. Some Colorado Democrats are convinced that regardless of the outcome of the 2010 gubernatorial contest, Ken Salazar will end up being the 2014 nominee. Whether these rumors are coming from solid indications from the newly-minted Secretary of the Interior or from the paranoid delusions of Mike Miles supporters is debatable."

"Ken Salazar tells The Pueblo Chieftain that he intends to “redefine what it means to be interior secretary,” after making the difficult decision of leaving his U.S. Senate seat. But he’s got a lot on his plate, including flying to Denver with President Barack Obama on Tuesday as Obama promotes the new economic stimulus package.

Salazar admits he still hasn’t figured out all the details of his new job."

"With Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg undergoing surgery for cancer, expect speculation about who could join the high court to start among the chattering classes. And, as happened nearly two years ago, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s name probably will come up as a possible nominee."

"New polling out this week regarding Gov. Bill Ritter begs to differ with the prognostications of several Washington insiders.

According to the new survey from Public Policy Polling, Ritter’s popularity, primarily among Hispanic voters took a hit when he did not appoint a Hispanic pol to replace Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo."

"Fresh off his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this morning, Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., will step down from his U.S. Senate seat at 10:45 a.m. today.

You can watch his farewell to his colleagues and the U.S. Senate either on C-SPAN 2 (channel 98 if you have Bresnan) or online at www.c-span.org. "

"Federico Peña is not interested in being appointed to Ken Salazar's U.S. Senate seat, he announced Saturday in a press release acquired by the Rocky Mountain News.

"Many names, including mine, have been mentioned as possible candidates to fill the United States Senate seat being vacated by my friend Ken Salazar. I am enormously proud that Ken has been appointed to serve as our nation’s next Interior Secretary, a position I am certain he will carry out with distinction," Peña said in the release."

"In a statement released this morning, Gov. Bill Ritter promised a quick pick to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, though he did not set a specific timeline.

"In the coming days, I will work thoughtfully, deliberately and quickly to identify a successor," Gov. Ritter said. "With the economy in crisis and many other important issues facing the next Congress and the new Obama administration, Colorado must have the best talent at the U.S. Capitol." "