When the balance of power hangs by a thread....

News on this Thursday morning are alarming, as far as Democrats are concerned.

Wire services inform us that Tim Johnson, Democratic Senator from South Dakota, has undergone what seems to be emergency brain surgery.

Leaving aside the human element of this story for the moment, should the Senator be unable to fulfill his job, the Governor, a Republican, would choose his replacement. Needless to say, it is expected that his replacement would be a Republican.

Assuming this scenario to play out, the Senate would be evenly divided (50-50) and Cheney, of all people, would have the tie-breaking vote.

I suspect that Democrats would not cave silently to such an unexpected turn of events, particularly since every poll indicates that the great majority of Americans are aching for change in leadership.

The thought that Cheney, one of the most despised hawks in government, would be tie-breaker, adds insult to injury should this course of events play out.