It's time again for the Answer Man. Let's get started:

Q: Aren't you ready for this election season to be over?

A: Are you nuts? It keeps getting better. We've got less than two weeks to go and while Republicans keep yammering about Joe the Plumber, they're giving their veep candidate a $150,000 clothing allowance. Democrats, meanwhile, are eating their own. A recent attack ad by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee bashed Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat. What a hoot.

Q: Attempts to approve a statewide construction program have failed. The state budget is a mess. Lawmakers have to be cajoled not to give themselves pay raises. The governor, even his wife, is apparently under investigation. Democrats who control state government surely will pay on Election Day. Right?

A: Ha ha ha. You are so funny. Haven't you heard about this guy named Barack Obama? His coattails are so long and blue that Democrats could actually gain seats in General Assembly this year.

Q: But hasn't Democratic infighting been the cause of the gridlock in Springfield? Won't the stalemate get worse if there are more of them?

A: Not necessarily. With Senate President Emil Jones retiring, Gov. Rod Blagojevich will lose a key legislative ally. If the House Democrats somehow gets a veto proof majority and Democrats in the Senate keep theirs, the General Assembly could make the embattled governor even more irrelevant.

Q: With Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, recovering from a minor stroke, does that hurt GOP chances on Nov. 4?

A: Republicans only hold 22 seats in the chamber. None of the incumbents appear to be in imminent danger of losing their seats. The GOP is targeting three races, including the Forby-Burzynski match-up in Southern Illinois and two other races in the suburbs. To pick up the slack as Watson recuperates, members have fanned out to help. State Sen. Bill Brady, for example, is combining his desire to become governor in 2010 with visits to targeted districts. State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, also has been helping his colleagues on the campaign trail.

Q: Didn't Blagojevich once say he was a "C" student?

A: Indeed. However, he's apparently getting worse. The Cato Institute's recent review of fiscal policy in every state showed the governor getting an "F."

Q: Why such a dismally low mark?

A: The main reason is Blagojevich's penchant for proposing taxes on businesses. He "seems unaware that Illinois is competing against other states and nations for business investment in the global economy," the report noted.

Q: Is it true that Barack Obama wants to charge reporters money to cover his Election Night activities, which are being staged in Chicago's Grant Park?

A: Yes. This is Illinois. Even reporters have to pay to play.

Q: Is this common practice?

A: No. Usually we tell the truth without having to give our credit card numbers to politicians.

Q: If Obama wins, who will take his seat in the U.S. Senate?

A: Blagojevich controls the process and he probably doesn't want to appoint someone who would be a political threat to himself down the road. So, he could give Emil Jones a chance to be senator for two years, clearing the way for a real dogfight in the 2010 election.

Q: Some pretty well-known and respected special interest groups are trying to convince Illinoisans to vote against the question of holding a constitutional convention. What's up with that?

A: Everyone likes the status quo. These groups have gotten to be influential under the current system. They help control who's elected. Why would they want to change that? Remember that when you go to the polls: your voice or their voice.

Q: What would be one reason to vote for a constitutional convention?

A: It should be pretty clear when you go into the ballot box. Because of the way lawmakers have gerrymandered the political map, it makes it nearly impossible for incumbents to lose. Out of 80-some races for seats in the General Assembly, just a handful are actually competitive. Think about what the current crop of incumbents has achieved in the last two years.

Q: We hear a valued member of state Sen. Dan Rutherford's staff recently underwent a transplant?

A: You'd be talking about Bonnie. Yes, after rolling up 312,000 miles, the Pontiac-area senator's six-year-old Pontiac Bonneville needed a new transmission. Get well cards may be sent to Rutherford's district office.

KURT ERICKSON heads the Lee Enterprises Springfield Bureau, which serves The Southern and other Lee newspapers; he can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or (217) 789-0865.