At Roland Burris' press conference on Monday, he shrugged off a question about his goals in Congress, telling reporters that he would "come up with" some pet issues once he's figured out the rules and procedures of the Senate.  As I wrote at the time, this is seriously disconcerting.  Under normal circumstances, a successful candidate for such high office would be able to talk at length about their policy priorities.  But in the case of a gubernatorial appointment, a newly minted U.S. Senator such as Burris can essentially say to the public: "I'll figure it out when I get there."  His answer only reinforced the widespread perception that this is all about Roland.

In that vein, the State Journal-Register editorial board today pushes Burris to start talking substance:

As of now, nobody has a clue what his positions are on issues, such as the financial and automotive bailout, health care, the massive national stimulus package under discussion, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or anything else.

To date, the focus has been on whether or not Burris had the right signature on a document. What’s been missing is a discussion of the issues facing the nation.

We’ve seen Burris talk about how why he deserves the job and how it was ordained that he become senator. [...]

Now he needs to show that he has the ability to represent the state on a bigger policy stage

The Peoria Journal-Star responds similarly to the dearth of policy goals from Burris: "Having expressed interest in the job for that long, one would think he'd have some sense of what he wants to accomplish, along with some specific ideas about how to get there."