BAD TASTE AWARD – AT 7:15 P.M. ET:   When you think you've seen the worst taste in politics, someone always comes along with something even worse.  From The Politico:

The race for Arizona’s open Senate seat has quickly focused on one question: What will Gabrielle Giffords do?

The Democratic congresswoman who survived an assassination attempt in Tucson last month is still undergoing rehabilitation in Houston for a gunshot wound to the head. Physicians have warned that her recovery will proceed at its own pace.

But even though questions about her health remain, Giffords’s astonishingly rapid recovery has left Democrats in Arizona and Washington looking to her as a potential candidate to replace retiring GOP Sen. Jon Kyl.

Giffords was mentioned as one possible contender for the 2012 race during a closed-door meeting of Senate Democrats on Thursday, two sources with knowledge of the meeting said.

In Arizona, strategists continue to view Giffords as a compelling candidate for higher office. That’s a distinction few Democrats in the state can claim after last November, when Republicans captured two U.S. House seats and won every statewide office on the ballot.

“Congresswoman Giffords’s name was clearly at the top of the list of potential candidates against Sen. Kyl, or if Sen. Kyl stepped down, over the past couple years. Given that, a lot of people of course thought immediately of her for this seat,” Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Andrei Cherny said.

COMMENT:  Geez!  I mean, the woman is still grievously wounded.  You'd think these people would avail themselves of the golden opportunity to shut up and show a little class.

Yes, yes, it's true.  If Gabby Giffords recovers and runs, she's a shoo-in.  I'm not sure the GOP would even want to run a candidate against her.  (How would you like to be the candidate who runs against Gabby Giffords and has to attack her?  Nothing like losing the loyalty of your wife and children.)  Giffords, whom I've always admired, is a moderate Democrat who could win in generally Republican Arizona.

But please, give it a little time.  We live in a vulgar age, but why advertise it?

February 12, 2011