When you step into the political arena you have to learn to ignore the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, as it were. Because once you acknowledge the attack has hit its mark, you lose. Such is the fate of our very own junior senator, Jon “Number 52” Tester.

You’ve got to concede that the guy is wedged pretty tightly between a rock and a hard place poll and a vote here. When 57% of the electorate thinks that his 52nd vote for Obamacare was a really bad move, the good senator doesn’t have a lot of viable options for mitigating the PR disaster. Generally speaking, however, whining about the details is not the recommended technique. It’s even worse when you send your minions out to do the cowardly deed.

The voters really don’t care whether Jon-boy was the first vote, the 52nd vote, or the 60th vote – the point is he voted for the biggest Obamanation to be visited on the American people since King George III got all wee-weed up over a few tea leaves in Boston Harbor. He clearly told us by his actions that he really doesn’t give a hot damn about what the majority of Montanans want – as long as he could do his part to shove the Obama-Reid-Baucus-Pelosi agenda down our throats in the middle of the night. Montanans just don’t seem to be too impressed by his free-spending ways with their money.

Ok – so whining won’t pull his fat out of the fire. And blaming the minions isn’t a great plan either. What can a fella do when his career prospects start looking a touch dimmer than a 5-watt light bulb?

Maybe the big guy should probably just suck it up and tough it out – admit he screwed up big time and…. Nope – that won’t work either. ‘Cause it isn’t just that one vote. There’s the wilderness bill, the stimulus bill, confirmation of two unpopular Supreme Court Justices and a whole passel of other Administration appointments, the budget, the debt, and all the other votes that Jon “Number 52” Tester has made over the last five years that are killing his chances for re-election.

When a guy gets stabbed to death in the Senate who can say which cut was the deepest – the last one – or the 52nd one? Et tu, Bubba.