The Scotsman notes that Sen. Johnson "continued to improve after brain surgery." I daresay many Democrats would.

Seriously, you must admire my avoiding the ghoulish yet emintently Washingtonian swoop into treating a man's life-threatening illness in terms of its impact on Senate politics.

Well, now that we've broken that ice, here's the deal:

1. Johnson need not resign as long as he's alive.

2. If he -- ahem -- resigns, watch for Democrats to argue that the "organization" adopted by each in-coming Senate is binding for the term of that Senate. It is, unless the minority party raises an objection to that particular rule, as the Democrats did early in 2001 (can anyone say "Jeffords"?). One hopes, and expects, that under Mitch McConnell's leadership, and with the possibility of a Lieberman switch or a Johnson, um, resignation, the Republicans will raise the appropriate objection next month.

3. Now I'm going to get ghoulish. What if Johnson goes onto life support, and left a clear "living will" asking that the tubes be yanked in such a case? Better start downloading all those Democrat speeches and press releases on Terri Schiavo....