Is Roberto our next U.S. Senator?

I've not gotten into the local online frenzy over who will be our next caretaker Senator before the election, mostly because I was unaware that Mel Martinez was in fact still a sitting Senator.

Didn't he already retire?

Was he ever actually our Senator?

He is a nice guy with a compelling life story but was kind of a ghost Senator, much as he was a ghost litigator back when he practiced at Akerman.

The only notable thing he accomplished that I can recall was when he leaked that internal memo about how good it was to pump the Schiavo case to death.

Did he do anything else?

Anyway, swlip's friend Beth Reinhard thinks the next caretaker may be none other than Marlin Stadium fighter Roberto Martinez (via Riptide):

Martinez is a Republican but gets good reviews from Democrats like state Sen. Dan Gelber, who worked for Martinez in the early 1990s.

"Bob has got extraordinary character and intelligence and is as current on the issues as anyone I know,'' Gelber said. "He's a good Republican, but more importantly, he's a good American."

Longtime readers know Roberto is a favorite of this blog, so we're happy to possibly see him up there in DC, keeping the seat warm for his friend Charlie.

But Dan, you don't say Roberto is "a good American"; you say he's a "good 'merican"

Gotta get the pronunciation right, buddy.