The Nation’s State of Change blog is suggesting that Roland Burris, Illinois Governor Blagojevich’s pick for US Senate, should serve only an abbreviated sentence in the US Senate–citing Minnesota Independence Party member and candidate, and former Senator, Dean Barkley.

If Burris agrees to be a true interim senator, then a case could be more for allowing him to sit temporarily–as Minnesotan Dean Barkley did for a few months after the death of the late Paul Wellstone and before Republican Senator Norm Coleman was sworn in.