The Swearing-In Circus Comes to Capitol HillThey may be members of an elite club, but newly elected senators certainly don't get made to feel that way on their first day at work. Unlike the breathless anticipation the nation's capital bestows on a presidential inauguration, Washingtonians usually treat the Senate swearing-in ceremony with all the interest of a high school graduation: only immediate family bothers to attend. This year will be different: The nine incoming freshman who have secured their places will be greeted by a barrage of media. All those cameras, though, will be there primarily because of the two men who most likely won't be: Roland Burris, appointed by embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill Barack Obama's seat, and Al Franken, whose squeaker victory of 225 votes was certified Monday by the Minnesota Canvassing Board but is still ensnarled by legal challenges from GOP incumbent Norm Coleman. (See pictures from the historic Election Day.) Burris, who was appointed by Blagojevich late last month, has not been accused of any involvement in the Governor's alleged scheme to sell the Senate seat for money and political favors (Blagojevich denies any wrongdoing). Even so, as he flew to the D.C. area Monday to take his seat, Senate Democratic leaders warned that Burris would be turned away. Party leaders say the appointee, no matter how squeaky clean, is tainted by association. "We have to understand that [Blagojevich] has had a cloud over him prior to his arrest. That's why the Illinois state legislature's moving forward expeditiously — in fact, next week — to start impeachment proceedings," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. "I don't know a thing wrong with Mr. Burris. It's not the person that has been appointed; it's the appointer."