Col. Jack and the US Senate Seat

Col. Jack Jackson had a watershed 2008.

After briefly running for Lt. Governor against Peter Kinder, the former Marine served as the lead surrogate for John McCain in Missouri.

No doubt, 2008 left Jackson with two competing smells in his nostrils: the smell of humiliation as he withdrew from the Lt. Governor's race out of deference to party leaders who were supporting a lesser stag... and the smell of big-time, flag-waving politics.

Those stark experiences (and the track record of a competitive Auditor's race in 2006), lead some to speculate that Jackson will turn his sights on the recently open US Senate seat, even if the party establishment backs someone else.

So in the coming days, watch for the former test pilot to begin testing the waters on a US Senate bid.­