All is well, for anyone who didn’t see the news. I think I’ve gotten about 500 messages of congratulations or best wishes from readers, so a heartfelt thank you to all of you; moments like this remind me that I write for an exceptional and special audience.

I told the NR Powers That Be I would be back in another week, but the world of news keeps catching my eye, and so I’ll probably sporadically post and Tweet here and there for the next week before getting things back to full speed. Among the bits of news today, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, Indiana Democrat, is running for the seat that Sen. Evan Bayh is leaving.

On Monday I noted:

Rep. Brad Ellsworth represents an Evansville-based district that McCain carried 51 percent to 47 percent and Bush carried 62 percent to 38 percent. Five Republicans are competing for the chance to take on Ellsworth: medical doctor Larry D. Bucshon, Billy Joseph Mahoney, Sunday-school teacher and volunteer Kristi Risk, businessman John K. Snyder, and motorcycle enthusiast Daniel Duane “Dan” Stockton. There are no Democrats running against Ellsworth in the primary.

Also I see the sad news that Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, has been diagnosed with stomach cancer; on a bright note, his doctors are predicting a full recovery.

On Tuesday, after word that the 86-year-old Lautenberg had been hospitalized after a fall, I observed:

If ill health required him to step down, his replacement would be named by Republican governor Chris Christie, and the law authorizes the governor to call for a special election, in which case there is no schedule specified. Otherwise, the vacancy is filled at first or second succeeding general election, depending on when it occurs. In other words, Christie’s presumably Republican appointee would serve until November, be it this year or next. If that seat were to open up, it would probably set off a free-for-all on both sides of the aisle, with Rep. Rob Andrews, Rep. Frank Pallone, and Newark mayor Cory Booker likely to be mentioned on the Democrat side and almost any Republican in the state aiming to be Christie’s interim pick.