Jim Black was a dealmaker extraordinaire during his eight years as House speaker -- hooking up political allies with more cash and prizes than Monty Hall.

Knowing that, it is not farfetched to imagine that Black looked out for a couple of his boys once he saw that the jig was up.

Think about it. If you were being ridden out of town in handcuffs, but wanted to help a couple of loyal pals, wouldn't you pull a potential successor aside and go, "Yo, dawg, look out for my posse, will ya?"

The new speaker, Joe Hackney, denied to a reporter that such a thing occurred, but the result is the same. Former Rep. Michael Wilkins, who was Black's chief of staff, and Allen Rogers, who handled state boards and commissions, both landed or retained cushy jobs.

Under Hackney, Wilkins is a senior policy adviser and Rogers kept his position. Suh-weet.