Sorry - don't know anything about the people involved, but the headline somehow made me think of 'cheese'! <:-)
To give you an overview. Bob Odom is a Dem that been Agriculture Secretary here since the time of MOSES. He is prob the most powerful Democrat in Louisiana. THe animosity between he and Blanco is indeed real and in fact Blanco was on the right side of it. John Breaux is universally liked by many however saying that he does not have the the same "star power" as he once did. However I suspect business interest as well as the big powers in DC would back him.