Now that it appears Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich will be going to jail for trying to sell Obama's Senate seat, he will likely become the 4th Illinois governor to serve jail time in the past 40 years. He joins Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, and most recently George Ryan.

What is it about Illinois politics and corruption? This is The Land of Lincoln afterall.

And, I gotta ask, is that a wig he is wearing, or just a bad haircut?

"And, I gotta ask, is that a wig he is wearing, or just a bad haircut?"

Answer: Yes!

Put this bum away. Classless.

When I lived in Arizona years ago we had our share of governor problems, too. In 1986, a crooked car dealership owner named Evan Mecham won the governor's race in a 3-way race that split the Democratic vote. Within two years, he was indicted, impeached, and recalled all at the same time. I think the impeachment (for obstruction of justice - misuse of funds) got him out first. Mecham actually died just this year.

I think another Arizona governor was in trouble with the law a few years after I moved away.

Andrew

This guy is a real dirtbag. I hope they throw the book at him. Reading the quotes that they wiretapped him on just astounds me.

remember this is where al capone came from. do you think "the boys" just got up and left town after big al?? also remember obahamas fundrasier also worked for the gov. were going to be in for a real show for the next four years. i'm not saying the pres. elect is dirty. But a lot of people around him are and who do you think got him where he is. are VERY dirty. Enjoy the show. You elected him.

Let me guess;

He'll announce his desire to go to rehab for something by the end of the week.

Uh huh. Right.

Asshole detox is gonna be a bitch.

"Enjoy the show. You elected him."

Dude! Come on!
He's replacing a fucking WAR CRIMINAL.

Exactly.

Right now, the remaining Republicans (and doesn't that just roll off the tongue nicely?) are looking for ANYTHING that will anger people about Obama. Doesn't matter what it is either.

This will be followed by increasingly potent framing of anything BAD in ways that associate Obama with them.

Then they will find something, anything they can make a mess with, and go to town on it, NON STOP, until things change.

It's the "hey, let's hammer on Clinton" playbook, 2.0.

Don't worry about it. Don't buy in to the crap, because that's all it is.

Steve... "going to be in for a real show." + "dirty" just isn't your style man. You know better

It will be a show all right. I think a whole lot of people are gonna be seriously impacted by the change he's gonna bring. This dirty crap just isn't gonna happen on Obama's watch.

I hope your right, david. by the way. this isnt a rep. vs. dem. thing. I hope that obahma does a good job for the country. but were also going to see some scandles. imo. and If people who are around obahma are dirty. why are you defending them???

I'm not defending them at all.

The primary platform Obama ran on was there being too much wrong with how government was running. That was from his experience in the Senate.

His election was done with support from as many individual people as possible. Lots of smaller donations, regularly, instead of tapping the usual channels.

Now as he is preparing his team, people are being vetted, and a review of all current operations is taking place.

There will be scandals. However, there will also be accountability. That's the change!

And, comparing a scandal to what the current administration has done isn't even on the table. This is the key point that Republicans, for the most part, are already getting wrong!

What I'm hearing is a kind of held back affair, where the nay sayers are looking for ANYTHING right now. When they see it, they are gonna say, "See? It's just like we said! They are all corrupt." and it's gonna be game on from their perspective.

What they are gonna miss is this time around, the process will be intact, and accountability is going to happen. That will deter these kinds of activities, and government will run better than it currently does.

The framing on this stuff right now is just horrible. Basically, a lot of people get it, and are watching what Obama does and how he does it. We've got some time yet, before we get to see anything good, "Because there is only one President at a time."

On the other side, where people just don't get it, and think it's game on as usual, we are hearing "Obama recession" and it goes downhill from there.

So then, which side are you on. Do you get it? If so, then you completely understand why, "going to be in for a real show" + "dirty" just really sucks, right?

If ya can't fix your own state, you can't fix a country. It's that simple.

Obama couldn't fix his own state as a State Senator. Therefore he will be unable to fix the country.

Everyone got the hope and change they wanted, and Obama is the president. That means he is my president, too. I honor that. However, when y'all get buyer's remorse for the non-action that's going to happen...I don't want to hear you crying.

And just like the Republicans got buyer's remorse for Bush in 2004 (learned in 2006), y'all will get it with Obama.

(Just to put it out there, I am a center-right independent...registered as such since 2004. Voted for Kerry cause I couldn't stand Bush in 2004, McCain because everyone wanted Obama in 2008.)

What's it like to hate The Beatles, you rebel you?

I don't accept a single one of your premises as true. I do not believe that you could define, recognize or believe in truth if I showed it to you ( and " truth " can be defined by you and you alone, if that's what it takes ). But if you are willing to have a conversation about that, I'm willing to ask you some questions to see who's correct.

You let me know.

I'm excited about the Obama show. It will beat the hell out of the shit we've been watching the last 8 years.

Enjoy the show. You elected him.

What a dumb cluck statement. Almost as bad as Hannity's declaration of an Obama depression.

Heck, I didn't even bad mouth Bush like this when he came into office. I had a blank slate and he was supposed to be the compassionate conservative.

And here you are stevethedj spewing flith before the man even takes office.

As for you davemagruder, you're new, your slate is mostly blank. Proceed with caution.


As a Teamster, I OBVIOUSLY have direct connection with Hoffa/mafia thugs, so, no matter what I do in life, it'll all be crime motivated.

Dirty politics is as synonymous with Chicago as deep dish pizza. There is no "corruption party"; both Republicans and Democrats have tarnished their respective offices in this country. The reality is that many politicians have to be shrewd, selfish, power-hungry people in order to step over everyone else and make it to the top. So they're sometimes inclined to dereliction of duty. This Blagojevich character is obviously one of these people. He's crass, selfish, and apparently does not respect the integrity of his office. I hope he sees a prison cell.

Davemagruder, welcome to the board.

"Voted for...McCain because everyone wanted Obama in 2008"

You are now leading in the "Dumbest part of a Sentence of the Week" competition.

Congrats.

I hope your right, david. by the way. this isnt a rep. vs. dem. thing. I hope that obahma does a good job for the country. but were also going to see some scandles. imo. and If people who are around obahma are dirty. why are you defending them???

Did you defend DUHbya? The MASTER of DIS"ASS"TER was a dirty as anyone has EVER been. YOU elected him Steve! THANKS!

I aure as hell didnt make that mistake twice. and I didnt defend little bush. I was quite outspoken about him after he was in office about two years. let us all pray that the new president does a good job.

Praying ain't going to do the trick. It didn't work for the 23% who no doubt prayed 24/7 for Bush. God doesn't do politics.

Perhaps this has been the problem for the last 8 years -- too much praying and not brain cells put to work.

Fortunately Obama appears up to the task. Even the 23% now staring at empty pocketbooks are half hoping Obama's team will come through.

trixter- by the way. it was the supreame court that gave us the first little bush election win.

Just so you get it right next time, it's not "Little Bush" it's "Mini Bush"

Using the name Bush when referring to Dubya is offensive to Bushes everywhere.

The rhododendron out front quivers at the sound of his name.

Let's think of a more accurate name. WPE comes to mind ... others I won't post in here do as well.

I am not optimistic nor am I pessimistic about the Obama administration. I think that the appropriate attitude at this point is "wait and see what happens."

Hair today, gone tomorrow...

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1326323,CST-NWS-diagnose11.articl e

It's official...he's outta there. Convicted.

Yeah!

How many more scumbags to go...

(probably more than we think)

It's surprising how he interviewed on the Rachael Maddow show. Just unloaded his illegal activity right on the program. He was cooked then!

Ok come on Blago is not THAT big of a Scumbag, afterall, he wanted to appoint Oprah to the Senate seat.

Next stop: The Big House. And I ain't talking about a Michigan football game.

How many more scumbags to go...

Oh, I don't know. How many politicians are there? Probably equal numbers!

Again, is Earl Blumenaur a scumbag? Ron Wyden? Greg Walden?

Your generalizations about politicans are not based on fact.

...and with that hair too!

[enter Bubba, stage left]

Your generalizations about politicans are not based on fact.

Nope. Just my opinion of politicans.

"How many more scumbags to go...

(probably more than we think)"

Definitely more than we think.

There are many facets of Illinois politics that are altogether anti-democratic and criminal. The alderman system in Chicago is a part of it. The Daley family control of politics in an almost seamless way since 1955 is a part of it. The nepotism and dynastic rule is a part of it. The insider dealing and graft is a part of it. The culture of corruption from the bottom up is a part of it.

At the root of it all is an unholy alliance of Democrats and Republicans that Tribune columnist John Kass calls, The Combine. Little happens in The Loop or Springfield without going through these folks and they are tied into some pretty dirty characters. Those characters, or The Outfit, as they refer to themselves, pull the strings on quite a crowd from both sides of the aisle.

Yesterday, watching the eloquent closing speech from Blago and the subsequent five minute arguments of the Senators, I was struck at how many of them seemed guilty too. The worst offenders were every bit as flowery as Governor F-bomb and looked just as dirty doing their own self-righteous and indignant dance. It was like watching a college fraternity turning a rapist brother over to the local sheriff.

At the same time, I was heartened by the backbone I saw and heard from a few members of the Illinois General Assembly. There are some truly good people in that body and they used the opportunity to more directly hammer the subject of corruption. Knowing the time was right to clean house, they made it clearly known that they might be in the minority, but they were willing to take the risks and the challenges.

After a number of them spoke, I gave their Senate offices a call to thank them for speaking out. It was not partisan or regional. I dialed up both Democrats and Republicans from Chicago to the farm country. I wanted to let them know that America was watching and listening, we have their back, and we want the truth. In my brief conversations with their staff, they seemed mighty happy to hear from me, and delighted to see the Governor go.

For many folks in Illinois, yesterday was probably all at once an utter embarrassment, a lapel grabbing reality check and a deep sigh of relief. The truth is, Rod was just a cog in a big machine. He went freelance, lost his protection and got busted. The real question is whether Federal investigators will go all the way and root out the whole nest of rats that control the system.

If the former Governor sings like a canary -- assuming he lives long enough to carry a tune -- it could get very interesting indeed. Time will tell if it was the beginning of a new era, or just another public hanging followed by business as usual.