The Man Who Does Everything Right

9:06 pm, 12/15/08

Last week, the Blagojevich situation looked set to paralyze state government entirely:

One result of the long-running deadlock in Springfield is that Illinois has lost billions of dollars in federal funds, money we could have used for roads and bridges.

On top of that, state government is facing a $4 billion to $5 billion shortfall. Some Medicaid providers, including hundreds of doctors, haven't been paid for care they gave to patients six months ago.

A plan to borrow $1.4 billion to speed up those payment checks has hit a huge snag. As part of every big borrowing, Attorney General Lisa Madigan has to sign a formal document. Part of it states that there is no litigation or controversy that threatens the governor's ability to serve in office.

Which, obviously, nobody would sign. Facing state prisons running out of food and nursing homes kicking their patients out, state officials and bond attorneys have reached an agreement to simply revise the language, which apparently now states that the governor's situation is, in fact, incredibly dire and that any whacky and surreal thing at all could happen.

Meanwhile, caught red-handed, on tape, trying to sell a United States Senate seat and extorting firings from the most prominent media outlet in his state, Governor Blagojevich (who had a 4% approval rating before the scandal), has now taken a formal position: "You ain't got nothin' on me, coppers!"

Chicago defense attorney Ed Genson proclaimed that the governor is not guilty, will not resign, and instead will fight the charges against him.

"He's not stepping aside," Genson told reporters outside his Chicago office building. "He hasn't done anything wrong. We're going to fight this case....I think the case is not what it seems and I think that when it comes to pass, you'll see it's not what it seems and you'll find that he's not guilty."

What he's got here is golden, and I don't blame him for not giving it up for nothing. However, "not guilty" != "innocent". If he fights the charges and wins, he's still done something wrong, and he's still unfit to pick up drycleaning. This is just the tiny portion of his total wrongdoing that the Feds happened to catch on tape.

Blagojevich has not spoken to the press yet. He left Genson's offices just before his attorney did, saying that he was looking forward to talking to the general public.

"I can't wait to talk to you guys and to have a chance to be able to say the things I'm looking forward to saying," Blagojevich said. "But there's a time and place for all of that and I'll, uh, we'll soon let you know when it's gonna be."

As long as he's wearing an orange jumpsuit, I'm fine with that, but I expect he's thinking more along the lines of "whoever pays me the most for the rights". According to a memo distributed to Blagojevich's neighbors by his wife, we can only assume that what he's looking forward to saying is "!@#$ you".

The state's first lady avoided any specific mention of her husband's arrest and the resulting crisis engulfing state government. Rather, she had a three paragraph typewritten note delivered to homes along their Ravenswood Manor block, blaming the media for the inconvenience.

The note begins: 'Dear Neighbor, My husband and I would like to apologize to you and your family for the media barrage that has descended on our neighborhood.''

She goes on to write that she hopes the media attention will subside, "not only for the sake of our children, but also for you and your family.''

This is the media's fault.

Right.