PrintJanuary 27, 2009
Why I Like Blago
In a political environment these days without humor, I like Blago. He's the political bad boy of our age.
I started liking him as soon as the media began calling him "Blago" instead of two-term Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. When "Shep" Smith of FOX News calls him "Blago" with a semi-sarcastic tone of voice, I chide the TV saying, "Hey, Shep's a dog's name."
You don't hear the network luminaries refer to ABC's George Stephanopoulus as "Georgie," or "Mr. Snufalufagus" (of Sesame Street fame). And just when did you hear Tom Brokaw referred to as "Tombo"? So what's up with this dissing Blago?
They call him "Wacko" and "Delusional." Didn't CNN's Anderson Cooper have someone dressed up like a snow man ask the Republican candidates for President a question during the debates? How many kooks in that kitchen?
Any knee jerk enemy of the main stream media immediately qualifies as a potential friend of mine because I remember Richard Jewell. But that's not all.
I liked Blago when U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald (ever hear a reporter call him "Fitz"?) slid behind a bank of media microphones and accused Blago of political corruption. Perish the thought -- political corruption in Illinois politics! That's like announcing there's sin in Vegas. This came before Blago had a chance to consummate a deal to parlay the appointment of Obama's senate seat into some benefit to Blago's ownself. So he's guilty of wanting some reward for a political favor. We're shocked.
Fitz read a statement quoting Blago in an allegedly taped conversation (have you heard any of the tapes?) where Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's comments are repeatedly bleeped out. So he's guilty of swearing as well as wanting a reward. Outrageous behavior.
Look up "Over-zealous Prosecutor" in your Jurisprudence Encyclopedia and find a photo of Fitz over a caption reading "Imprudent Prosecution." He appointed himself accuser, judge, jury and penultimate executor in one fell swoop. The Illinois Senate will ultimately execute Blago. But meanwhile, what's with Fitz hanging Blago with accusations before the rope's even been knotted? The timing of all this smells a little like something from the Chicago River.
So, yes, I like Blago cause the Big Federal Prosecutor ambushed him before he could rob the bank.
I really liked Blago when he schmoozed with the media out in front of his modest Chicago house and then went jogging in the snow with no body guards in sight.
That was after Blago had, for several weeks, been sending invisible obscene gestures toward the Daley Machine that he wasn't about to be a team player and appoint a new senator without getting something in return for his ownself.
Blago showed he had no respect for a fundamental rule of Illinois politics: The Mayor of Chicago outranks the Governor.
Chicago mayors don't go to jail. But Blago is in line to be the fourth governor in modern times (after Kerner, Walker and Ryan) to go from the governor's house to the Big House. He might have some interesting things to say on his way there.
So when Blago jogs without a body guard, he's a warrior. I like him for that. Mafia Sam "Momo" Giancana was shot seven (7) times in the head with a small caliber pistol inside his Oak Park home back on June 19, 1975, before he was scheduled to testify before a Senate committee. The Chicago Police were stationed outside his house protecting him.
I especially like Blago because he made Rahm Emanuel disappear for awhile. Did you notice that? As soon as it was announced that Rahm and Rod had a conversation about who would replace Obama (of course they would), Rahm went into stealth mode and became invisible to the media. No trailing reporters, except that one that found him on a family outing. No microphones in the face. No Rahm. Out of sight/out of mind.
Rahm's back now -- after the story moved on, and gone. Today Rahm is proclaimed as the second most important man in Washington. Blago though remains the constant target of media ridicule.
So I especially like how Blago made Rahm disappear. It was nice while it lasted.
I also like Blago because he quotes poetry, and, he can make-up a similitude on the fly. He recently compared himself to an "honest, hardworking cowboy and said he was about to be lynched by a band of black-hatted political insiders eager to raise taxes." That quality of extemporaneous similitudizing isn't easy to do. His spontaneous flourishes are Americana, besides being entertaining.
So I like him cause he makes me laugh when there isn't much to laugh about these days.
Lastly, I like Blago because he isn't going to give up without a fight. He feels the words of Dylan Thomas who wrote, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night." Blago will, instead, rage, rage against the dying of the camera lights.
So, yes, call me crazy, but I like Blago. I'll miss him when he's gone.
So, yes, call me crazy, but I like Blago. I'll miss him when he's gone.
He'll want to lose that hairdo before he goes up the river.
