When Your Governor Is A Sociopath

When one becomes a citizen of the great state of Illinois, one realizes that a certain level of political shenanigans are simply the norm. This is heightened if you live in the Chicagoland area, like we do - let's face it, Chicago honed the "political machine" like no other - it's high art here. But say what you will about the city of Chicago, the machine works really well.

The same cannot be said for our governor, Rod Blagojevich. His political machine, which was apparently was held together by the same hair product that held his helmet hair in place, has failed him completely, as has his tenuous grasp on his own sanity. Since his arrest early last week for pimping the open US Senate seat of President-elect among other felonious pursuits, he had, up until yesterday, kept his yap shut. The Governor and his few remaining loyalists allowed their collective inner sociopath to come raging out in the form of a press conference. It was nothing short of stunning. If you didn't get a chance to see it, here it is:

Where does one begin? How many times have we heard politicians claim ever so piously that they have the truth on their side? I liken that argument to the death-row inmate who suddenly finds redemption in the Bible and that makes the murder or two they committed all go away. And how often do we hear politicians justifying what they do on the backs of either the poor, the elderly, or children - healthy or sick. In this case, the Governor called on the levers of the elderly and sick children. Umm..let's see - in his elderly support move, he gave the elderly free rides on public transportation. Great. Unfortunately, that has exacerbated the budget trainwreck that is public transport and those free rides are going away as service is cut. Nice. And sick children. Wow...apparently from the tapes, the Governor was SO concerned about sick children that he demanded a donation to his campaign in order to get money to a children's hospital. No donation, no millions to the hospital. Awesome.

So now what are we, the citizens of Illinois, stuck with? A delusional Governor who believes he can lead. Really? The Lt. Governor, the AG, the leaders of the Illinois House, the President-elect, and about everyone else, are calling for his resignation. Impeachment proceedings continue. The State is going to have a tough time borrowing money since lenders tend to get a little skittish when your Chief Executive is staring down the barrel of time in the clink. But, Rod and his Hair are going to continue to lead. Although one of his attorneys did say that the Easter Bunny (you can read that quote and other gems in the coverage in the Chicago Tribune) may bring news of what the Governor will do next. That's really respectful of the people, Governor. Nice move.

While it was hoped the Governor would pull an Eliott Spitzer and resign, it didn't happen. So I guess we'll just sit back and watch as our state is effectively paralyzed. That's serving the people, Governor. Keep it up.