The “Holy Trinity” of Rod Blogojevich
Do you recognize the three men in this picture? Think hard. If you said Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi not only are you incorrect, but you’ve been listening way too much to disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blogojevich this week. “Blago”, as he is affectionately called, was arrested on December 9th on federal corruption charges and has been playing the victim ever since. Instead of attending his impeachment trial this week he chose to whoop it up with Whoopie and the rest of “The View” before appearing on dozens of other media outlets. It didn’t help and neither did his closing arguments to the Illinois legislature:
“There hasn’t been a single piece of information that proves any wrongdoing,” said Blagojevich, who was arrested at his Chicago home Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges. “How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?”
Blagojevich also warned senators against setting a “dangerous precedent” that would thwart the will of an electorate that twice had voted for him. “Imagine what future governors will face if I’m thrown out of office for this,” Blagojevich said…
After the 59-0 vote, Democratic Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn signed the oath of office and became the state’s 41st governor. Among the problems awaiting him is a budget deficit of as much as $5 billion.
Prediction: Blago wins any criminal proceedings against him.
President Obama’s economic stimulus package passed the U.S. House of representatives this week without a single Republican vote. This came after the President met privately with GOP House leaders (BTW- he went to them on the hill) and they left the meeting swooning like little girls. I found it hilarious that Republicans hailed the vote as proof of party strength and unity. I’d venture to guess that if the package was in danger of failing we would have seen a much different result. It’s easy to “stand on principle” when you know the bill is going to pass anyway. Regardless, both sides of the aisle continue to blame the other for our current economic woes. According to the New York Times:
Representative Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, said that former President George Bush’s signature tax cuts in 2001 had created years of growth but that the nation’s problems started when Democrats regained majorities in Congress in the 2006 elections.
On the other side of the coin we have Democrats blaming Republicans for everything. I am not an Economist, but I am absolutely sure of this – it took a village to screw things up this bad. It wasn’t one specific action or ideological position. It was the collective effect of a lot of bad ideas combined with poor (i.e. government) execution. What’s the answer? Philosophically, I’m against bailouts and stimuli, but we have to do something and neither side wants to pay the political price of doing nothing while the misery spreads.
In another move that had the right-wing blogosphere on fire, President Obama gave his first televised interview to Dubai-based station Al Arabiya. Smart move? I think so. And this is the kind of soft power/smart diplomacy that’s been ignored for too long. Obama cut Arab dictators and autocrats out of the equation by speaking directly to their people. Predictably, the hysteria from the right has been laughable. George Bush can walk around holding hands with the King of Saudi Arabia (one of the most oppressive leaders in the Arab world), but talking to an Arab news outlet is somehow surrendering to Bin Laden himself. The days of “playground diplomacy” where we refuse to talk to large sections of the world’s population are over. This is one of the reasons why Americans voted for Obama. We don’t have to be wonderful friends with everyone in the world, but there has to be constant dialogue – even with our enemies. Watch this video of General Petraeus explaining how important it is to talk with enemies. It’s as if those who sing the General’s praises most (McCain, Bush, etc.) have never actually listened to what he has to say. Petraeus is a first class warrior-scholar.
To book me for a lecture or debate go here.
See you next week.
PS: I usually post the Fix shortly after midnight on Thursdays, but lately I’ve been doing so mid-morning on Fridays. It’s nice when emails start to pile up asking “Hey! Where’s my fix?” Thanks for reading and I’ll do my best to get back to my regular posting schedule.
About the Author: Randall H. Miller is an American college educator/blogger. He is also a former U.S. Army officer (82nd Airborne) with a M.A. in Diplomacy (focusing on International Terrorism) and a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Use the form on the right to sign up and receive notifications of new content. The words and ideas expressed here are 100% his own and not those of his employers or affiliated organizations.
Frank the Tank | Jan 30, 2009 | Reply
Blago may be gone but his hair will live on forever.
JR Mirador | Jan 30, 2009 | Reply
“Es hablando que se entiende la gente”, is a phrase I’ve frequently heard from my father. He’ll be 102 in april. Maybe his longevity is due partly to the attitude reflected by this phrase. I applaud President Obama’s willingness to talk to all, and most surely, as a result, we will all end up having less enemies.
David Cobb | Jan 30, 2009 | Reply
My Prediction on Blago: He will be found “Not Guilty” in his trial, but one or more of the senators that voted to impeach him will be arrested for “Pay to Play” in Fitzgerald’s dragnet, and will go to jail.
Not that I’m a fan of Blagojevich, but having lived in Chicago for some time, I know that the words “Honest” and “Politician” are not to be found in the same sentence.
Representative Virginia Foxx is all that is wrong with the Republican party. I imagine members such as Olympia Snow and Arlen Specter must question their decision to have joined the GOP.
Jinjirrie | Jan 31, 2009 | Reply
Folks round my neck of the woods have been wondering why Obama wasn’t interviewed on Al Jazeera, which has become for many the most respected news source on the planet.
We’re eager to see Obama interviewed by Riz Khan – he’s a very slick interviewer indeed – if you didn’t see his interview of Jimmy Carter you can catch it here: http://www.kadaitcha.com/2009/01/29/jimmy-carter-interview-with-riz-khan/
Frank the Tank | Jan 31, 2009 | Reply
I see Congress has decided to stimulate their own economy by increasing their individual budgets by 93K. Somewhere a Diputado is telling them how to spend that money on jeepetas for the whole family. Term limits, term limits, term limits. No more lifelong politicians.