SamSaid!

Mike Blagocevich (Blago, henceforth) is now the Governor of Illinois  –  at least for the moment. His stupidity is obvious  –  to say nothing of his filthy mouth.  But his defense is astounding when he says “I have done nothing wrong”.  In pondering over that defense stratagem, maybe there is a rationale that makes sense. Chicago has long been recognized  as the sewer of political corruption and it just may be that selling or auctioning off political jobs is and has been commonplace over the years. That would certainly explain Blago’s defiance —  “why pick on me?? And if is a Senate seat, so what? What is the big deal”? ?

My experience in Illinois/Chcago politics dates back to 1960 when Jack Kennedy and Bobby came to meet Mayor Daley to plan campaign strategy in Chicago. In order to guarantee secrecy they got a small boat and motored offshore a mile to keep away the press and other snoopers.  After an hour or so they noticed an ominous thunder storm approaching and headed for shore. Then they noticed that the boat only had one life preserver. Honoring their Democratic principles, all three agreed to a vote to see who would get the life preserver. Mayor Daley won 6-2.

The question now is whether Blago will blow the whistle and take a few down with him.

It is said that the darkest hour occurs just before dawn. If so, the Repubs can take heart. There are two rays of light on the horizon  –  Sarah Pilan and Mike Huckabee. Sarah is speaking in support of Repubs all over the country and is being very well received. The Dems may sneer, but all of their efforts to destroy her have failed.  Her winning ways have won support from both Rs and Ds, and she likely made the difference in the Georgia Senatorial runoff race that scuttled the Dem hopes for a veto proof Senate. Huckabee now has his own one hour TV show on Sundays evenings (try it if you haven’t tuned in). He’s pretty good even when not playing his guitar. If nothing else, the show will build on name recognition across the USA.

These two might not be the smartest duo or the best campaigners, but they have a lot of appeal to most Americans. It is a long way till the fall of 2012, but candidate appeal can  offset Slick Willies or Bama wordsmithing, particularly when the Dems provide a lot of ammunition. Sarah and Huck  –  keep your eyes on them.