Blagojevich Says He's 'Blacker' Than Obama

Rod Blagojevich apologized Monday for saying he's "blacker than Barack Obama," but the disgraced former Illinois governor said he probably won't try to make amends directly to the president.

Objections to Roland Burris Pick Have Nothing to Do with Race

By: Deborah Mathis

He’s certainly an interesting character, this Roland Burris, whom I suspect most of us outside of Illinois had never heard of until the governor of the Prairie State appointed Burris to fill Barack Obama’s U.S. senate seat.

The proof of his popularity rests in the fact of his multiple elections as state comptroller and state attorney general. Therein also lies the credibility of Burris’ appointment. He appears to be qualified enough, and nearly every political operative in Illinois seems ready to vouch for that.

The rub, of course, is that Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s fitness to appoint Burris, or anyone else, is dubious and, to hear a certain U.S. attorney tell it, dangerous. The governor does not seem to do much of anything official unless there’s something in it for him.

Question: Since no one thinks Burris bought, or offered to buy, the opportunity from Blagojevich, just what does the governor get out of the Burris appointment?

Answer: The nasty, naughty, shameless satisfaction of burning his enemies and tying them up in knots.

Blagojevich has repeatedly said he’s done nothing wrong regarding Obama’s senate seat and that he will fight the charges tooth and nail. He’s entitled to defend himself, but a decent man would have wanted to prove how cooperative and conciliatory he is, perhaps even laid low, rather than make more trouble for himself.

But, unable to contain himself, Mr. InYourFace chose not only the defiant road, but the obnoxious one too, ignoring every appeal to waive his gubernatorial right under these inauspicious circumstances.

Obviously, Blagojevich doesn’t care about the cloud he casts over Burris, the difficulty he presents for Senate leaders, or the bloodletting he causes in Illinois politics. He’s getting a rush from watching folks squirm over what to do about Burris.

The governor had to have gotten a warm and fuzzy feeling when Rep. Bobby Rush injected race into the Burris appointment, allowing that the country should not stomach the specter of its only black U.S. senator being barred at the door.

It is woeful that the world’s most deliberative body has had only three black members in modern times and never more than one at a time. It is a national embarrassment that a nation growing browner and blacker by the day might have not a single person of color in one of its legislative chambers.

But, for once, objections to a black candidate have nothing to do with his blackness. It’s not who he is or what he is, but how he got there.

Burris, good man though he may be, has gotten so caught up in the star chamber that he is oblivious to how bad he looks – overly ambitious, too eager, too hungry for this power to take the high road and respectfully decline, as did Rep. Danny Davis.

Maybe that’s asking too much of a man who has the highlights of his resume etched into a granite mausoleum in Chicago’s Oak Woods Cemetery.

So, off he goes on Tuesday, vowing to seek admission to the Senate. The conventional wisdom is that he will be accommodated somehow, but not seated, at which point he will take it to the courts. Thus, the web will become a bigger and bigger tangled mess.

But taking the post under these conditions is like taking dirty money – you didn’t commit a crime to get it, but taking it, knowing where it came from, says something. And that something isn’t good.

COMMENTARY....

Sources Say Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Is 'Senate Candidate No. 5'

By BRIAN ROSS

Chicago Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., is the anonymous "Senate Candidate No. 5" whose emissaries Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reportedly offered up to $1 million to name him to the U.S. Senate, federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News.

According to the FBI affidavit in the case, Blagojevich "stated he might be able to cut a deal with Senate Candidate 5 that provided Rod Blagojevich" with something "tangible up front."

Jackson said this morning he was contacted Tuesday by federal prosecutors in Chicago whom he said "asked me to come in and share with them my insights and thoughts about the selection process."

Jackson said, "I don't know" when asked whether he was Candidate No. 5, but said he was told "I am not a target of this investigation."

Jackson said he agreed to talk with federal investigators "as quickly as possible" after he consulted with a lawyer.

The congressman, a son of the famed civil rights leader, denied that anyone had been authorized to make payments or promises to the governor on his behalf.

Sources Say Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Is 'Senate Candidate No. 5'....

Obama calls for Illinois governor to resign

By LIZ SIDOTI

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday joined others calling for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to resign, distancing himself further from the unfolding scandal over allegations that the governor schemed to barter Obama's vacant Senate seat for personal gain.

"The president-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. (Pat) Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said in response to questions from The Associated Press.

Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday, accused of seeking money or other favors to influence his choice in picking Obama's replacement. The governor has authority to appoint the replacement, but top Illinois lawmakers have said they are preparing to call the Legislature into session as early as next week to set a special election to choose Obama's successor.

Asked whether Obama supports that move, Gibbs said Obama believes the Legislature should consider a special election and "put in place a process to select a new senator that will have the trust and confidence of the people of Illinois."

Over the past two days since Blagojevich's arrest, Obama and his aides have largely refrained from commenting on the scandal. When he has spoken about the case, he's been cautious.

Obama calls for Illinois governor to resign....