Blago Goodbye

I've not had much sympathy for Rod Blagojevich and I'm not sorry to see him go.

But I wonder about people like the former governor, like the current Republican obstructionists, like the past President. I wonder about people who create their own worlds and dwell in them.

Just about every commentator has noted Blago's corruption. My sister, the commentator I most respect once said to me, "That jackass! He could have made the governance of Illinois Democratic for a generation, but he screwed things up so badly that people won't vote for Democrats for statewide office."

Things Blago claimed as his legacy, the prescription drug packages, for example, haven't gone the way Rod claims they've gone. They have been, mostly, a bust.

His claims on Wrigley Field seem bogus. His movie references are strange and strained. His press conferences are just weird. But he seems to genuinely believe what he asserts.

Likewise, the Bush White House seemed to believe what it asserted. That Iraq was a good idea, that the "war on Terror" is winnable, that the economy is strong and growing. I truly believe that Bush believed those things. Unfortunately, it isn't true.