End Of The Trail?

OK, the Feds, after a lengthy investigation, have apparently bagged Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for conspiring to sell the appointment to fill the seat of President-Elect Barrack Obama. From all news accounts, it appears to be a dead bang case against Governor Blagojevich and, presumably, he will not be the governor of Illinois much longer. But is that the end of the trail??

Rod Blagojevich is a product of Chicago machine politics. He is just one of a long line of politicians who have risen to power through this corrupt system only to fall from grace and wind up disgraced and imprisoned. It is the nature of this particular beast. The type of patronage that is part and parcel of Chicago politics in general is the soil that sprouts so many corrupt politicians. People like Tony Resko provide the fertilizer to help the growth in the form of cash and shady deals. When they get caught, as they often do, it turns into a fishing derby, with every fisherman trying to catch ever larger fish. Tony Resko started talking and what he had to say was at least part of the reason for the investigation of Governor Blagojevich. Now it will be Gov. B's turn to flip and flop and maybe turn in someone bigger to cut himself a favorable deal with the Feds.

So far, there has been plenty of speculation concerning Rahm Emmanuel, the soon-to-be White House Chief of Staff, and even some speculation concerning President-Elect Obama. Such speculation may have no basis in fact and I hope it does not, for the sake of our country. Any legitimate trail that leads into the Obama White House would be absolutely disastrous for this country, for many reasons. However, one fact that is undeniable, even to the most ardent Obamaniac, is the fact that Barack Obama is a product of the same Chicago machine politics that have produced such politicians as Rod Blagojevich and former Illinois Representative Dan Rostenkowski. Rostendowski, who was convicted of mail fraud in 1996 and served 15 months in prison before being pardoned by President Bill Clinton, was the former Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

I sincerely hope that this trail ends at Governor Blagojevich's doorstep. However, as the old saying goes, "If you lay down with dogs, don't be surprised if you get fleas!" Is anyone in Wahington feeling itchy??