He Might Be Mad But He's Not Crazy

To listen to the talking heads on television, you'd have to believe that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is nuts.

There's been interviews with psychiatrists, analysis at a distance from trained professionals, but they're all off track.

Blago is nothing more than a traditional and typical Chicago Machine politician. The kinds of shake-downs and arm twisting, the wheeling and the dealing, that were caught on tape are not signs of insanity. They're signs that Rod learned a great deal from his father-in-law.

This sort of activity is normal for Chicago and Springfield politicians. Makes no difference if they're Democrats, like Blagojevich, or Republicans, like William Cellini (recently indicted). "Where's Mine" is a more accurate motto that should be emblazoned on the vehicle license plates and official stationary. It describes things much more fully than something as innocuous as "Land of Lincoln" or "Urbs in Horto".

Blago's nuts? No, he might be mad, considering that his downfall began when he squabbled with his father-in-law, who then went to the press and declared that the Governor was accepting bribes for favors. But he's not crazy.