There's a Lot of Stupid Going Around

As was suggested here before, the whole world has known for more than a year that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald -- he whose name strikes fear into the hearts of miscreants everywhere -- has had his sights on Governor Rod Blogojevich (Bluh-goy'-a-vich). So it was with a sense of great satisfaction that Illinois awoke this morning to learn that federal officials had arrested Blogojevich (above, in his California surfin' days) at his home early today.

But satisfaction turned to jaw-dropping amazement when we learned the immediate charge:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.

Blagojevich and Harris were accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that included Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. The governor was also accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.

Can you imagine? The newspapers have been full of corruption allegations about this guy for years, and he thinks it's safe to continue business as usual?

I met Blagojevich once, when he was a Congressman and I worked at a Social Security Office in his district. We were both giving speeches at a senior citizens' center, and his staff person (who I had a great working relationship with) introduced us. Blogo looked at me, nodded, and looked away. My feelings were not hurt. I had already suspected he was a dummy, and this confirmed it. I was manager of the federal office with the biggest financial impact on his constituents, and was so irrelevant to him that he couldn't shake hands. I guess he looked at mine and didn't see any cash in them.

But I'm not bitter.

Update: The BBC has corrected my pronunciation: It's Bleh-goy'-a-vich. Everybody in Chicago says Bluh-goy'-a-vich, but I trust the BBC's pronunciation over the Governor's own.