Published: January 27, 2009 06:24 pm      

GESENHUES: How much does a Senate seat cost?

How about that Blagojevich? I am fascinated by this Illinois governor (ex-governor?). He is the used car salesman of governorships, wheeling and dealing the Senate seat. His hair alone lends enough for an entire editorial.

In the beginning, Rod Blagojevich was on the back burner of my politico radar. I felt like I had personally won the election and was still reeling from the high of my candidate finally winning. The Blagojevich story looked like it was going to be Obama’s first Oval Office scandal. I didn’t want to entertain the thought of someone who could stain our new administration so early in the game.

But now there appears to be enough distance between Blago and Obama to enjoy the play that has become the Blag-o-vian tragedy. And oh what a theater it is. He is truly an entertaining individual to watch and obviously the hero in his own twisted version of the story that has become his persecution. His Frank Capra film references take us back to the good old days of Jimmy Stewart and Al Capone when our movies were in black and white and our gangsters were in tuxedos and derby hats.

From the get-go, when President Obama called for him to resign, the fact that Blago held strong and refused was enough to do a double take. Can you imagine telling the President of the United States no?

And now he won’t stop talking. Instead of attending his impeachment trial this week he has made appearances on “Today,” “Good Morning America,” and “The View.” Is it even legal to skip your impeachment trial for a 10-minute interview with Whoopi Goldberg?

During his interview with Amy Robach on “Today” he compared himself to Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi.

Gandhi? Really? I mean, come on. Not only is he being accused of selling a Senate seat, but there are also allegations that he tried to pull $8 million in funding to a children's hospital because the CEO of the hospital did not come through with a $50,000 contribution. While these tactics may be non-violent, they're not exactly Gandhi-like.

There was the Diane Sawyer interview where he said that he had considered Oprah Winfrey for the seat, which really doesn't help his case any. If you were going to put something up for auction, wouldn’t you want Oprah bidding on it? Even if she didn’t want it, she could drive up the price considerably.

If Blagovejich wants to stay in office, these television appearances are not helping him. Although staying governor doesn’t seem to be his objective anymore. This week's media tour makes one wonder if he has new career aspirations. Being thrown into the media circus that is our daytime television programming could be very engaging for someone who likes being in the limelight.

The flip side of this story is that he may just be telling the truth. Maybe the Illinois governor is innocent. Maybe everything he said on those tapes was taken out of context. Maybe he is the cowboy falsely accused of stealing a horse (an analogy he used during a recent press conference and probably a better comparison than the Gandhi reference).

All of these maybes could be true, but I think it’s too late. Whether you are innocent or not, it doesn’t matter much once you have been burned by the flames of fame. After Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters ask for interviews, do you really want to go back to the governor’s mansion to take phone calls from lowly state-level politicians?

So the question becomes, if not governor, then what?

I see reality show host or judge somewhere in his future. The entire scandal could be turned into a reality show, Senate seat and all. It would be called American Senator, “Watch as contestants pay-to-play for a seat in the Senate.”

Blagovejich could be the host and the judges would include everyone from Tucker Carlson to Sarah Palin. Every now and again, they could get a guest judge like Jon Bon Jovi or Bono. That would be a reality show I could watch (of course, I would have to DVR it if the show time conflicted with any of the Real Housewives series).



Amy Gesenhues is a freelance writer who lives in Floyd County. You can read her daily commentaries at www.AmyWroteIt.Wordpress.com. E-mail her directly at amy@amywroteit.com.