Still at Work?

With all the unemployed Americans facing tough times, it's just galling to know that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich went back to work yesterday, and shows no sign that he's thinking of quitting. As the details of the case against him come into sharper focus, it's also obvious why he's staying. It's his only leverage against what looks now like a long stretch in prison stripes. Again, the man is innocent until proven guilty, but it's his own words that are damning him.

There is more information about the depth and breadth of both Blagojevich's greed, and the efforts to take him down. We now know that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is the potential senate appointee identified as "Candidate #5" in the criminal complaint. That would be the one whose "associate" allegedly offered a half million dollars for the appointment.

The congressman held a press conference to angrily denounce Blagojevich, and to deny he ever authorized anyone to make that kind of offer on his behalf. If he's lying, he ought to remember that the prosecutor in this case if one Patrick Fitzgerald, who nailed ex-Cheney chief of staff Scooter Libby for doing the same thing.

Also exposed yesterday was the identity of "Individual A", a central figure in the complaint. He's lobbyist John Wyma, a close adviser to Blagojevich. He's also apparently the guy who ratted him out, not about the senate seat, but a different shakedown scheme the governor had concocted. It seems there was no government allocation too small, no appointment too big, no matter too trivial for Blagojevich not to attempt to profit from.

And in the end, that's why he was still in his office yesterday. Despite calls to quit from just about every politician in the state of Illinois and President-Elect Obama, Rod Blagojevich remains defiant, and by all accounts unrepentant. Short of calling a special election the Democrats might lose, there seems to be no way to force him to give up the only bargaining chip he still has....that senate appointment.

However, he won't hold that for long. The Illinois political apparatus that Rod Blagojevich was elected to reform will find a way to snatch the appointment right out from under his nose. Either that, or he's actually going to try and bargain with the feds for a lighter sentence in exchange for a quick exit.

If he thinks he can pull that off, he doesn't know Patrick Fitzgerald. What do you think? How long does Rod Blagojevich last?