Don't fall in love with politicians...

The Democratic Governor of Illinois, who you should be aware, was slated to be a Democratic candidate for the Presidency prior to the ascendancy of Senator Obama's political star and rumors of own misdeeds began circulating, has managed to make the Somali Pirates look like a bunch of amateur burglars with his "full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes" attempt to auction off the Illinois Senate seat left vacant by the President Elect to the highest bidder.

It appears that Governor Blagojevich or his staff did reach out to the Obama transition staff for a quid pro quo for an senate appointment to be given to Obama's friend and advisor Valerie Jarret. It also appears that the the Obama team offered only "appreciation" in exchange for the appointment, thus putting the kibosh on that particular scheme.

Almost immediately the question of "What did Obama know and when did he know it?" began to make the rounds of the blogosphere. The mainstream media and liberal pundits have been quick to say that there is no evidence implicating Obama in this breaking scandal citing the fact that his transition team did the right thing in not engaging the Illinois Governor in a quid pro quo for his Senate replacement. Nevertheless it is interesting to note that on most of morning news shows (Today, GMA, etc.) the talking heads all neglect to mention the Governor's political party when discussing this story. I remember when Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska ran into his own ethics problems not long ago, they couldn't get the words "Republican Senator" out of their mouths fast enough!

On the other hand, the conservative pundits have been quick to seize the involvement of Tony Rezco in this scandal as a means of resurrecting Senator Obama's relationship with the indicted Chicago political "fix it" man.

The curtain has only gone up on this scandal, one which could prove much deeper and wide ranging than anyone expects at this time. Personally, the question everyone should be asking at this time is, depending on the strength of the Government's case against Governor Blagojevich, how much will he willing to talk to save his own skin?

Blagojevich is a 51 year old politician, the titular head of Chicago politics, with a wife and a family who faces a tremendous amount of jail time if found guilty and he doesn't strike me as a "stand up guy" who will be willing to go silently into federal prison for the rest of his life. I am quite sure that there are players in this scandal, both below and above the Governor of Illinois, who are anxiously watching this story develop.

Peggy Noonan, columnist and former speech writer for Ronald Reagan, wrote: "Don't fall in love with politicians, they're all a disappointment. They can't help it, they just are."

Truer words were never written.