There are exactly 100 Senators in the United States Senate; two of those are held by the President Elect and the Secretary of State Designate. These are two high profile seats because they are from Illinois and New York (respectively), and whomever was chosen by the Governors of those States to fulfill the terms of both Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton would be under intense scrutiny. The process has been playing out the way it normally does in New York, where names are being bantered about and Governor David Patterson has to choose one person out of a list of fine candidates such as Caroline Kennedy and Andrew Cuomo among others. Of course there’s going to be political posturing going on behind the scenes. Of course there’s some interesting drama going on, because by appointing Cuomo to the seat, Patterson essentially eliminates his biggest rival for the Democratic Nomination for Governor in 2010. By appointing Kennedy, he assures a legacy of that family continuing in the US Senate, something that is probably very important to the Kennedy Clan as Uncle Ted is dying. Oh, let’s not forget the Clintons in all of this drama too, because if you think they are not going to have their paw prints all over this, I have a Bridge in Brooklyn for you. And here’s another twist: Cuomo was married at one time to Caroline Kennedy’s cousin, the daughter of the late Senator Robert F Kennedy of New York. THIS is what Political Drama is all about. THIS is how things are supposed to be: intrigue, twists and turns, but a process that ultimately will pick a legitimate and worthy successor to Senator Clinton.
Things are not so simple in Illinois however. This appointment to succeed our future President as Senator from the Great State Of Illinois is probably the most watched in the nation. You would think that the Governor of the State, Rod Blagojovich, would carefully assess the potential candidates in a fashion similar to what Patterson is doing in New York. You would think that he would wisely choose someone equal to Barack Obama’s abilities and intellect to continue the work he started for the people of Illinois. You would think that he would constantly be aware that Obama’s successor would be measured by a very high standard no matter who he appointed. Oprah Winfrey would be held to the highest standard, for God’s sake.
I thought the dumbest thing I had heard was when NY Giants Wide Receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg in a nightclub after the gun he was carrying (with an expired permit from another state) in his PANTS no less. The last thing I would ever do should I ever choose to own a gun would be to casually drop it in the front of my pants for safekeeping where it could go off at any time, thus taking away my manhood and giving me a new career as an adult singer for the Vienna Boys Choir. This was dumb…very dumb and most likely cost the man his career and millions of dollars. Being ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTING TO SELL A SENATE SEAT…the President Elect’s old Senate seat… falls into a completely new category of hubris, audacity, self-righteousness that cannot even be tagged with a name. All you can do is as yourself a very simple question:
What the fuck was this guy thinking?
His Job Approval rating is just slightly higher than the fat content of whole milk…(just 4% of Illinois residents think he’s doing a fine job.) This is obviously going to delight Republicans all over this country who are foaming at the mouth right now just waiting for something to pop up in this Investigation about Obama. Sorry guys, but the charges specifically state (and the brilliant Federal Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald…he of the Scooter Libby/Valerie Plaime Affair…reiterated in his Press Conference) that Barack Obama was in no way associated with ANY of the wrongdoings of Rod The Dumb Governor. They will be more than happy to make the inference that he WAS associated with the crimes that were in the charges; just wait for Rush and the rest of the Right Wing Boys and Gals to start their rants and campaign of disinformation tomorrow. They will be more than happy to use this as an excuse to potentially gum up the works of the new Administration before it even gets off the ground and the hell with the American People and the dire straits we are in. Trust me, these guys are going to do everything they can to make life miserable for everyone again.
I won’t even speculate anything further than what has been shown in the indictment. If there are dots to be connected and I see them, I will indeed say something in my blog about them. Right now, it’s way to early to speculate anything. The only thing we know for sure is that we are left with the audacity of a dope. I just hope this idiot doesn’t ruin the chance we have of doing something meaningful as Americans in this country rather than resort to the old politics as usual.
This Republic will not survive if that becomes a reality for the next four years.
“He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.” – Andrew Carnegie
Intersections In Real Time 