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Question of the day
Monday, Mar 15, 2010 * Whether you could tolerate watching it or not, do you think Rod Blagojevich’s appearance on that Donald Trump show is helping or hurting him with the jury pool? Explain.
- Posted by Rich Miller
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LIVE session coverage...
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- OneMan - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:10 am:
Hurting…. The reviews of the first episode give the impression that he was a whiny child.
- Brennan - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:14 am:
Hurting
He probably was due to get fired, but was saved by the fact that the Mens team raised the most money in the challenge.
- Boone Logan Square - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:20 am:
Helping, in that I think he’s trying to taint any possible jury pool. More mass media exposure, more potential jurors to have preconceived notions one way or another. Maybe he’s looking ahead to a mistrial motion or an appeal. Or he’s just insane.
- Finger Pointing - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:21 am:
Hurting — all he did was spew canned talking points about his innocence, his desire to serve people, etc. B-O-R-I-N-G.
- Dan S, a Voter & Cubs Fan - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:24 am:
It gave people outside of Il a real look at what kind of clown this guy really is.
- walter sobchak - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:27 am:
Helping. He only needs one. As Mencken wrote: no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people…or jury pool members.
- Red Ranger - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:29 am:
Helping: He just needs one person on that jury pool to believe him. He needs one person to see him as sympathetic, wronged and a person who tried to do right by people. The more people in Northern IL that he reaches out to, the better the chance that one person is taken in by this non-sense.
I keep trying to remind myself that the average citizen takes jury duty VERY seriously and when they get in the jury box they will forget all of his pre-trial jury lobbying. I hope I’m right.
- just sayin' - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:33 am:
Oh it’s helping him a ton. He may be a complete goofball but he’s got gifts, granted he largely squandered them. Comes across very likable.
One sees how a guy with a name like that got elected in the first place.
- VanillaMan - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:37 am:
Hurting.
Every week Rod Blagojevich is on prime time television is a week Illinois state government appears as the lowest most corrupt government on Earth.
This is a man who obviously couldn’t operate a school guard crossing safely and we’d discover that he sold the hand-held stop sign for a quarter.
Any political party capable of endorsing, nominating and electing this Bozo - twice should be driven from the state and forced to live on an iceberg with the Illinois GOP.
- shore - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:38 am:
Helping. He’s trying exactly what alexi tried 2 weeks ago which is to change the subject and present himself in a different light and I think he’s doing it. He’s definitely not doing what george ryan did which didn’t seem to work.
you also have to wonder what’s going through his head. could this be his last experience in life like this for a decade when he’ll be 60?
- South of Sherman - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:39 am:
Hurting — the one unavoidable constant for Rod Blagojevich is that the more people see and hear him, the less they like him.
- Anon - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:39 am:
Hurting. He looked like a deer in headlights when asked by Trump to respond to Joan Rivers’ criticisms. I remember that same Blago look when asked by reports if he received cash gifts for his daughters b-day….
- David Starrett - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:40 am:
It think it really comes down to how he reacts when he is, inevitably, “fired.” I’ve wondered about that from the very beginning. He could be graceful and accepting, but that’s not his nature. More likely he’ll be defiant and argumentative, reminding everyone of the last time he was fired.
I can’t help wondering whether the whole thing was scripted by pros before he even agreed to appear on the show. That would be his only hope.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:40 am:
I’m ashamed to say I watched last night. As for how his appearance will influence a jury pool, it’s hard to say. For one, he was pretty much a nonfactor in last night’s show. It seemed like only Michael Johnson had less air time than Rod.
To me, he looked awkward and uncomfortable. When his team won, everyone started fist-bumping and Rod was trying to shake hands. His tie knot was off, he wore a blazer which didn’t fit in, he was overly self conscious. In short, he was not a natural presence at all.
And the horrible jokes, how many times did he say “not guilty” of the charges? That the Cubs were in the playoffs more when he was Governor than at any other time in history, I was waiting for him to recite the list of US Presidents at one point.
His appearance was simply bad TV, and he won’t be long for the show. Even Trump’s “this guy’s got a lot of guts” remark was a lame attempt to explain why Rod was even there in the first place.
The best part? When he was asked about the cold cheeseburger. Run a tape of that stuttering nonanswer against the tape of his response a few years to the $1,000 birthday gift question. They are interchangeable.
I expect that will be his response when he takes the stand this summer too.
- Justice - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:46 am:
It’s hurting him with the jury pool.
It is pretty simply to profess you innocence without any counter. Repeating it time and time again doesn’t make it true, regardless of the venue. Twelve members of the jury, plus the alternates, will hear both sides of the story.
His antics are but a side show for those seeking to profit from him, with him thinking that it is he who is profiting.
His new theme song should be “I owe, I owe, it’s off to prison I go.” He will then start to pay for his misdeeds. I’m thinking 30 plus years.
- Cheryl44 - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:50 am:
Haven’t seen it, no interest in it, but it has to be tainting the jury pool. That’s the point, right?
- Matt - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:51 am:
I can’t wait to see his real-life show behind bars.
- Bill - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:52 am:
Helping-The more people see of Rod the more they like him and identify with him. He also did well with appearances on Geraldo and Greta last week. Rod is innocent and he will prove it when he gets his day in court.
- OneMan - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 10:56 am:
Glad to see you haven’t lost your touch Bill…
- Team Sleep - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:01 am:
Hurting
First and foremost, the unless his attorneys can get his trial move to Bozeman, Montana, his actions and routines are well-known to the citizens of Illinois. Even after his appearance on “The Celebrity Apprentice”, it would be tough to find any prospective in-state jurors who don’t think he is a schmoe.
Second, I really, really hope Goldberg gives Blago a jackhammer through Trump’s boardroom table.
- Team Sleep - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:02 am:
Matt, MSNBC will eat that up.
“Lockdown: Blago goes to prison”
- Amalia - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:20 am:
last night mostly hurting, that ticking clock was
just damning. but The Donald does have nice
things to say about his tenacity, and if that keeps
up, the Donald fans on the jury will remember.
- D.P. Gumby - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:28 am:
Couldn’t bring myself to watch it (and never have), but generally, anything that humanizes the defendant helps. Seeing the defendant as a person…as Rod and not “the defendant” is usually good. Will this person “Rod” seem like the same person the Feds will create and “show” through the wiretaps? It should make the Feds job more difficult. But trials are always a crap shoot.
- KGB - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:35 am:
Helping. C’mon, his favorables may be down to single digits, but that just means that there is still SOMEBODY out there that likes him. This TV appearance plays to those few, delusional souls who somehow think Rod has been wronged. He’ll get somebody on that jury who will trumpet his rights– even if they are the next Jerry Springer contestant.
- lincolnlover - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:36 am:
hurting. Sinbad’s jokes were a riot and made Rod look like the stupid clown he is.
- lake county democrat - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:37 am:
I dunno, but I’m cheering for the models on Amazing Race.
- downstate dem - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:47 am:
It has to be polluting the jury pool, but still if you can get twelve honest men or women to work on the jury, fairness and justice should survive.
- Quizzical - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 11:57 am:
I think hurt. That look on his face when the Donald confronted him was priceless. The show is designed to make people look bad, and Rod can’t avoid it. Letting food get cold so he could lay out his sob story is just the start.
- casual observer - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 12:17 pm:
Hurting. All the TV time in the world cannot erase the tapes of him throwing the F bomb and hitting up a children’s hospital for cash. People may find him likable when in front of a camera but when they hear the real Rod, they’ll forget all that.
- Vote Quimby! - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 12:20 pm:
Can we send all “reality” television “stars” to prision with Blago?
- Vote Quimby! - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 12:20 pm:
sorry…prison. must be the time change and a Monday…
- PPHS - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 12:21 pm:
I watched it. Not too bad for a one time look.
He is really despicable and the women called him on it.
I don’t know where you can get a jury pool that hasn’t formed an opinion about the guv.
- Ghost - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 12:56 pm:
Hurt him. He is damaging his credibility before he walks in the courtroom.
not to mention if he goes through all these appearances and refuses to testify in his criminal case he will do even more damage; it will make him look afraid to backup all these pre-trial tv claims y being afraid to be cross examined.
- Hisgirlfriday - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 1:41 pm:
I don’t know how it will affect him with the jury pool, but it sure gives the prosecution some insight into how he might act when he gets caught in a lie on the witness stand.
If he was that big of a deer in the headlights just dealing with Donald Trump in the boardroom where if he messes up all that happens is he’s off TV, how is he gonna handle being on the witness stand in a trial where his freedom is at stake?
- Knome Sane - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 1:53 pm:
It’s hurting. I am reminded of the old Country & Western song: “How can I miss you if you won’t go away?”.
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 2:11 pm:
Indifferent. He had his chance. Life’s too short to worry about Blago’s future. Let’s ignore the freak show and move on.
- Bobby - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 3:02 pm:
Does anyone know if Rod Blagojevichs radio show archives are posted on the internet, WLS radio does not have them on its site. Most of what He says on his show about Springfield politicians is true. Madigan is just as crooked as Blago.
- What's in a name? - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 4:41 pm:
Hurting, but who cares. Knowing that the rest of the country is seeing this man whom we elected twice is a little humiliating. I have maintained in Illinois politics you can be crooked, arrogant or stupid, but not all three at once. The show offered a remarkably accurate view of who he really is: A wholly incompetent BS artist.
Is stupidity a defense?
- The REAL Anonymous fka Anonymous - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 6:02 pm:
No, normally stupidity cannot be used as a defense. But he’s definitely an “extra special case”. If he comes off as “stupid”, people will feel sorry for him; if he comes off as “funny”, people will like him.
Definitely helps.
- Little Egypt - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 7:04 pm:
Hmmmm, Rod was on TV? When, where? Oh never mind.
- Sick of it all.... - Monday, Mar 15, 10 @ 8:09 pm:
I hope his appearance helps to convict him…. and if it gives others in our nation the thought that Illinois is the most corrupt government around…so be it…the truth hurts.