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* Use this post as an open thread to discuss tonight’s Blagojevich TV appearances. Make sure to follow along on his PR guy’s Twitter page.

But, for now, TPM really outdoes itself…

* And The Onion weighs in: Blagojevich Claims Behavior Was Just Elaborate Plan To Surprise Patrick Fitzgerald With Senate Nomination On His Birthday…

“You try to do something nice for someone, and look what happens,” the embattled governor told reporters at a press conference during which he unveiled a birthday cake for Fitzgerald.

“People get wind of it, so you try to cover up the big party you planned, then things get out of hand and the story ends up involving a children’s hospital, threats to the Tribune, and a half-million-dollar bribe. Next thing you know, you’re getting investigated by the very person you wanted to do something nice for! Pat, I’m sorry your birthday surprise was spoiled.”

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 4:50 pm

Comments

OK. There’s NO doubt now. This guy is LOONY and needs to be put away for his own safety. He’s turned in to a true nutcase.

Comment by sal-says Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 4:59 pm
Recess until 9:15 Wednesday morning so Republicans can read over the documents and come back with questions.

Comment by Nearly Normal Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:06 pm
That’s some top notch video making, worthy of a Golden Horseshoe.

Comment by Scooby Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:07 pm
And, the worst part is that he just feeds on this, whether it is a comic like Hughley or satire like the Onion or just national ‘media’ that don’t have a clue about all the rest of his antics/transgressions - just concentrating on some 4 letter words. Swell.

Comment by sal-says Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:08 pm
From the above-mentioned Twitter page…

===Hughley to gov: ‘I love your fighting spirit’===

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:11 pm
Is there a list of all tonight’s/today’s TV train wrecks somewhere?

Comment by LN Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:19 pm
And since Judge Zagel ruled that Cellini gets to keep Webb, he’s out of play once again for Blago, even on Winston’s “Pay As You Go Plan”

Comment by Blago Sphere Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:25 pm
No Twitters from their time at Rachel Maddow. Just one saying they were on their way. Hmmm. If any of these interviewers were going to lay a glove or two on the former, uncelebrated boxer, my money was on Maddow. She’ll be the one worth watching tonight.

Comment by Willie Stark Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:27 pm
For the first time in his life he is the absolute center of attention on the national stage and he will do what ever it takes to stay there.I think the term is media hog.Rod the Crook is better than being a VP pick.Look at Biden they have already stuffed him in the closet.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:34 pm
Rich, you should add an RSS feed to that ‘Twit-o-tron’ - at least until the media circus is over:

http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/18653915.rss

Comment by Anonymous Coward Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 5:40 pm
Twit:

Governor returns to Illinois tonight. Due to security reasons, no flight information or times of departure/arrival will be released.

Comment by Anonymous Coward Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 6:29 pm
The only possible motivation I can see to this media blitz Blago’s PR firm has sent him on is to lay the ground for enough notoriety for a book deal during or at the end of his political and criminal saga. Wouldn’t a PR firm work a deal to set up a national figure for a cut of any future book deals as compensation?

Blago is only hurting his political chances in the impeachment proceedings and hurting his criminal case by his inane ramblings on national TV. So what else could the PR firm have in mind for the money they are pouring out for Rod?

I agree, Rachel Maddow will shoot straight. But most interviewers have demonstrated a strong sense of incredulity regarding Rod’s version of reality.

Comment by sidepocket Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 6:32 pm
AC, I just saw that too. My only thought was, if they’re so hepped up about the security that “secrecy” provides, why are they blabbing it all over the internet. I bet the State Police detail loved that one.

Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 6:53 pm
Yeah, or this one…

Greta is a wrap… Walking to cnn… Honks, autographs, and picture taking along the way

Hi, we’re outside walking down the sidewalk from Fox studios to CNN!!

Comment by Anonymous Coward Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 6:56 pm
Obviously, the PR strategy trumps not only a sound legal strategy, but a sound security strategy.

Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 7:08 pm
Or perhaps they have a ’set up’ of folks ready to cheer the governor when he arrives and don’t want anti-rod folks to spoil the fun.

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 7:09 pm
Hughly is every bit as funny as he is a good judge of character.

Comment by You Go Boy Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 7:11 pm
OneMan, good point. Like extras in a movie, only more impromptu and less costly.

Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 7:14 pm
OneMan, Bill and whom else ?

Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 7:27 pm
AA,
Yeah me cheer the governor, I don’t think so.

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 7:32 pm
Anyone watching CNN, Blago is getting hit hard by Campbell Brown

Comment by David Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 7:32 pm
OneMan, my apologies. Poor grammar.

Restated: OneMan, who else but Bill would show up in the freezing cold to cheer on this nitwit?

Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:00 pm
Transcript of the Rachel Maddow interview:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28880998

Comment by Stu Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:01 pm
Rod is a little nervous (genuine or faked?) takling to Rachel Maddow. Weird and interesting.

Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:03 pm
Poor Onion: they try, but how can you satirize this?

Comment by Excessively rabid Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:03 pm
Campbell Brown did do a better job than most. Has anyone else noticed (I’ve seen it twice) when Blago tries to throw President Obama into the corruption mix by saying that ‘he placed several of his people in his administration, at his request?’ Will some enterprising reporter follow up and try to find out who was ‘placed’ into what jobs and for what quid pro quo?

Comment by walter sobchak Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:04 pm
Same stuff. Witnesses. Electd twice. Ten angels, Mother Theresa, anti-Nixon, tapes. I didn’t break any law.

Maddow: Public support. Approval ratings lower than Cheney.

Rod: Once the economy plummeted… yadda yadda. His low ratings had to do with economy.

Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:06 pm
Stu, thanks for the transcript.

Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:09 pm
How does this man sleep at night?

Comment by Former State Employee 2 Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:19 pm
“How does this man sleep at night? ” .. lots and lots of ambien.

Rod got off his talking points with Rachel regarding trying to influence the Tribune regarding Wrigley Field. He pretty much admitted guilt.

Comment by sidepocket Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:24 pm
For someone who wants my trust and to believe he didn’t do anything wrong, he’s too scripted, too phony.

Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:29 pm
Rachel is asking some good questions, but getting the same old line. We’re going to have to start calling him the “Teflon Don” the way he slips away from every question.

Out of context, I’m not allowed to comment, just let me say this.

More to go, hope she gets tough….

Comment by Fed Up State Employee Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:31 pm
Maddow for half an hour….she’s reeling him in. he tripped himself up on the Wrigley Field thing. can’t wait to hear Mendelhoff (sp) analyze.

Comment by Amy Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:31 pm
It’s interesting that Blago keeps saying to interviewers that to get free bus rides and cancer screenings he had to around the legislature. Is that not what he is being impeached for? Hummm.

Comment by Toast Man Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:31 pm
OK, so his DEFENSE is, are you ready?…He was trying to horsetrade for POLICY considerations, not money etc. Wasn’t there something in the tapes about wanting a position on a Board for his wife and wanting a union job for himself? Also, what about the comments about the change in the political contribution law which went into effect on Jan 1st? Didn’t the tape that was played today have him asking of the racetrack guy if it could be “done before the end of the year”? Help me out on this one people.

Comment by MikeintheSuburbs Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:32 pm
Robinhood defense!!!!! state of mind for extorting the Tribune!!!! Rachel it getting down to it!!!!

Comment by Amy Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:38 pm
Do I get the feeling now that Rachel was being very sly and setting him up? If so, I apologize to Rachel. Like Amy, I can’t wait for this analysis!

Comment by Fed Up State Employee Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:39 pm
“how about helping us pass education and a jobs bill.” in exchange for the appointment……quid pro quo is quid pro
quo. well, now we’re getting into the territory of politics.
Tribune….watch his face, he’s trying to get the words back into his mouth as they come out….I agree with Rachel on this one. this part made him look very bad. Rachel is quiet in her
demeanor. damn her, Rhodes Scholar interviewer from Hell, thinks Blago.

Comment by Amy Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:46 pm
Did anyone see O’Reilly Factor? Rod not on but Bill did a good piece on him,had 2 legaleze folks on who said Rod is toast, criminally, due to the snippets of phone calls played today, not to mention what’s in the affadivit. Bill also noted that Rod didn’t have the guts to come on his show. Entertaining

Comment by Merit Comp Slave Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:49 pm
Save the tapes and transcripts for the criminal prosecution. Blago has given ammo to Fitzgerald.

Robin Hood defense? No way! So obvious that he is much more interested in taking care of himself and his family NOT the citizens of the state of Illinois.

Comment by Nearly Normal Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:50 pm
I’ll say one thing, the Maddow post-interview analysis (so far) is more thoughtful than the other media stuff I’ve seen this week, most of which was a joke.

Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:51 pm
oh, Rachel, how you are helping restore Rich’s faith in the national media. your comments on home phone vs. office phone, state of mind, discrepancies between what was or was not done re the Tribune will all be looked at. Rachel Maddow comes to Chicago as witness?

Comment by Amy Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:53 pm
This is how business is done in Illinois defense.

Comment by Nearly Normal Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:55 pm
Rachel’s interview was the best so far. Finally someone who can cut through the bs and ask some good questions. It looks like the Gov may have really pigeonholed his criminal defense.

Comment by Kevin Fanning Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:56 pm
She just made a good point on making these calls from his home phone instead of his office and telling people to be careful about the phones they use. Maybe that’s why he’s been doing so much business from home for the past few years and not going into the office. He might have thought they could bug his office, but not his home. Wrong.

Comment by Fed Up State Employee Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:56 pm
At first I was thinking, “here we go again, more softballl questions.” But Maddow really nailed him with the questions and follow-up with the former US Attorney guy.

Hope Fitz was was watching!!

Comment by Blue in DuPage Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 8:58 pm
==The only possible motivation I can see to this media blitz Blago’s PR firm has sent him on is to lay the ground for enough notoriety for a book deal during or at the end of his political and criminal saga. ==

Too many unknowns.

Who would buy it? Who would read it? Who would write it for him? Who would read it to him?

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:03 pm
Looking at the transcript, Rod came the closest to shooting himself in the foot when he was talking about the Cub/Tribune deal.

I can’t imagine why Gensen did not want Rod on these shows.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:03 pm
It’s been an up day.

Now Greta has him.

Comment by Fed Up State Employee Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:04 pm
“he’s all in. i don’t know whether he has threes or kings, but he’s all in.” Kent’s analysis of the Blago show. very funny.

Comment by Amy Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:07 pm
I haven’t seen Madow yet, but have been watching this media blitz fairly closely, in an almost masochistic fashion. Like Rich, I’ve never had much use for the “national media,” and this episode confirms the sorry state of “news’ in the US. It is what it is, I suppose, and that’s a subject best left for another day.

Having said that, I have to admire the governor’s message discpline over the course of this ordeal. He’s been punched in the nose so many times, by most (though not all) of the interviewers over the past 48 hours. Despite the rhetorical beatings, he’s been violently on-message the whole time. He’s relentless in a cede-no-ground, take-no-prisoners sort of way. I know, I know, that’s part of the pathology.

But damn, he’s all-in for a very large pot. We all know he’s going to miss his flush on the river, but he’s doing a great job of selling four aces to the national windbags.

In a weird sort of way, I think the Governor handled his entry into the national spotlight better than I would have expected. Looking at the entirety of the interviews, he came through the meat-grinder on his game, such that it is.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:10 pm
Mens rea. It’s latin for state of mind and a key element that needs to be proven in any criminal prosecution. Thanks to Rachel Maddow, Rod just provided Patrick Fitzgerald with a key element necessary to proving guilt. Forget about the courts, watch for this element to be introduced tomorrow at the Senate trial.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Sam Adam and his PR slimeballs should be prosecuted for malpractice. They enabled the worst side of Rod’s personality and allowed him to put himself in a forum to confess elements of the crime. It doesn’t get worse than that.

Say goodnight Rod.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:12 pm
47, my question is: to what end?

If the media freakshow goes off with flying colors, how ultimately does he benefit?

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:14 pm
Greta has drifted off into goofy land with this interview. That was a complete waste of time.

Comment by Fed Up State Employee Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:19 pm
he doesn’t have a car. wow. i cannot stand him, but i sure would not want to be in his place.

Greta was VERY soft on him.

Comment by Amy Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:19 pm
“That was something, the sort of thing that they would say is an impeachable thing ‘cause I’m using the executive office, they think, without the legislative approval. The Tribune editorial board was advocating that I be impeached for those sorts of things.

And so again, without going into detail, they’re getting the benefit of these things to try to help the Cubs. We just would prefer that they don’t, look, that—that the things that they’re advocating that I be impeached it’d be nice if they they laid off on an issue like that.”

Game. Set. Match.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:23 pm
I think Greta was ready to go out and have a drink with him. Pathetic! Need someone to bust his virility and get him off script. At least Rachel had him stuttering….

Comment by Fed Up State Employee Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:25 pm
WGN reported that some Senators left the chamber today saying they still have not heard any impeachable evidence..

Comment by ivoted4judy Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:29 pm
Good question Wordslinger. In our world (the real world), there is no end game that explains his behavior. No benefit that I can see at least.

But this is his story and he’s sticking to it, damn the torpedos and full steam ahead. On a very twisted level, that’s admirable message discipline. There a plenty of candidates/office holders I’ve worked for who couldn’t handle the pounding Rod has taken, and then gone back for more.

I think you and I are in complete agreement on the entire debacle.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:29 pm
47th-

That is what is so sad. That a guy who had this remarkable skill and the opportunity to do good would cast his pearls before swine, and become one of them.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:31 pm
Isn’t it sad? If his actions followed his message, he could have written his own ticket. Instead that ticket is being punched to another destination.

Comment by Fed Up State Employee Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:41 pm
Great point Fed Up, imagine if he put as much effort into governing this state as he did enriching himself and his friends, and now defending himself, he would be able to go high places without buying them.

Comment by Also Fed Up Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 9:50 pm
Rachel is my hero! She obviously had a strategic plan to reel him in and she executed it perfectly. I agree with her conclusions that the Governor has contributed greatly to his own prosecution.

Comment by One of the 35 Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 10:04 pm
That TPM montage made me recall a certain other movie that now I will always associate with Rod and this impeachment.

Bear with me, please indulge me, read the following with Rod’s voice and you’ll see the parallels.
…………………

Biker #2: [the whole gang holds Pee-wee hostage] I say we kill him!
Biker Gang: [shout] Yeah!
Biker #3: I say we hang him, *then* we kill him!
Biker Gang: [shout] Yeah!
Biker #4: I say we stomp him!
Biker Gang: [shout] Yeah!
Biker #4: Then we tattoo him!
Biker Gang: [shout] Yeah!
Biker #4: Then we hang him…!
Biker Gang: [shout] YEAH!’!
Biker #4: And then we kill him!
Biker Gang: [shout] YEAH!’!'!
Pee-wee: [tries to throw voice without moving lips] I say we let him go.
Biker Gang: [shout] NO!’!'!

Pee-wee: There’s a lotta things about me you don’t know anything about, Dottie. Things you wouldn’t understand. Things you couldn’t understand. Things you shouldn’t understand.
Dottie: I don’t understand.
Pee-wee: You don’t wanna get mixed up with a guy like me. I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel.

Pee-wee: The mind plays tricks on you. You play tricks back! It’s like you’re unraveling a big cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting…

[three hours into Pee-wee’s long, boring meeting, Pee-wee shows a scale-model of the mall where his bike was stolen, with arrows pointing certain spots as well as the X showing where his bike was]
Pee-wee: Exhibit “Q”! a scale-model of the entire mall! X marks the scene of the crime. These arrows here show the exact position of the sun at the hour of the crime. Jupiter was aligned with Pluto! The moon was in the seventh…
Chuck: Pee-wee!
Pee-wee: Please save your questions until I’m THROUGH, Chuck!
Chuck: Well, when will that be? A long time, we wait! We’ve been here for over 3 hours now, and I’m not sure if any of us can see what all this is supposed to mean.
Pee-wee: Supposed to mean? SUPPOSED TO MEAN?’!
[breaks his pool cue]

P.W. Herman: [is handed the desk phone] Yes? Uh-huh. Yes, I understand.
[hangs up]
P.W. Herman: That was the president again. I’ve got to steal back the X1 before the Soviets find the secret compartment containing the microfilm. The future of the free world is riding on this one.
[last lines]
Pee-wee: Come on, Dottie. Let’s go.
Dottie: Let’s go? Don’t you wanna see the rest of the movie?

Pee-wee: I don’t have to see it, Dottie. I *lived* it.

Comment by Gregor Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 10:08 pm
Letterman had a spoof of Blago interviewing himself on C-span, very funny. Can’t wait for the top 10 list.

Comment by Jacksonville Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 10:53 pm
[…] First comment at this post: […]

Pingback by Gov. Blago Never Entered the Building « LoomisNews: An Outside Observer Tuesday, Jan 27, 09 @ 11:40 pm
Gregor, You are right on target! How could I have forgotten the PeeWee Herman movie? It is so spot on. Forget MacBeth, Rod is PeeWee!

Note to Rod’s bodyguards: Keep him out of the Times Square movie theaters.

Note to Rod: The evidence that will exonerate you is in the basement of the Alamo.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:12 am
Mixing images of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Frank Capra films and the cowboy thing and we have Blazing Saddles. Now I understand… Hedley Lamarr.

Comment by North of I-80 Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 1:00 am
Anyone else upset that the first use of Twitter by an Illinois official is so we can follow the Hair around? It takes me two weeks+ to get a press release approved to get work done in this state.

Rome is burning…

Comment by Highway Man Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 5:20 am
Blagoofy got burned on glenn beck (fox news) and rachel maddow (msnbc)

Comment by foster brooks Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 6:28 am
Hasn’t anyone created some kind of drinking game to go along with this nonsense for his next interview? It seems like there are a looot of buzzphrases that could be used:

“I have done nothing wrong”
“I will be vindicated”
“A governor, elected twice by the people”
“We did discuss Oprah”
“When it all comes out”
“In context”
“I haven’t heard the tapes myself”
“I would love to be able to call witnesses”

Comment by Rebw Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 8:14 am
You’ve got to read the transcripts of these interviews to get the full flavor. Blago speaks in incredible run on sentences without even taking a breath. It is basically Sarah Palin without the “alsos”. I have concluded that he is bi polar mostly in a manic phase. When he is depressed, he holes up in Ravenswood Manor. Your thoughts?

Comment by MikeintheSuburbs Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 8:25 am
The Daily Show (Comedy Central, and probably on their web site): Jon Stewart ripped Geraldo, very funny montage of all the Geraldo wackiness. said Rivera did a “drive by soft ball interview” of Blago.

also, the recurring story of Blagojevich (and you have to hear and see how Stewart says Blagojevich!!!!) is called:

Slumdog MillionHairs

lolololol

Comment by Amy Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 8:32 am
I agree that Rod seems manic now but isn’t “bi-polar” kind of a facile stereotype? The problem with a little knowledge of psychology is the ease with which one can resort to a sneaky new form of name-calling. That said, it seems reasonable to say that Blago is narcissistic, immature, and probably fairly sociopathic based on his behavior.

Comment by Ahem Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 8:36 am
Campbell Brown did a great job of placing Rod on the spot, got him agitated, and told him, “this is about YOU, not the people of Illinois.”

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/27/brown.blagojevich.transcript/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

If every interview went this way, Rod would look like an idiot the 69 times a day he is on TV.

Comment by BandCamp Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 8:47 am
Put all the possible names of his condition in a box, pull them out one by one, and they all same the same thing in parenthesis beside the condition….Idiot!

Comment by Justice Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 8:59 am
Campbell Brown is the only one I’ve seen who even mentioned that Blago’s’s being impeached under articles of the state constitution.

I haven’t watched cable yappers forever; probably not since the runup to Bush/Kerry. After the tutorial of the last two days, there’s really no need to go back.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 8:59 am

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