* Lynn Sweet has the story of a comically self-serving attempt to pass blame…

Bud Jackson is a political consultant who has worked campaigns for Roland Burris in the past. When Burris was appointed to the Senate, he was helping out a bit, pro bono, he told me. Now he is dumping on others who, he said, ill advised the junior senator from Illinois.

But Jackson, who makes a living in political communication, wants everyone to know he has nothing to do with the hole the senator has dug himself with his changing stories about his relations with people in ousted Gov. Blagojevich’s orbit.

* The letter…

Concerning Senator Roland Burris

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Members of the Media:

As many of you may recall I actively helped my former client, Roland Burris, during his run-up to being successfully seated in the United States Senate.

Since that time, well … his team’s public relations efforts have been less than stellar. Turns out that, because my business is political communication, I need to let folks know that I have not been involved in the decisions that have led to the public relations fiasco over the past week. In fact, I actively counseled his team to take very different actions, to no avail.

I have not returned countless calls from my friends in the media, partly because my role no longer includes responding to media queries, now that the Senator has his own official staff. If you are a member of the media, please contact Jim O’Connor, the new communications director (being shot out of a cannon) for Senator Burris at his Washington, DC office (202) 224-2852.

I know based on my own private conversations and experience that Senator Roland Burris has been the victim of bad advice and, when set-up to fail, he certainly shall we say, has had less than adeqaute attempts to better and more clearly inform the public at a press conference, or two. It has ben painful to watch. Regardless, the senator has more than 30 years of public service and his integrity has never been questioned. I know that he has done nothing inappropriate despite the impression that has been left.

Despite what may or may not happen as a result of the mess that has been made, I stand behind my former client. To quote the movie Oh, Brother Where Art Thou Senator Burris is “in a tight spot.” It’s an unfortunate distraction for Illinois people who are most concerned about their jobs and their homes. It’s not so bad if you’re a Republican, a Democrat gunning for his seat, or if you’re trying to sell newspapers — they all benefit by painting everything in its worst possible context.

So to sum it all up: it’s complicated.

Sincerely,

Bud Jackson

So, to “sum it all up,” Jackson says that Burris has been the victim of bad advice, but the stories resulting from all that bad advice are “painting everything in its worst possible context.” Should Burris have just dummied up about his prevarications? I’m not clear about what Jackson believes Burris should’ve done.

I prefer a different quote from Jackson’s favorite movie…

“I slaughtered this horse last Tuesday. I think it’s startin’ to turn.”

* Meanwhile, Rod Blagojevich’s former press secretary Lucio Guerrero spills a few of his guts…

For the first time, a key advisor to impeached former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is providing an insider’s account of life inside the administration after Blagojevich’s arrest. […]

On the day the Senate trial convened, Blagojevich began a media blitz that his press secretary advised against.

* And Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. attempts to explain…

“During that very lonely period, (I was) trying to defend my character and my integrity against allegations I had absolutely nothing to do with,” he said. “I still have not talked to federal authorities. I am not an informant. I’m not a snitch.

“I’m not any of those things, and yet I’ve been maligned, besmirched, through that process, and I still have some mental trepidations associated with the things I read about myself and would think, ‘That can’t possibly be me.’ But it is what it is.”

So, when he does talk to the feds, does that then make him a snitch?

* Related…

* Plenty share blame for Burris debacle: Urging him to resign assumes he carries a conscience.

* Should he stay or should he go now? This is a different problem. It’s with how he laid out the wording on the monument. There’s a heading “Trail Blazer,” and then it says “First African-American In Illinois to Become:” and after that he leaves some space before listing his accomplishments — Illinois Attorney General 1991-95, Illinois Comptroller 1979-1991, all the way to SIU Exchange Student to University of Hamburg, Germany 1959-60.

* Too late for ex-Burris backers to cut and run

* Sen. Roland Burris questioned in probe of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich

* Burris stays silent amid calls for resignation

* Burris return puts senator to the test

* Burris Faces Battle As He Heads Back To Washington

* Colleagues must convince Burris to quit

* Burris Under Fire, But Still Silent