* I’ve already told you about the poll that showed Gov. Blagojevich’s job approval rating was worse than President Bush’s. But I told subscribers about the poll’s crosstabs, which has even more bad news for the governor. That’s the subject of this week’s syndicated newspaper column as well.

His base is deserting him…

Blagojevich has courted black voters for years, and it paid off. He scored higher in most black Chicago wards and Cook County townships than Cook County Board President Todd Stroger did in November. According to official exit polling, Blagojevich won 80 percent of the black vote last fall.

But the details of the Rasmussen poll have Blagojevich’s current approval among black voters at 41 percent and his disapproval at 57 percent. That’s a worse showing in that demographic than any poll I can find since the man was first elected.

The governor also is doing worse with female voters than with male voters, according to Rasmussen. Eighty-four percent of women rate his job performance as either fair (30 percent) or poor (54 percent), while “just” 70 percent of men rate his performance as unsatisfactory. That’s truly astonishing when you consider that the governor’s sweeping and much-publicized health care proposals are aimed right at women and minority voters. Also, Blagojevich won a majority of the female vote last fall, 53 percent, while getting just 45 percent of the male vote, according to the exit polling.

The governor also is getting clobbered by his own Democratic voters. Just 29 percent of Democrats said he was doing an excellent or good job, while 71 percent rated him negatively.

There was one consolation for the governor in that Rasmussen poll. While 53 percent of all voters blamed the governor for the seemingly never-ending “budget stalemate” and just 19 percent blamed the state legislature, only 11 percent of black voters blamed the governor for the current mess in Springfield, and a solid majority of 57 percent blamed the Legislature.

* On a completely different front, Jim Edgar was asked recently about the never-ending Statehouse feud…

Asked about the drawn-out budget impasse, Edgar fingered the current executive, as many others have.

“Ninety percent of this is the governor as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I can’t understand for the life of me why he wants to keep fighting” House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The former governor added that he believes lawmakers would have come up with a budget by early July if it weren’t for Blagojevich

Maybe earlier.

* And if you want to recap this awful year, then by all means go here and relive the blow-by-blow, courtesy of the Associated Press…

March 5: Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposes privatizing lottery to reduce pension debt.

March 7: Blagojevich proposes biggest tax increase in state history to support health insurance and schools.

March 11: Blagojevich says he is on “the side of the Lord” in tax battle.

March 13: Chicago mayor criticizes governor for saying his tax plan goes after “fat cat” businessmen.

March 21: Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes criticize Blagojevich tax plan.

And on, and on, and on, and on.

* More session-related stuff, compiled by Paul…

* Infighting, gamesmanship dash progress in Springfield

* Statehouse Insider: Governor and Speaker’s ‘tit for tat’ continues

* A heated summer with little progress

* Ed Wells: Illinois politics at play, it’s sad for us

* Schools dragged into capitol spat

* Illinoize: Sen. Millner on Guerra

* Schoenburg: Talk of impeaching governor dies down for now

* Legislators, governor get retroactive raises

* State funding for bridges still up in the air; more here

* Pension’s appetite worries lawmakers

* Congressmen to state politicians: Finish construction plan