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Don’t believe a word

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* Here’s just one more example of why Rod Blagojevich’s word can never be trusted at any time on any subject. On his last day in office, Rod Blagojevich suggested to the New York Times that his lieutenant governor had abused his office by traveling all over the world on the taxpayers’ dime…

“We should have been more selfish, not selfless,” [Blagojevich] said. “It sounds probably perverse for me to say that based on what some people are saying about me. But it’s true. My family, we didn’t take advantage of all these things that people do.

“My successor has done a whole bunch as the lieutenant governor — taken all kinds of trips all over the world and trade missions — like he’s got anything to do with anything as lieutenant governor.”

It was journalistic incompetence to print that quote without challenge, but the AP has now taken a look at Blagojevich’s claim…

It’s true. Quinn was overseas 10 times in six years as lieutenant governor. But he billed the state for just two of those treks.

In fact, an Associated Press review of the Democrat’s travel records shows Quinn has never accepted the $32 daily meal allowance for traveling state workers and often pays his own lodging, too — even when he’s on state business.

“I try to be thrifty for the public,'’ Quinn told the AP in a telephone interview.

Through November, records show Quinn had been reimbursed about $17,800 for travel in six years, an average of $250 a month.

$250 a month is pretty light, if you ask me. And that total taxpayer bill is minute in comparison to what Blagojevich charged the state.

Go read the whole thing.

* The fact that you can’t believe a word that Blagojevich says also causes me to somewhat doubt these stories…

Blagojevich’s publicity agent announced Monday that the impeached governor will receive an undisclosed “six-figure” sum to pen a book about the “dark side of politics.”

Show me the contract.

And if he does write it, we all know it’ll be fiction.

* Related…

* Quinn names new DCEO head

* Blagojevich’s Golden Book Deal

* History offers little help in predicting success of Rod Blagojevich book

* What’s your title for Blago’s tell-all book?

* Laski’s advice to Blagojevich: Look in the mirror

* And an appropriate video…

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:12 am

Comments

I love how Blago thinks his book will “expose” the dark side of politics. He already exposed the dark side of Illinois politics with his corrupt behavior. Now, if he were writing a book about perfecting the art of engaging in the dark side of politics, well, that might be a little more appropriate.

Comment by Anonymous ZZZ Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:19 am
“Six figure” is pure spin. That could be as little as $100,000

The publisher could break even selling as few as 5,000 books, depending on the list price.

More pure spin, more pure bulls**t. And after all that - the book is about himself and his self-glorified story. Not about health care for kids or about the “real reasons” why he was removed from office.

Shame on anyone who buys this book. Shame!

Comment by carbon deforestation Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:24 am
never accepted the $32 daily meal allowance for traveling state workers and often pays his own lodging, too — even when he’s on state business

A contrary view. That’s silly. You should not have to be rich to be an elected official, and you should not expect to pay fo travel and expenses born as part of official duties.

I won’t speak to the overseas trips. But this is a big state. 32 for daily means is eating breakfast at McDonalds, lunch at Arby’s and dinner at Boston Market. Not excessive at all, I think.

Comment by Pat collins Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:28 am
I think the title should be “Through the Looking Glass” as it will be about the world that narcissistic Blago lives in that is pure fantasy.

Comment by Irish Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:30 am
He is quite the politician. He seems to be forever spinning his version of facts, based on whether it sounds good at the moment, to whomever is listening to him.

I don’t believe he is all that unique. We have a lot of people who do this. However, few of them are elected, and even fewer end up as a governor.

The Illinois political parties need to start doing their jobs. They seem to be forever focused on winning elections every two years, instead of providing to voters eligible nominees who have displayed superior abilities to handle the daily challenges of the political offices they seek. It is wrong to blame voters for choosing Rod Blagojevich since voters depended on the Illinois Democratic Party to present to them a worthy candidate for governor. With Blagojevich’s nomination in 2002, the Democrats failed us. Even worse, the renominated a man they knowingly knew was incapable of handling the Office, had no interest in showing up for work, had a failed record of accomplishments since 2003, was late to every appointment, arrogant, untrustworthy and spent every office hour raising millions in campaign cash via pay-to-play extortion. What kind of a political party is this?

The Republicans proved themselves unworthy of holding political office too.

So Illinois’ two major political parties have lost their focus, and have become corrupted with the idea that winning is everything, and that governing is secondary. Hence, our current fiasco.

Every day Blagojevich speaks and interacts with the Public seems to be a day the Illinois Democratic Party is exposed as a fraud and a sham. Michael Madigan was this guy’s co-chair? Just how low can you go and still believe you have any credibility with voters?

Let Blagojevich talk. Let him pretend to write books. Put him in a cage and let everyone see what we were given as a governor for years. Then vote knowing that the political organization that runs this state has knowingly accepted this man and annointed him as the leader. Then vote everyone out of office as the price to be paid for such public malfeasance.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:31 am
You think Blago’s publisher is going to have Blago make the audio-book version or just use the tapes already made by the feds?

Comment by Belle Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:40 am
I don’t believe the book deal, either. The only way he could write a book the would sell would be to further incriminate himself.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:41 am
$000,000 is six figures, right? It adds up to more than this person is worth in any case, at any level.

He makes sticking his thumb in the public’s eye a habit of self-amusement. However, a book that threatens to “tell all” (whether real or imaginary) may irritate some unfriendlies to the point of doing some editing of their own.

Comment by You Go Boy Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:45 am
Let’s not forget that Blago’s book deal is all about money. He desperately needs it, and doesn’t have any other avenues from which to obtain it. If he can enact a little revenge and dish some dirt on his enemies, that’s icing on the cake.

He’s so consumed by financial greed that I wonder if he has even remotely considered how this will affect his upcoming criminal trial. If I’m a potential subject of his memoirs, this provides me with more incentive to preemptively blab to the feds.

He’s also running the risk of painting himself as even more backstabbing, spiteful, and selfish to the jury pool.

And for what may or may not amount to a sliver of what he’ll need to fund his legal defense.

Comment by The Doc Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:48 am
He can write his book in one line. I’ve done nothing wrong. Just like he has on his media blitz.

Comment by Levois Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:53 am
I think for an apples-to-apples comparison to Rod, you would have to look at Quinn’s plane travel as well.

Comparing Quinn’s reimbursements to Rod’s reimbursement plus plane travel is not quite accurate and may under-represent his travel even back and forth to Springfield.

A quick check of the Comptroller’s site showed Rod had $0 in reimbursements. That’s $250 per month for Quinn vs. $0 per month for Rod? That doesn’t show the full picture…

But that is just me quibbling. What would be interesting, since we are on the subject, would be to look at travel records for ALL constitutionals and legislators - to see who charge the state the most for A) reimbursements, B) Plane travel, and C) mileage.

Maybe an enterprising intern could do a FOIA or something? Or maybe that would just create another one of those “CUT HERE!” stories in the Daily Herald.

Comment by George Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 12:01 pm
I don’t think it is all about $. Rod has an ego and loves the spot light.

As a wise old man (wise may be debatable) once said he is “yesterday’s tomatoes”.

This book deal gives him another 15 minutes of fame

Comment by Mike Murray Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 12:32 pm
The guy is a tool, why can’t he just disappear?

Comment by Dan S, a Voter, Taxpayer and Cubs Fan Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 12:36 pm
“If I did it” by Rod Blaojevich

Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 12:46 pm
I agree with you Rich. Show me the contract. Six figures for a book by someone no one cares about anymore is a joke.

Comment by downstate hack Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 12:49 pm
Six figure is actually pretty small. Obama, the Clintons and other politicos have gotten seven figure deals for their books.

With the vouyeristic media fascination with Illinois I could see this selling enough, say 15k copies, to make a small profit.

Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 1:01 pm
===15k copies, to make a small profit. ===

I think established writers get $4 a copy for hardbacks. If the run is that small, it won’t make a profit.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 1:07 pm
Those book deals are also generally an advance against total sales, and if you don’t sell enough copies, you actually owe the publisher.

I’m picturing page after page of “madigan is bad madiganisbad…” kind of like the “All work and no play” pages Jack Nicholson wrote in “The Shining”. In red crayon.

If you pay Rod, he’ll put in a nice chapter about you. If you pay him a LOT more, he’ll remove you.

Comment by Gregor Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 1:09 pm
I meant a profit for the publisher, not blago… althought I suspect they may have saddled him with a few sales hurdles to fully collect his six figures, which he will most likely never meet.

Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 1:12 pm
1,000.00 is 6 figures too
let’s see contract…with print on demand the so-called publisher can do the books one at a time.

Comment by 2ConfusedCrew Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 2:27 pm
All That Glitters Is Not Bleeping Golden
by Blago

Comment by Undercover Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 3:05 pm
Don’t Call Me Hairball: A Great Governor Discloses How He Was Impeached For His Hair
(by Former G-Rod)

[The blurb on the back: “It was all because of the hair…and my refusal to raise taxes on the people of Illinois…and because I fought to make their lives better. That’s why everybody hated me!”]

Comment by Steve Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 3:13 pm
$100,000 book deal.
$1,500,000 in attorneys fees defending your actions as the Worst Governor Ever.

Who’s ahead?

Comment by SOken Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 3:49 pm