Bumping bailout news off the front pages is no easy task, but Governor Rod Blagojevich has done so with flying colors.
Blagojevich will be celebrating a very unhappy birthday tomorrow following this morning’s arrest on federal corruption charges. Charges (PDF) against him include trying to sell President-elect Obama’s vacant Senate seat and demanding that the Chicago Tribune "fire all those [expletive] people" who’d been critical of him or watch state funds relating to the sale of Wrigley Field (owned by the Tribune Co.) mysteriously dry up.
Blagojevich’s take on the Senate seat – it’s "a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing" – seems to sum up his general philosophy towards public office, where he allegedly made a habit of trading political appointments for campaign donations and favors.
Given this less-than-upstanding behavior, we’ve slotted Blagojevich in as number one on our Scandal Watch.