Blagojevich: Slimy, corrupt...racist?

He isn't any more so than most of the politicians involved in this whole scandal. Well...at least when it comes to that last count.

I think it's fair to say at this point in time that if Blagojevich (let's just call him Rod) somehow miraculously ends up innocent, he certainly won't be invited to sit on any ethics committees...or high society get-togethers. The man curses like a sailor, but you have to admire his candor! Still, one of the most troubling concerns in this whole scandal is that of (occasionally overt) racism.

When I first heard of Rod's refusal to step down and insistence upon completing his job as governor, I truly hoped that he wouldn't drag anyone else down with him, especially if it would be by appointing Obama's replacement before being exonerated. Instead, as we all know, Roland Burris is Rod's appointee. Now, this is all well and good, relatively speaking--except, of course, for the fact that Burris accepted. Does he not watch the news? Rod is being charged with conspiring to accept money from whoever he ultimately appoints, and now Burris is indignant that he not be seated as Senator before this scandal lifts? The man even went so far as to attempt to enter Congress to fill "his" seat, even after being told he would be given no consideration for the job, claiming, "My name is Roland Burris, the junior Senator from the State of Illinois. I was advised that my credentials were not in order."

So we've got one seemingly corrupt governor and one clueless potential junior Senator. Big deal. Democratic leaders were quick to point out the red flag that should jump up into everyone's mind in this situation and deal with it swiftly: every major Democratic player has said they would refuse his appointment. And up until a few days ago, it seemed like this decision would hold, and we would all have to wait for Blagojevich to step down--or perhaps be dragged away--from the lime light before the issue could be resolved.

Now it appears everyone's giving in, throwing up the white flag of surrender to expedite this process. Why, oh why didn't Burris respectfully decline, even if until the scandal had lifted?

His reasons are his own. What I'm most shocked by is that racism hasn't been brought to light in all of this. I understand the logic behind wanting to appoint a black man to fill an empty black man's seat, but when did race become an insurmountable issue in politics? Did we not just elect a black man to be our president? And whatever happened to electing the best man for the job? This wouldn't be such a big concern if it weren't for the fact that Danny Davis, a black man, was the first to be tapped by Rod. (Fortunately for Mr. Davis' career aspirations, he declined, though apparently not for scandal-related reasons.) Even further, that Jesse Jackson's name popped up in the criminal investigation as another potential appointee. What was Rod thinking? Does his Rolodex have a special section under A, for African American? Or would it be B, for Black? In any case, we can all take comfort that it'll be at least a few months before he gets to O for Oprah.

"I would ask you not to hang or lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointor," he says. Ooof, that's a pretty racially charged L-word.

I'm glad I'm not the only one to see the obvious issues here. Blagojevich's selection of Burris, which came despite the urgings of Democrats in Illinois and Washington that he not appoint anyone to the seat while he remains under investigation, appeared intended to garner support from African Americans and improve his own political situation, while also making it difficult for Democrats in the nation's capital to oppose the appointment."

I don't doubt Burris' ability to perform the job adequately. But if the man was in his right mind, he would have seen this coming from a mile away and taken some maneuver or another to keep himself in the running while leaving his good name untarnished. I can't imagine what it would be like to take a job with all your coworkers questioning whether or not you paid to get there, not to mention whether or not you were there solely because of your race. Affirmative action, anyone?