Blago and me

Today at the Blagojevich trial, the Chicago Tribune reports, the jury heard testimony that, as governor, Blagojevich hardly ever came into either of the offices provided for him, in Chicago or Springfield.

The testimony, from Blagojevich's last chief of staff, was that Blagojevich would come into work for no more than two to eight hours a week.

(I mean -- who did he think he was? A blogger?)

This testimony was no surprise to me. I thought I'd blogged about it here, but I couldn't find mention of it in the archives. But there was a piece on one of the local TV stations well before the impeachment about how infrequently Blagojevich left his Northwest Side home. I know I saw it on the Capitol Fax Blog. When Blagojevich did venture out, it was to a staged event or, possibly, to his campaign office.

(Why do you suppose Blagojevich flirted with the idea of appointing Oprah Winfrey to Barack Obama's Senate seat? Oprah was someone that Blago at least saw every day... on TV at least.)

Whether Blagojevich is guilty of the crimes with which he's been charged is for the jury to decide. But what has been proven beyond doubt is that Blago was not happy being Governor. He hated the job. He was jealous of Mr. Obama's ascension. He couldn't cope with the General Assembly (and Speaker Madigan in particular). The budget was a shambles.

But still: This man was governor of one of the largest states in America. No one forced Blagojevich to take the job. He campaigned for it. You or I might think he had a pretty good gig -- and you'd think he must have thought so, too, or else why run for the job? Why the heck, at least, would he run twice?

And then I stop and think. I'm not real wild about my job either: Constant money issues (and I don't spend $400,000 on clothes either -- unlike an impeached governor whose name is just too hard to type sometimes), ungrateful clients, indifferent or unprepared judges....

(Also, I'm self-employed and sometimes I really can't stand my boss. Do you think that makes me nuts?)

I'll bet a lot of folks would gladly trade places with me for all my gripes, just as a lot of folks would gladly have traded places with Blago -- at least before his indictment and impeachment. I should look at the positives (my boss never complains about my blogging, for example) and stop wallowing in self-pity. If Blagojevich had done that, he might not be stuck in Judge Zagel's courtroom day after day, listening to those awful tapes.