Senator Burris Fiasco

Wow! It looks like former Gov. Blago will continue to have a last laugh for years to come. I wonder what other new surprises are waiting in the wings. Don't you think Blago knew that the Burris appointment would turn sour once people figured out (or Burris was forced into a preemptive confession) that Burris was trying to help Blago raise funds in exchange for a crack at the Senate seat? So is Burris up next for impeachment? It seems that everyone who shakes hands with Blago comes away needing to take a sanitizing shower.

As an attorney, I am very interested to see how Illinois' former AG will "reconcile" his testimony then with his testimony now. Perhaps he will enlighten us (again) on the maining of "is." Every time an interrogator has to go down every conceivable semantic trail and fence the witness's every syllable with roadblocking questions, (i.e., "Did you offer help to Gov. Blago directly OR INDIRECTLY?" or "Did you speak with Gov. Blago OR ANYONE RELATED BY MARRIAGE, BLOOD, OR ADOPTION TO A THIRD DEGREE OF CONSAGUINITY OR LESS?") I am reminded of how cheapened the oath ("the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth") has become. The Book of Mormon decries the (lawyerly) practice of "taking advantage" of a person "because of their words" by "crossing" them. The modern practice, perhaps more deplorable (popular with lawyers) is to take advantage of your own words, leaving cutesy trap doors and land mines in your testimony that you expect people to step on or step through as they try to chase down the truth in what you say.

Stay tuned for more revelations, especially as the criminal proceedings unfold against Blago. He has a talent for taking people down, politically. Yet I wonder whether Blago will be convicted, his basic theory being that he didn't DO anything (didn't actually sell the seat). In any case, I can't see Burris surviving much longer in the Senate. A silver lining would appear if Illinois made it so the people elected a replacement, rather than leaving it to an appointment.