Ed says the difference between Republican corruption and Democratic corruption is that the Democrats sell out for very little. “Pennies?” I asked. “Definitely,” he answers, and adds that if Illinois Governor Blagojevich had been a Republican, he would have been planning to sell Illinois to China for various considerations. It’s a matter of scope, says my Ed.

What Is truly dismaying about Gov. B is that he is personable, an appealing central figure, and is using his gift to steal and to trash the system he is sworn to uphold. It’s not as if he is a porky, venal-looking politician of the type the south normally elects – someone northern liberals instantly dislike, the cigar chomping, backroom slob. He is insidious precisely because he has (had) charisma for educated people.

In any case, his career is fini. He had looks and the moves, but no character to go with it and he was found out. That should happen more often.

xx, Teal