Posts
Illinois politics are such fun to watch and if they weren’t real they wouldn’t be terrifying. But they are real and we will see how much spine the Senate has when it comes time to turn aside ANY appointment of the current Governor. Race has no place in this, especially now. We have a true African-American coming to the White House in just a few weeks. He will be heavily burdened with the economy, two unresolved wars and a very full plate of domestic policy expectations which he created during his campaign. He is further burdened with a HUGE national debt. You can blame the present administration or Congress or anyone you choose, it does not change the facts and he will be burdened in dealing with them.
The first 100 days has become the bench mark. I am sure he will try to make progress and will have a level of success IF there are no uncontrollable outside forces at work. Mr. Bush had an agenda that got sidetracked on 9-11-2001 by outside forces. I hope and pray (yes, pray) that Mr. Obama does not have a similar distraction.
What he doesn’t need is for the Senate to get its boxers in a bunch over the appointment by the Illinois Governor to get them off to a bad start, portending gridlock in the future.
If the Governor of Illinois really cared about his state and the nation rather than about his own political fortunes, he would step aside, let the process play out and run again for Governor at the next election if he is found innocent. Apparently he doesn’t see that as an acceptable alternative. Maybe Harry Reid can convince him that if he steps down and the reward for that is the approval of the appointment of Mr. Burris by the Illinois Secretary of State and the Senate. Then, after the process plays out, if he is cleared, what a great platform to run again. “I care about Illinois and its citizens so much that I put their well being ahead of my self interest. I want to resume serving you, the people of Illinois”. Of course, you have to have a high level of confidence in the system and in your innocence to take that approach. It worked for Martha Stewart in a similar way. She was found guilt, didn’t appeal, did time and got her life back. Similarly the former Governor of Connecticut was found guilty of accepting graft, did his time and is now the Business Development Director for his home city of Waterbury’s Chamber of Commerce. He is getting his life back. We all screw up from time to time. It is not what we did but how we handle it that affects the rest of our lives. Those who are religious might see the value in confession and repentance. It seems to have worked for the two examples above.
The Economy is bumbling along. The first time jobless claims have improved a little this week at the lowest level in the past 8 weeks. It is entirely possible that this is a signal that the economy has bottomed out but I suspect it is just a respite in a continuing slide.
Let us all wish for and those so inclined pray for a better year in 2009. I wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
