The Governor: Coming or Going?

The Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich has sensibly ignored the clamouring of the out of Chicago media for him to resign after being caught on phone taps trying to raise a dollar or two in campaign funds. Like that other Chicago son of a migrant, Barack Obama, the Guv rose in a tough school to reach high political office. He knows that it is not network television hosts who will be voting on his impeachment. His principal wheeling and dealing will continue to be done within the confines of the local Democratic Party.
And what wonderful wheeling and dealing it will surely prove to be. The prospect of Gov. Blagojevich singing along to the Federal Attorney General about the fund raising and other activities of some of those gunning to get him should have Republicans salivating. No wonder Team Obama was so quick to declare that their man had had no contact with the man about who would choose his replacement as a Senator. 
The team of the family headed by the Revd Jesse Jackson, whose son Jesse Jr was a co-chairman of the Obama presidential campaign, has not escaped as cleanly.  Evidence of discussions with the embattled Governor about getting the nod to be the replacement Senator can not be denied although Jesse Jr strongly refutes any suggestion that he has offered a lazy half a million or to ensure selection.
So far there is no sign that Governor Blagojevich is in any mood to gracefully retire from the Governor's mansion. It will take several weeks apparently for the Federal Attorney General to gather evidence to put before a grand jury and the process of impeachment by the Illinois House of Representatives would spill well over in to the new year.
Having backed the man to still be Governor come New Year's Day when the market rated it an 80% chance that he would not survive that long (see Not Many without sin) I note that this morning the market puts survival as a 50:50 bet. I'm in no mood to take my profit yet as this wonderful example of how politics is really played continues to get such readable public exposure.

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