“I’M LOOKIN’ AT THE MAN IN THE MIRROR…”

6/23/10

Some of the things that are coming out of the Blagojevich trial are nothing new; e.g., that the RodMan is a hopeless megalomaniac and egomaniac. Some revelations we long suspected but are probably surprised at their sheer magnitude, most notably that Blago was not a good governor, didn’t get a lot done, other than preside over the continued slide of the Prairie State into de facto bankruptcy, and didn’t seem to spend much time at, or show much interest in, his job. These may be related, but there is always the chance that, given the level of the RodMan’s competence, he wouldn’t have been an effective governor or manager even if he gave his job his undivided attention.

But there is one thing that is coming out of the trial that surprises me and probably surprises most of you, i.e., that Blagojevich didn’t even like being governor. As the Chicago Tribune reported today (Wednesday, 6/23), Rod is on tape saying

“I’d like the get the (Rod’s and Patty’s favorite expletive) out of here (the governor’s office).”

about halfway through his second term in office.

A normal person might ask why, if the RodMan didn’t like his job, he sought reelection, or even election in the first place. Why didn’t he just stay in Congress? Maybe he didn’t like that job, either. Why didn’t he stay in the state legislature? Oh, yeah; he probably couldn’t wait to get the (coital act) out of there, either.

But Rod Blagojevich is not a normal person; he is a politician, a member of what has become our nation’s governing class. In fact, he is the prototypical modern politician. His being on figurative political steroids only reinforces this notion. He is, as is any modern politician (There doubtless are a few exceptions, which serve only to prove the rule until they succumb to the forces seemingly imbedded in their DNA that drive them to the foppishness that characterizes their profession.), the triumph of style over substance, of self over constituents, of naked ambition over competence, of self-interest over service, of solipsism over patriotism, of ego over decency. To Rod or to any of our public servants who differ from that nefarious narcissist only in degree, the particular office is unimportant and fulfilling its duties and serving those who put one in that office are completely inconsequential. An office is only a stepping stone on the ladder of self-gratification that characterizes the modern politician’s life. He, or she, is not there to do a job; he or she is on a mission, a mission to impose his ego on all of us, to get our attention, to convince himself that he is somehow a great man, or at least that his existence is somehow worthwhile.

Ladies and gentleman, snicker, or guffaw, at Mr. Blagojevich all you want. But he is not all that different from all the other people we elect. Because the American people cannot be bothered, busy as they are with such important matters as reality television, listening to the aural cow excrement we call music nowadays, American Idol, the more titillating aspects of “celebrities'” lives, 24 hour sports channels, moronic situation comedies, and prime time television in general, to do the work involved in self-government and thus routinely vote for the guy with the slickest commercials or the most media endorsements, we get what we deserve in our public officials.