Saturday Silliness-"Rod Blagojevitch, Author"

Here's the News Gazette's Thursday editorial take on our ex-governor:

David McCullough and Doris Kearns Goodwin probably have nothing to fear from the most recently proclaimed political author, Rod Blagojevich. The former Illinois governor, who could be indicted by federal officials any day now, probably will be devoting more time to staying out of prison than writing the great American novel.

And you thought that Rod Blagojevich's only talent was talking about himself.

It turns out that he likes to write about himself too. At least that's the plan. Phoenix Books, a Beverly Hills-based publisher, reportedly has offered the former Illinois governor a "six-figure book deal." And the governor has taken it, promising to complete a book with the working title "The Governor" this year.

Not clear yet is whether it will be fiction or nonfiction. Knowing Blagojevich, we'd suggest it will be fiction even if it isn't labeled as such.

"It's the insider's view of not only Chicago politics, but politics in general," said Michael Viner, president of Phoenix Books. "How the horses are traded, the options that are looked at."
Obviously, it won't address a governor's chief responsibility: governing. Blagojevich had little interest in that.

There were some people in high places who didn't want the governor to write this book and worked to try to squash a book deal," Blagojevich's agent, Glenn Selig, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

We have no doubt that a lot of people – in low places, high places and everywhere in between – don't want Blagojevich to write a book. It's not that they fear anything. It's just that they want Blagojevich to go away. But like his pal, Roland Burris, he won't. At least not until after his anticipated federal trial.

The ex-governor better not suffer from writer's block. There likely isn't much time before he'll need to begin planning his defense. In any case, he'd be advised to be a better defendant and a better author than he was a governor.