Quote of the Day:Why did he agree to be used? Because he's desperate to return to the limelight. It's a sad end to a career that included numerous runs for governor, the U.S. Senate and Mayor of Chicago, plus a term as the state's Attorney General. The truth is, he wasn't much of an Attorney General -- the legal opinions that came out of his office in the early 90s were legally suspect and linguistically challenged -- but he has been a fixture in Illinois politics for years and he's escaped any hint of corruption.-Dan Conley, on Roland Burris' agreement to accept Gov. Blagojevich's appointment of him to the U.S. Senate.
When I first heard that Burris was to be appointed all I could do was roll my eyes. Here's a guy who served three unremarkable, corruption-free terms in two statewide offices in the 1980s and early 1990s, who did nothing of real substance in those positions, and ended his political career with four consecutive election losses - three primaries for governor and a run for mayor of Chicago.
Conley is right...Burris has been out of the limelight since 2002 and accepted this appointment because he saw a chance to return to it. And return he will. But not as he thinks. This is going to explode in his face, thus ruining any chance he has at actually winning the seat outright in the 2010 election. It would have been better if he waited until the Blagojevich situation was settled. Anyone with an iota of self-respect would have rejected Blagojevich's offer. But, as I remember back when I lived in Chicago, Burris always struck me as someone in constant need of attention, always seeking office somewhere else.
Both Blagojevich and Burris said yesterday that this appointment should be considered without any linkage to the on-going investigation into dirty dealings by the governor. The thing of it is, that investigation deals with Blagojevich's attempts to sell this Senate seat to the highest bidder. Thus, anyone who accepts an appointment becomes instantly tainted, whether they were willing to play the governor's game or not.
And I'd bet a day's pay that Burris attempted to play.
