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Was Governor Blagojevich really that stupid?

By Lauren | December 11, 2008

It’s all over the news that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been arrested and charged with corruption in what prosecutors describe as an unapologetic campaign to trade President-Elect Obama’s Senate seat for money or a lucrative job for himself or his wife.  As details of the scandal emerge, it turns out that Blagojevich has been under investigation for quite a while and may well have suspected that his phones were being tapped.  Nonetheless, if the prosecutors’ allegations are correct, Blagojevich wasn’t even remotely shy about shopping the Senate seat around in what U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald called a “public corruption crime spree” that would “make Lincoln roll over in his grave.” 

Blagojevich’s alleged actions were brazen enough that some commentators have speculated that he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong.  Can that possibly be true?  Apparently no deal was ever consummated - it will be up to a jury to determine whether Blagojevitch was part of a conspiracy, or was just playing an exceptionally tough game of political hardball.  Until Blagojevitch is convicted, we can’t presume he’s guilty of any crime.

But even if Blagojevitch’s behavior wasn’t illegal, there’s no denying that his alleged actions were atrocious.  A governor’s duty to fill a vacant Senate seat by appointment is a public trust to be conscientiously carried out, not a perk of office to be auctioned off for personal gain.  How could Blagojevich think otherwise?

It’s appalling when a self-designated public servant displays such naked greed with so little shame.  Blagojevich’s constituents deserved much, much better.

Topics: Social Ethics, ethics |

One Response to “Was Governor Blagojevich really that stupid?”

1. The BoBo Carnival of Politics - December 21, 2008 Edition | The BoBo Files Says:
   December 21st, 2008 at 5:02 pm

   [...] presents Was Governor Blagojevich really that stupid? posted at The Business Ethics Blog, saying, “The Illinois governor’s attempt to peddle [...]

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