They've been clinging to the ridiculous notion that Chicago is Camelot for months now, cleaving to the idea with the willfulness of stubborn children. It must help them see Obama as some pristine creature, perhaps a gentle faun of a magic forest, unstained by our grubby politics, a bedtime story for grown-ups who insist upon fairy tales. But now the national media may finally be forced to confront reality.
The media shouldn’t wait to begin to dig deeper into the corruption of each and every state’s politics.
One has to wonder if they will "confront reality" anytime soon. A good investigative report may be what it takes for a journalist to keep his or her job in this economy especially since news organizations are laying off more and more people each and every day.
If journalists think political corruption being committed anywhere may cost them their job, they should act vociferously. I mean, what's stopping them?
That said, it must be noted that progressives and Chicagoan activists have seized on the Bank of America statement made by Blagojevich as possible reason why he was arrested on Tuesday.
Blagojevich said the day before his arrest that “the biggest U.S. retail bank won’t get any more state business unless it restores credit to Republic Windows & Doors.”
The arrest prompted this remark:
“It may not sound like much, but threatening to deservedly punish the banking system is a HUGE NO NO in todays corporate welfare state where we the people are simply commodities of the workplace and consumers buying stuff. Blagojevich went down because he foolishly went up against the vulnerable financial heart of the whole system - the propped up and teetering faith in the almighty American dollar. Another reason I suspect that's why they got him now - the media haven't asked a single thing about that connection.”
Other remarks similar to that were made on Chicago activist email lists. Whether it is true or not is unknown.
Blagojevich’s arrest deserves the attention it’s been getting. But, what are the American people going to do?
As long as expectations are low and demands of leaders are weak, institutionalized lawlessness and political corruption will continue.
