Out on a political limb ... sort of

I'm a little comforted this morning that at least one other blogger I respect -- Bill Baar of the West Side -- agrees with my New Year's prediction concerning Governor Blagojevich.  Although I hope I'm wrong, I predict this morning that Governor Rod will be our governor for a long time to come, and I give the reasons why in today's Southtown column my editor entitled "Blagojevich not leaving governor's mansion for a while."  (I point out I didn't come up with that title because Blagojevich really never has been found in the governor's mansion at all...)

Despite the fact Blagojevich has made Illinois a laughingstock to the nation and the world, and it would be a relief and a face-saver to have him resign or be impeached, cooler heads will likely prevail in the Senate. Blagojevich is likely to remain governor, perhaps through the rest of this term.

In the meantime, let's hope Illinoisans have learned a hard lesson: We get the government we deserve. It is our responsibility to pay attention to state and local politics and know who we're electing. What we do in Illinois matters - not to just us here, but to the nation and to the world.

And just for the record, I sincerely hope this New Year's prediction is wrong.

Thanks, Bill, for the support.  Misery does love company...