The Political Class

Those of us who cut our teeth on Watergate, and can still remember Mayor Daly's Chicago machine, and are familiar with the smoke-filled legends of Joe Kennedy, have observed in the 21st Century a spectacular renaissance in the realm of good old-fashioned, off-the-charts-ballsy acts of rank political corruption ranging from the appallingly successful to the extravagantly catastrophic to the just-plain-pathetic.

It began, of course, with the Great Presidential Election Heist of 2000 and cascaded through eight years of antic misbehavior. Other highlights include The post-Katrina FEMA debacle, the Abu Ghraib Scandal, a host of lurid sexual imbroglios (apotheosized by Idaho Senator Larry Craigs "wide stance" misadventure in a Minneapolic airport, and Elliot Spitzer's stunningly hypocritical dalliance with a top-shelf hooker.)

There was Duke Cunningham's actual menu of misdeeds and the fees attendant thereupon, and William Jefferson's freezer full of cash and Ted Steven's Extreme Home Makeover in the Yukon. The list goes on, but I dare say the high- (or low-) watermark for mindless hutzpah was acheived today in Illinois, the American Capitol of Sketchy Civic Behavior where Governor Rod Blagojevich, who... well... you be the judge...

Lincoln may be rolling in his grave, but somewhere, Nixon is having a nice little chuckle.