Could you imagine? We would be summoned to order a lifetime of O Magazine. LOL Blago is certifiably nuts!! It's also funny to note that he thinks his situation is the same as Nelson Mandela's, Martin Luther King Jr's. and Mahatma Gandhi's. LOL
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...governor_N.htm
Blagojevich to TV: I considered Oprah for Senate seat
CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Monday that television host Oprah Winfrey was one of the people he considered appointing to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama.
The embattled governor, whose impeachment trial was slated to begin Monday, told ABC' s Good Morning America that the idea of nominating the talk show host came to him as he explored potential candidates for the job federal prosecutors allege he tried to sell to the highest bidder.
Blagojevich said Winfrey "was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators." The governor said he worried that the appointment of Winfrey might come across as a gimmick and the talk show host was unlikely to accept.
MORE: Ill. gov.'s attorney to resign from criminal case
Blagojevich offered the comments as he made the rounds on talk shows, including ABC's Good Morning America and The View and CNN's Larry King Live. Illinois senators prepared to open the trial that could result in his removal from office.
The two-term Democrat and his lawyers are boycotting the historic proceedings. Blagojevich called the trial "a sham" and said rules that prevent him from calling witnesses who might testify in a criminal trial or challenging the findings of the Illinois House, which voted this month to impeach him, are unfair.
The trial will be held even if no one representing Blagojevich is present, said Eric Madiar, the Senate's chief legal counsel and parliamentarian. It takes a two-thirds vote — 40 of the 59 state senators — to oust the governor.
State Sen. Bill Brady, a Republican, said it would be "a great disservice" to the process if Blagojevich doesn't defend himself. Brady said that he will be an impartial juror but that the absence of a defense could be interpreted as an admission of guilt.
Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on federal conspiracy and bribery charges, including trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. He has not been indicted.
He thought about Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi on the day of his arrest, Blagojevich said in a taped interview that airs today on NBC's Today. Asked whether he has prepared himself for the possibility that he will go to prison, Blagojevich said, "No, I haven't."
Blagojevich would like to call as witnesses White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill. All of them, the governor said, would testify that he did nothing improper in discussions about filling the Senate seat. They could be witnesses in a criminal trial.
Illinois has never ousted a governor. Attorney Ed Genson represented Blagojevich in the House impeachment proceedings but said he would not take part in the Senate trial. Friday, he said he is withdrawing from the criminal case.
Blagojevich began his media blitz with an interview Friday on Chicago's WLS-AM radio. He said legislators want to get rid of him "so they can put a huge income tax increase on the people of Illinois."
Kent Redfield, a University of Illinois-Springfield political science professor, doubts Blagojevich's public relations campaign will prevent his removal.
"If you are in trouble as a chief executive, you need some combination of public support and a core of support in the Legislature. … Blagojevich has neither," he said. "Convincing someone watching in New York that he is a sympathetic figure will not help him in the impeachment trial."
David Ellis, a House lawyer, will be the prosecutor in the trial. Senators were sworn in as jurors when the General Assembly took office Jan. 14.
Madiar said Ellis will argue the case against Blagojevich, then senators can ask questions. The state Supreme Court's chief justice, Thomas Fitzgerald, will preside.
Senate deliberations will be public unless a senator requests that they be closed. After closing arguments, Fitzgerald will ask for a vote. If 40 senators find Blagojevich guilty, his claim to office "would immediately go away," Madiar said.
Brady said he's eager to resolve the matter: "Illinois needs a functional government."
Oprah Winfrey for Senate?
