Blagojevich & Mell

The rumor now is that the Blagojevich/Mell spat is staged. There's no way. I do agree that Blagojevich busted his wife's second cousin's landfill in part to look good and independent. But, then, he was also nipping a serious PR threat in the bud, not to mention the threat of a corruption probe. You have to give him credit for doing whatever it takes to be squeaky clean. On the other side of the controversy is Ald. Dick Mell, the father-in-law. Mell, while a good alderman, operates on a quid-pro-quo system of Chicago politics. As in 'I help you become governor, you look the other way when I tell you to look the other way.' Mell can also be a little paranoid and is kind of a hothead. He's not really someone who handles publicity of any kind very well. So in consequence, the minute Mell felt threatened, he went straight for the jugular and spent the week ripping Blagojevich's character and openly wondering, to paraphrase Mell, when his daughter is going to wake up and see the man she really married. It doesn't take a genius to see just how bad this situation is for Blagojevich. Any of the things Mell said can and will be used against Blagojevich in future campaigns. There is no way that Blagojevich planned or desired that kind of response from Mell.