Rod Blagojevich the Unpopular Demagogue

Chicago Magazine has a long article on Illinois Governor Blagojevich.Here's an interesting quote:

But Rich Miller says Blagojevich "believes so fervently he's in the right that I don't think he's capable of understanding when people tell him he's wrong." If you don't support his plan on, say, state-subsidized mammograms for women, then you're for breast cancer. Or if you reject his education-funding initiatives, then you're for dumb kids. "Rod has difficulty separating personal differences from the need to govern," adds Fritchey, a former friend of Blagojevich's who is now one of his loudest critics. "The role of governor is not that of the kid with the bat and ball who says, 'If you don't play by my rules, I'm taking my stuff and going home.' That's not how you govern. One does not govern by edict."

A few people who work closely with Blagojevich's office say they know that members of his staff have tried to get him to tone down the inflammatory rhetoric. But the governor shows no evidence of having a personality Plan B. "He can't control himself," says Miller. "I've heard people say that on his own staff." A Democratic insider adds, "Rod sometimes just goes out of his way to have a fight, just because he can. It's as though he relishes them."

We expect Blagojevich and his friends to continue to make news.