“I Will Fight Until I Take My Last Breath”
[Guest post by DRJ]
If you keep fighting when most have urged you to quit, you might be Governor Rod Blagojevich:
“A defiant Gov. Rod Blagojevich told reporters this afternoon that he will fight the charges against him, asserting that he is guilty of nothing and assuring voters he plans not to quit his job despite the “political lynch mob” out to get him.
“I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” he said, adding “that I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong, and I’m not going to quit a job the people hired me to do because of false accusations and a political lynch mob.”
Blagojevich did not take questions and concluded his statement by reciting from memory a portion of Kipling’s poem “If.”
UPDATE: Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times reports Rahm Emanuel had direct conversations with Blagojevich about Obama’s Senate seat.
— DRJ
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: I am reminded of an exchange from “The Simpsons”:
Grampa: I think Rudyard Kipling said it best:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss . . . .
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!Homer: You’ll be a bonehead!
I think that about says it all.
I updated the post and noticed that the comments were turned off. Apparently I did that inadvertently when I posted, but they are turned back on now.
DRJ (803bba) — 12/19/2008 @ 3:33 pmThat’s twice now….
Another Drew (efe318) — 12/19/2008 @ 3:35 pmSeriously though, does Hot-Rod really want to say, in Chicago of all places,
that he will fight this until he takes his last breath?
Some around him might want to deal with his pulmonary processes in a manner he might take umbrage with?
Another Drew (efe318) — 12/19/2008 @ 3:38 pmSo, Blago is going to drag this out through the New Year?
I’m sure Obama! is pleased…….
Techie (07c8ee) — 12/19/2008 @ 3:40 pmAD,
You’re right! It has happened twice. Lucky for me no one else noticed.
DRJ (803bba) — 12/19/2008 @ 3:46 pmYeah, another Drew, he might be getting a pair of cement boots for Christmas!
Patricia (ee5c9d) — 12/19/2008 @ 3:53 pmAlong with the Italian Accupuncture!
Another Drew (efe318) — 12/19/2008 @ 4:02 pmEven Kos posted Blagojevich is stuck in stage two of the grieving process. He may fight with all his might but it doesn’t change the fact that the machinery will not be pleased with him being so disagreeable, especially as one of theirs is readying for the WH.
I felt embarrassed for him when he quoted Kipling.
Dana (79a78b) — 12/19/2008 @ 4:15 pmI understand Vince Foster said the very same thing.
SeniorD (e78e22) — 12/19/2008 @ 4:23 pmYou go, Blago! Fight back! Pass the popcorn please.
love2008 (1b037c) — 12/19/2008 @ 4:56 pmThe Attorney General’s comments on Meet The Press seem completely off the mark and incompetent. Blagojevich has an advantage here in that the smarty-pants lawyers have shot their wad. And the wad is dump. I’d like more analysis of the pros and cons of each’s legal strategy.
Wesson (3ab0b8) — 12/19/2008 @ 5:24 pmIf Blago has serious dirt on Obama, that ‘last breath’ comment could become literal.
Evil Pundit (843b74) — 12/19/2008 @ 5:31 pmThis man is so gross. ugh.
Peter (e70d1c) — 12/19/2008 @ 6:00 pmHey Lovey, pass the popcorn…
Peter (e70d1c) — 12/19/2008 @ 6:02 pmNow now now…
This is Ocarter, not Bill Clinton…
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/19/2008 @ 6:48 pmDeny everything and explain nothing. The Blago and Obama way.
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 12/19/2008 @ 8:45 pmToday was Blago’s
moment.
kimsch (2ce939) — 12/19/2008 @ 8:46 pmHow can Blago stand there and not be mortally embarassed? Good God. The humiliation and shame should cause him to question his continued existence in the spotlight. But, politicians seem to lack the gene that allows them to feel those feelings.
JD (7f8e8c) — 12/19/2008 @ 8:58 pmComment by Peter — 12/19/2008 @ 6:02 pm
love2008 (1b037c) — 12/20/2008 @ 4:14 amHey Pete, ma-men. Where you at? 😉
“I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath. I will fight until I know why the hell I am fighting…” Blagojevich.
love2008 (1b037c) — 12/20/2008 @ 6:15 amBlogo is a Bozo! Get him out, screaming and kicking but get him out! What a disgrace!
Blue Proctor (ba5287) — 12/20/2008 @ 9:06 amIf you got a look at cute little Lisa Madigan and read her brief for the Supreme Court hearing on the “disability” petition, you know the average IQ of Illinois Democrats is around room temperature (and in Chicago right now that is low). Blago is in good company and the whole thing is fun to watch. This is where Obama came from. Not even Arkansas was this amusing.
I wonder if Peter Fitzgerald is thinking of a comeback. He retired with no support from Bush and Company. He looks pretty good right now if I were an Illinois resident.
MIke K (2cf494) — 12/20/2008 @ 9:15 amHere’s your preview of his defense: “Hey, I was just shooting the shit. I never really meant anything that I said.”
Icy Texan (b7d162) — 12/20/2008 @ 10:39 am