Political Perceptions: Blagojevich, Making Conservatives’ Day

Conservatives are gleeful at watching Democrats, happy viewers of recent Republican ethics problems, squirm now with their own ethics woes, especially those of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich . Jonah Goldberg of National Review says partisans on the right enjoy “watching the Democrats — self-proclaimed anti-corruption zealots in recent years — explain why Blagojevich shouldn’t be lumped in with Congressmen Charlie Rangel (cut himself sweetheart deals), William Jefferson ($90,000 in his freezer) and Tim Mahoney (tried to bribe an aide he was sleeping with not to sue him — and you thought romance was dead) as part of a new Democratic ‘culture of corruption’ storyline.” He also finds a “nice moral to the story here. For the last several years, we’ve heard a lot about ‘new politics.’ We are going to start fresh and put aside the old politics and the old ways. So far, it looks like Obama did nothing wrong, and I hope that remains the case. But it’s worth remembering that there really isn’t any such ... (link)