Obama mishandling Blagojevich scandal: Ed Rendell
Top of the Ticket — ... Rendell, analyzing what could possibly have happened for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to act the way he allegedly did, talks about the inside realities ...

Illinois' AG moves to suspend Gov. Blagojevich from all duties
Top of the Ticket — ... Today's Illinois corruption capers: The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed papers with the state's highest court Friday essentially seeking to suspend legally-embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich from duty. ...

Pressure builds on Obama to release his Blagojevich contacts
Top of the Ticket — ... promised a few days ago to release in "a few days" detailing all of his office's contacts with accused Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the vacation U.S. Senate seat, the Republican National Committee would like to fan your doubts. ...

More delay in Obama's report on team contacts with Blagojevich
Top of the Ticket — ... won't be releasing information this week about any contact Obama staff members had with advisers to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. So say the friendly folks over at the Swamp. ...

Delay in report on Obama team contacts with Blagojevich
Top of the Ticket — ... Looks like the Obama team won't be releasing information this week about any contact Obama staff members had with advisers to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. So say folks over at The Swamp. ...

Caroline Kennedy is not using the Chicago Way to gain her Senate seat
Top of the Ticket — Out in Illinois, Rod Blagojevich faces charges that he wanted to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. But one thing is clear from Caroline Kennedy’s history of campaign donations. She’s not buying the New York Senate seat that she is seeking. Kennedy has given only one donation in this decade to a New York politician. That was $1,000 to Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council, according to a review of Kennedy’s political donations in the New York State Board of ...

What impeachment? Blagojevich signs bills as legislators plot ouster
Top of the Ticket — ... Hard to believe, but charges of partisanship flew in Illinois today as the state legislature voted 113-to-zip to launch impeachment proceedings against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who's accused of demanding money for such things as filling ...

What impeachment? Blagojevich signs bills as legislators plot his ouster
Top of the Ticket — ... Hard to believe, but charges of partisanship flew in Illinois today as the state legislature voted 113-to-zip to launch impeachment proceedings against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who's accused of demanding money for such things as filling ...

Obama goes to school, talks Iraq, royalty, decimals and dog poop
Top of the Ticket — ... llinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich should resign but ducked an answer about holding a special election to fill his vacant Senate seat as his fellow state Democrats increasingly fear an actual election over simply having the Democratic Lieut. Gov. Pat Quinn name a Democratic successor after dumping the incumbent one way or another. ...

Move along, folks, nothing to see here: Obama on Blagojevich
Top of the Ticket — ... re-re-explains the delay in releasing the promised list of contacts between his office and that of accused Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich over filling Obama's now vacant U.S. Senate seat. ...

Obama frustrated, Supreme Court dismissive, Blagojevich runs
Top of the Ticket — ... The Illinois Supreme Court chucked out -- with no comment -- the state attorney general's effort to have embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich suspended from duties in general, particularly naming a replacement to ...

As Chicago politics turn: Blagojevich vows to fight, fight, fight
Top of the Ticket — ... In a predictably Chicago kind of way, legally-embattled Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich bluntly and defiantly vowed today to stay on the job and fight, fight, fight the corruption charges against him "until I take my last breath." ...

Corruption spotlight prompts new Illinois license plate for 2009
Top of the Ticket — ... In 2002, Democrat House member Rod Blegojevich was elected governor on a reform ticket, promising a new governmental openness and change that works in Springfield. That's because the previous governor, Republican George Ryan, was in legal trouble and is now in federal prison. ...

New break in Obama Illinois Senate seat sale scandal
Top of the Ticket — ... vacant U.S. Senate seat has now been identified as Raghuveer Nayak, a millionaire Chicago area Indian businessman whose voice turned up on FBI wiretaps and bugs of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. ...

Obama team probe of Obama team finds no Obama team impropriety
Top of the Ticket — ... presidential transition office today finally released its own report on its own internal investigation of its own contacts with legally challenged Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And you'll be comforted to know the Obama folks found no impropriety whatsoever by Obama folks. ...

Parsing a Farce
Real Clear Politics - TIME.com — ... presidential transition office today finally released its own report on its own internal investigation of its own contacts with legally challenged Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich . And you'll be comforted to know the Obama folks found no impropriety whatsoever by Obama folks. So go back to wrapping holiday presents or pretending you're working at your desk and checking out ...

Sex. Scandals. Lies. Naked. Video. Obama. Clinton. Palin.
Top of the Ticket — For holiday-reading ambience, click on video, then read item below. Nah, none of that here. Not today. A lot of people think politics is what they watch other people do. Barack Obama. Michelle. Sarah Palin. Hillary Clinton. Big Bill the ex-POTUS himself. John McCain. Rod Blagojevich. George W. Bush. Or Laura. Truth is, we're all politicians. What we see politicians do online or on TV, we do ourselves ...

Now, feds probe Gov. Richardson of Obama Cabinet for 'pay-to-play'
Top of the Ticket — It seems that Illinois' legally-challenged Gov. Rod Blagojevich is not the only close Barack Obama associate and Democratic governor being investigated by the feds for possibly selling government business in return for campaign contributions. New Mexico's Gov. Bill Richardson, who is the newly-named Secretary of Commerce in Obama's about-to-be Cabinet, is also being investigated by a federal grand jury in his home state for possibly steering state bond business from the New Mexico ...

Another %$#@&*\ Ticket Replay: How the media handles Blagojevich's $#&*/=@ language
Top of the Ticket — ... Swearing is not confined to politics, of course. But it fits perfectly there. It seems that in the FBI wiretaps of Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the state's chief executive is heard saying some pretty strong things about many people, including that x#&#!=/er President-elect ...

Ticket Replay: Obama and Blagojevich: No strangers in a dark, ruthless world
Top of the Ticket — This holiday week we are from time to time republishing some of our favorite Ticket items from this past political season. This one on the inbred political relationships in Illinois Democratic operations, originally appeared in this space on Dec. 11, 2008: First of all, we need to crush a rumor floating around. Illinois' legally-embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich did not offer the vacant Barack Obama Senate seat to the FBI agent handcuffing him. However, given the ...

Inside Blagojevich's bold, brash *&@#$% pick to replace Obama
Top of the Ticket — ... coming. Gov. Rod Blagojevich's brazen, bold blitz of naming Roland Burris to fill the vacant ...

Blagojevich says Sen. Reid sought to influence his Obama replacement pick
Top of the Ticket — ... A quick update on the Democrats' molten stew that is the scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his controversial appointment of ...

Ticket Replay: Obama mishandles Blagojevich scandal, says Gov. Rendell
Top of the Ticket — ... Rendell, analyzing what could possibly have happened for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to act the way he allegedly did, talks about the inside realities ...

Billygate: Why Obama dumped Gov. Richardson now
Top of the Ticket — ... Unspoken by both Obama and Richardson today was the political reality that the Democrat-controlled Senate, which would have to confirm Democrat Richardson for the new Democratic president, is already in a mortifying fight with Illinois' Democrat Gov. Rod Blagojevich over a similar federal "pay-to-play" probe of his operations, including the alleged auction of his nomination to fill Obama's now-vacant U.S. Senate seat with another Democrat. ...

Ticket Replay: Obama team probe of Obama team finds no Obama team impropriety
Top of the Ticket — ... presidential transition office today finally released its own report on its own internal investigation of its own contacts with legally challenged Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And you'll be comforted to know the Obama folks found no impropriety whatsoever by Obama folks. ...

How Happy Harry Reid lost his groove
Top of the Ticket — ... winning the White House and the president-elect's Senate seat opening up, Harry blithely phones Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a few days before the governor's arrest, to helpfully offer his collegial thoughts on the strongest nominees out there and, oops, soon finds himself on a federal wiretap whose full contents the world awaits. ...

How 98 senators plus 3 = 100
Top of the Ticket — ... media entourage. (See news video below.) "I'm presenting myself as the legally-appointed senator from the state of Illinois," the 71-year-old ex- state attorney general said and re-said. "It is my hope and prayer that they recognize that the appointment is legal." The Senate secretary did not. And Burris' attorney said.... ...they're considering new legal options. Illinois' secretary of state refuses to certify his appointment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But now comes word from NBC's Pete ...

Reid's blocking of Burris not about race, Reid declares
Top of the Ticket — ... from the U.S. Senate and his reported pre-arrest recommendation to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to avoid nominating any of three other African Americans to the ...

'My gosh, that really shoulda been me,' Roland Burris
Top of the Ticket — ... old Senate chair, is off to Springfield today. There, he'll meet with state legislators pondering the impeachment of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich. ...

Blagojevich fights for little guys, gals -- healthcare, tax relief, all sorts of good things
Top of the Ticket — ... Illinois' legally-challenged Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he's had a longrunning political feud with the Illinois House of Representatives, ever since the 51-year-old former congressman from Chicago's North Side was reelected in 2006. ...

Now, Durbin sees new impasse on Roland Burris Senate seat
Top of the Ticket — ... Durbin now asserts that no one can fill the vacant seat until the governor of Illinois, Rod "I did nothing criminally wrong" Blagojevich, is removed from office and his successor (presumably fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn) names a senator. ...

Golden Globes glow with language like that &*%$#@ Blagojevich
Top of the Ticket — ... But clearly the actors have been studying Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was caught on FBI wiretaps and not quoted publicly by that bleeping federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. This was after Blago's December arrest for, among other things, allegedly auctioning off his "<<&*%$# golden" nomination to fill the vacant Senate seat of President-elect ...

Forget the gaffes, Obama eloquently knocks one out of the park
Top of the Ticket — ... , the man designated to fill the president-elect's vacant U.S. Senate seat by legally-challenged, but crafty Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who's giving Illinois insomnia to Democratic Senate leaders happy ...

Late word: Burris is in, Reid's gone quiet and Blago's still there
Top of the Ticket — ... Even in another time zone, the cloistered cackling of Illinois Gov. Rod "Bleeping" Blagojevich could be heard. It was his arrest on corruption charges and release on bail in early December that prompted Reid to get 49 other Senate Democrats to sign a letter and announce how that body would never accept any appointee of a tainted governor like fellow Democrat Blagojevich. And a vacationing Obama agreed with Reid. ...

More GOP Senate quitters: Real despair or real opportunities?
Top of the Ticket — ... incoming White House chief of staff. Indeed, Emanuel, who took over the House seat of someone named Rod Blagojevich in 2002, was one of the main engineers of the Democrats' congressional turnaround in 2006 that ended 12 years of rare Republican rule on the Hill. ...

Obama's Treasury secretary owed $26k in taxes, but it's O.K.
Top of the Ticket — ... Remember now, Harry Reid is the fine fellow who vowed last month that no Senate appointee of Illinois' legally-troubled Gov. Rod Blagojevich would ever be seated. Tomorrow, Reid will welcome Blagojevich's appointee, ...

It's now Senator Roland Burris and still Gov. Rod Blagojevich
Top of the Ticket — ... Illinois' legally-challenged Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich was not in attendance. But maybe he'll watch the video. With an immense smile. And then he'll quote some British poet. ...

Blagojevich, boycotting his own impeachment trial, compares self to Gandhi
Top of the Ticket — ... Rod Blagojevich, the embattled Illinois governor who has vowed to boycott his own impeachment trial opening today in Springfield, is now comparing his imprisonment last month on corruption charges to the jail terms served by civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. ...

Senate OKs careless taxpayer Geithner to run Obama's Treasury
Top of the Ticket — ... Instead of blaming Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Geithner took full responsibility, saying he was careless and negligient. Just the kind of Treasury secretary the country needs to fix years of lax enforcement and obliviousness toward developing fginancial problems. So urgent is the need for Geithner (and maybe worry that some senators might publicly change their minds), that TG will be sworn in this evening with the new president in attendance to ensure that oath doesn't get muffed too. ...

Don't believe the bad stuff about Gov. Blagojevich. He likes puppies
Top of the Ticket — ... Anyone with a beating heart surely must be touched by the human predicament afflicting Illinois Democrat Gov. Rod Blagojevich these days. The poor guy simply can't catch a break. ...

Gov. Rod Blagojevich to Rachel Maddow: 'The fix is in'
Top of the Ticket — ... on the Magical Mystery Media Tour of Gov. Rod Blagojevich through the standard cable/network shows, successfully drawing attention away from his impeachment trial in the Illinois Senate and making his case to American TV viewers, none of whom will be voting on removing him from office in a few days. ...

Rod 'I have done absolutely nothing wrong' Blagojevich packs his bags
Top of the Ticket — ... Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, delivering a passionate closing argument to Illinois lawmakers on the verge of impeaching him, said today he was being railroaded. ...

Ranks of unemployed governors swells by one; Illinois ousts Blago
Top of the Ticket — ... Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich is now former Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich. ...

Brazen Obama sells White House Super Bowl cheers for political support
Top of the Ticket — ... Here is what the 44th president said. He can't run from it and say his words were taken out of context a la Blagojevich. It's right there in the transcript: ...

Rod Blagojevich, now ex -governor, in his very own words
Top of the Ticket — ... We'd like to be able to say we're gonna miss Illinois' Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was turned into a Democratic ex-Gov. Blagojevich yesterday by the Illinois Senate. ...

Illinois Democrats begin erasing someone named Rod Blagojevich
Top of the Ticket — ... Just like China and the old Soviet Union, Illinois authorities began today erasing the presence of Gov. Rod Blagojevich from public property. ...

The Reid-Burris-Obama news release you might have missed
Top of the Ticket — ... Burris, of course, is the fellow, who was so slyly nominated by that rapscallion Rod Blagojevich, now the ex-governor of the Land of Lincoln because of federal allegations he was auctioning off state services, including possibly the nomination to fill now ...

Will a Judd Gregg move lead to 60 Democratic votes in Senate?
Top of the Ticket — ... Now that it looks like Al Franken has won in Minnesota, and Senate Democrats have, after an initial reluctance, seated Roland Burris, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich pick to be the senator from Illinois, the Democrats' majority stands at a titillating 59. ...

Top Ten Quotes of Rod Blagojevich on the David Letterman Show
Top of the Ticket — ... Rod Blagojevich is the recently arrested, frequently denounced, recently impeached, recently ousted, currently unemployed yet-to-be charged ex-governor of Illinois. He was on "The Late Show with David Letterman" Tuesday night. ...

Mayor Goodman defends misunderstood Vegas against bully Obama
Top of the Ticket — ... . Yes, sure, he's from Reno, which is small potatoes. But the veteran Reid handled the Rod Blagojevich- ...

Chicago U.S. Atty Patrick Fitzgerald to keep his job--for now
Top of the Ticket — ... , who's been convicted and is singing to the FBI to reduce his pending sentence, and ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who hasn't been charged yet, but how'd it look for the president to fire the prosecutor hot on his tail? ...

Now Rod Blagojevich's successor calls for Roland Burris to resign
Top of the Ticket — ... the last senators to be formally expelled were charged with supporting the rebels during the Civil War." Even former Sen. Larry E. Craig, the Idaho Republican infamous famous for his alleged adventures in an airport men’s room, didn't get the boot. An ethics committee did, however, issue a "public letter of admonition." That showed him. Which brings us to Roland Burris, the man selected by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama. Unlike Craig, he has not had to ...

More entertaining Sen. Burris news, this time on son Burris II
Top of the Ticket — ... , who was maneuvered into that job by the wily but also legally-embattled now ex-Democratic Governor of illinois, Rod Blagojevich, has refused to resign after an unfolding series of revelations about his relationship, fundraising and contacts with/for the impeached governor and his staff. ...

Blago's tell-all book will 'embarrass' pols. You're kidding, right? In Illinois?
Top of the Ticket —

Blagojevich told the truth once! New gov does plan tax hike. 50%?
Top of the Ticket — ... Remember not too long ago that Illinois political reality show where the feds alleged having wiretaps showing Gov. Rod Blagojevich auctioning off his nomination to fill ...

"Gimme a #$%^&#@ break," says VP Joe Biden
Top of the Ticket — ... That's thanks most recently to Illinois' Democrat Rod Blagojevich. The ex-governor was allegedly caught on federal wiretaps using the candy word many times while discussing the sale of his nomination to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat. As federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald read the partial transcripts aloud for cameras in December, he said "bleeping" or "bleep you" instead of $#%^&*#@ or $#%^ you. ...

Rod Blagojevich, reality TV star on NBC
Top of the Ticket — ... We take someone sort-of famous like, say, Joe the Wurzelbacker and we -- no, wait, better yet, impeached Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- and we dump him in some awful place like a Central American jungle and watch them scramble stupidly to get out doing exactly the things that we'd do except we're on the couch and can laugh at them in comfort with no one seeing the hypocrisy. ...

The judge is a critic, cancels Blagojevich's TV show before the pilot
Top of the Ticket — ... In the reality show world that has become the life of former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a federal judge has canceled the season before NBC even made the pilot. ...

Friday Tickets: Susan Boyle, Sean Hannity, Meghan McCain, Larry Summers, Larry King and Levi
Top of the Ticket — ... A federal judge thinks it might not be a good idea to allow indicted Democratic ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to run off to Costa Rica to make some reality TV shows just because the Chicago politician faces 30 years of prison haircuts? What real North Sider would absent himself from those environs the year the Cubbies finally do it? ...

Jolly Rod Blagojevich talks about the reality of reality TV -- video
Top of the Ticket — ... It was supposed to be a press availability for NBC to showcase a number of the celebrities it's lined up for the get-me-out-of-here celebrity show that a federal judge in Chicago said Democratic ex-Gov.Rod Blagojevich can not go to Costa Rica for. ...

Another Kennedy thinks he might like a Senate seat, this one Illinois'
Top of the Ticket — ... , who is not a Kennedy and was appointed by Rod Blagojevich, the ex-governor planning a new career in reality TV unless he goes to prison for allegedly trying to auction off his nomination to fill the Obama seat. ...

Bye-bye Burris; Obama's tainted Senate replacement won't run in '10
Top of the Ticket — ... The first clue actually came when Illinois Democrat Gov. Rod Blagojevich, now indicted for trying to auction off his nomination to fill the new president's vacant Senate chair, chose Burris as one of his final official acts before impeachment. ...