Blago Book: Who Saw This One Coming?

Rod Blagojevich, cnn.com

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is going to write a book about his political experience and he already got a deal to do so.

Oh, I wish I were kidding you. But I'm not.

Whenever a well-known public figure gets any sort of negative attention, you know perfectly well the public is going to feed into it and this is going to be stretched as far as it possibly can. The point is everyone loves a train wreck. It's the "Schedenfreude" aspect where the misfortunate and fail of others makes you happy you're not them. That's what makes gossip so juicy. No one wants to hear about how so-and-so won a Purple Heart, they'd rather find out that they were arrested for dealing drugs to minors.

So this is where the “squeezing until the last drop” theory comes into play. If something is making big news and made a big commotion, it needs to be stretched and used while it is still a hot item and milked it for all that it is worth.

Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment and arrest was several months ago. The first-time excitement has calmed down and Blagojevich now feels that he is ready to come out of hiding and tell his side of the story. He has allowed enough time to pass to let his spotlight pass and the talk about him to die down a bit.

Rumors have been going around for months for the possibility of a book deal with Blagojevich, and now we have confirmation.  According to a statement, the former Illinois governor is ready to tell all about the "dark side of politics that he witnessed in both the state and national level."

The book will be titled, simple and to the point, The Governor. Here Blagojevich will provide a detailed explanation of his actions and why he pleaded innocent—an explanation that will be 264 pages long. He writes how yes, he did want something in exchange for President Obama’s seat in the Senate, but it was misinformed as something else and he was wrongly accused. As Blagojevich will be preaching his innocence, this could also mean that he will instead be pointing the finger at someone else. Blagojevich gives his perspective as the victim. He wants to portray betrayal and lies with himself on the receiving end and has even gone to compare himself with a Shakespearian tragedy, according to the Chicago Tribune. An excerpt reads:

“And while you’re at it, you may as well throw in a little Richard the III, because when the story of my years as a Governor ends, I was left without with neither a kingdom nor a horse. Or for that matter, even a car.”

It doesn’t stop there. Blagojevich continues to compare himself to well-known figures in society such as Jake LaMotta, Theodore Roosevelt, Martha Steward, and even George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life. Why the literary allusions and pop-culture references? It’s clear Blago wants to be understood, as that is the number one desire all humans have in common, but he wants to be understood with the right impression. What outcome does he want his book to have on the people? What outcome WILL his book have on the general people? Will anything change?

The Governor will be here September 8th to speak Blagojevich’s voice to all and any who wish to hear it, and then they can decide for themselves.