Blagojevich out in 06?

Roeser has the skinny - and it looks bad for Blago. A Q&A with a Dem.

"The first thing I'd do, if I were running against him, would be to go all over southern Illinois and say, 'If elected, I'll live in Springfield. I'll move my family into the mansion.'"

"But his eagerness to live at home has mass appeal."

"Not to Downstaters. His not living down here is a deliberate slap. It shows us this city boy thinks we're yokels. Wanting to be home is phony. Every day he's in Springfield he flies home every night. The reason is: He's got a state plane here so he can fly at the people's expense. The taxpayers pay for his mansion and his trips. His snubbing Springfield snubs all of southern Illinois. Take a look at his refusal to be on hand for a veterans dedication at Oak Ridge cemetery outside of Springfield. So the first plank in my program would be a message delivered directly to southern Illinois -- which is much better than you think: If elected governor, I will live in Springfield."

"Now get to his campaign war chest."

"It's a double-edged sword. His biggest political asset is the $12 million, and it's also his biggest liability. He ran as a reformer. This is the case I would make to the Democrats in the primary: He took $25,000 apiece from guys he immediately placed on the Health Facilities Planning Board. Where's the reform in that? Where's the reform in doing Tony Rezko's bidding? The owner of the Panda Restaurant group gives him big bucks, and his guy is named the head of DECA [Department of Commerce and Economic Affairs]. The governor says he won't take gambling money but, oh yes, he takes horse-racing money. And then there's the taxes he raised."

"You mean the fees?"

"Same thing: taxes, fees. He slapped business with 300 fee hikes. I'd campaign on that statewide. He's not been honest with the voters, has done unconscionable borrowing that puts the burden on our children and grandchildren. Then there's his own credibility. You just can't believe him and trust him to keep his word."

" But that goes for any politician."

"Really? Get this: Leaders of his own party, the speaker and the Senate president, had to get 50 -- that's five oh -- memos of understanding because they didn't trust him to keep his word. Nobody had to do that even with George Ryan. Or Jim Edgar or Jim Thompson. This was the first time in Illinois history where leaders of the same party as the governor had to do this."

"Anything more for southern Illinois?"

"You bet. He vetoed the bill the Legislature passed -- the Wilmette thing, giving a guy the right to defend himself and his family with a gun during a break-in at his house. Do you understand how important that is to southern Illinois? I couldn't believe he vetoed it. I'd make him spend all his $12 million on TV ads defending it -- and it still won't wash. Listen, you're old enough to remember Gene McCarthy."

"Old enough to know Gene McCarthy. I liked him too. "

"When he ran against LBJ in New Hampshire, no one gave him a chance. You like the governor? Don't get used to him because he'll be gone after the 2006 primary."

From your lips to God's ears.