Day one of the impeachment trial is over

I caught a large part of today's testimony, via the web, of the first day of testimony in the impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The prosecution called one witness, John Scully, a former federal prosecutor who went over, in great detail, the intricacies of getting judicial approval for wiretapping activities.

With Blagojevich conducting his defense through national media outlets instead of having his attorneys cross-examine Scully, it made for pretty dry viewing.

It reads much better, and the Chicago Tribune's Clout Street blog has a good summary of today's events in Springfield.

In New York, as I blogged earlier, Blago appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" and "The View." No one knows how many Illinois state senators were watching.

After the "View" appearance, Fox News' Geraldo Rivera interviewed the disgraced governor outside the show's studio on a sidewalk. In other words, "a man in the street interview." In a flashback to Rivera's old CNBC show where he served as one of Bill Clinton's chief apologists, the attorney turned electronic journalist showed great sympathy to Blago's plight, stating that he is not getting a fair trial. What's bizarre is that Geraldo was forced to interview Blago outdoors because the Chicago Democrat's handlers cancelled his Fox News studio appearance.

Not a fair trial? What crap. Blagojevich is also a lawyer--he is a former assistant Cook County state's attorney, and perhaps he knows better. Then again, maybe he doesn't.

In a Sunday editorial, the Chicago Tribune ripped Blago's "I'm not getting a fair trial" gripe right of of its follicles.

However, I do have to agree with Geraldo on one point. I don't believe the governor should have been impeached over his hair-brained scheme to import flu vaccine from Canada and Europe.

I mean, sheesh, Blagojevich's vaccine caper took place five years ago. Why didn't the Democratic-controlled General Assembly impeach him for that back then?

But Blago needs to go. I hope he's enjoying New York--it looks like the weather is much milder than it is here in Illinois. It's cold and brutal in the Land of Lincoln. In more ways than one.

But to paraphrase the Chance the Gardener character in Being There. "After winter, comes spring."

Technorati tags: politics Illinois Democrats corruption Blagojevich media impeachment news television Geraldo Rivera