Gov. Rod Blagojevich today blamed his low approval rating on the faltering economy and said he thinks voters would give him a third term in office if he was running on the Nov. 4 ballot. Blagojevich's comments came after he was asked about a Tribune poll that put his approval rating at 13 percent. "That's a baker's dozen, right?" Blagojevich jokingly asked reporters after an unrelated news conference in Blue Island. "I consider that a lucky number."
Blagojevich said he doesn't think he's done anything to garner such a low rating and said politicians across the state and country are being targeted by voters unhappy about higher gas, food and housing prices. But he dodged questions about the growing federal investigation of his administration. He said he was confident that if he was on the ballot today that he'd "win by 10 points or better."
Blagojevich refused to answer directly if he would seek a third term in 2010 but said he "trusts the people to get it right," noting that he hasn't lost an election. "I love the people of Illinois more today than I did before," Blagojevich said. "And if it's a case of unrequited love at this point, I'll just have to work extra hard to get them to love me again."
So it's all about gas, housing and food. Nothing at all to do with the various simultaneous investigations into his administration, coming ever closer to Governor HotRod himself. Nothing to do with the fact that this is beginning to look like one of the most corrupt governments in state history -- and considering as this is a state that's indicted three of the last five governors, that's saying something. No, it's all the economy, and if we looked past that, we'd fall in love with him and his hair one more time.
To be sure, he's got something of a point. The economy is hammering incumbents nationwide. And it's true that we did re-elect him once, with the scandals noticeably looming offshore, so to speak. But now that wave has crashed down, and indictment and investigation have been following him around since re-election. The economy's not his fault, and that we might forgive. But the rest of it?
Posted by iain at October 24, 2008 02:06 PM
