Rod Blagojevich

Royters:

The governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, was arrested on Tuesday on "staggering" corruption charges that alleged he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by fellow Democrat, President-elect Barack Obama.

The governor also tried to extort the Chicago Tribune, one of the country's leading newspapers, into firing editorial writers who were critical of him, federal prosecutors said.

While Obama has long distanced himself from the governor of his home state -- who has been under investigation on other issues for years -- Blagojevich's arrest was a likely embarrassment to the president-elect. Obama said he was "saddened and sobered" by the news and had not been aware of the alleged efforts to sell the Senate seat he vacated.

The case shined light once again on old-style corruption in the grimy caldron of Chicago politics from which Obama emerged.

• As someone who would probably vote Democrat if I were living in the US, this piece of news is sad but not unexpected.
• All forms of political corruption must be removed from political parties.
• This is not a hit piece by a biased media.
• Given the nature of the allegations, Obama's relationship with Blagojevich must be investigated. Though I do not think Obama has any real links to the guy, if he does and if he is also involved in corrupt behaviour, then he should step down and let Biden become president.
• I'm sure all the right wing blogs are buzzing over this news. They should be.