Why do Americans insist on making heros out of criminals.
 

Case in point Ron Blagojevich. Today, I saw a crowd reaching out to touch him like he was the pope. He was high fiving them. He's on every morning TV show, every news interview show. He was even on that Donald Trump show.

The guy is a no good hoodlum, thief, crook. He's laughing at us behind that pasty smirk and phony hairdo.

I know it's not fair to judge a person by looks alone, but he even looks like a crook.

Aside from that I think he's an okay guy.

JLK

I think too many people want to see someone beat the system ,,,,But if they do , then they complain that the system if broken.......

I've been around a long time and I don't understand it.........He's a Jerk....


fumar..:grumpy:

agree but
 

he is a jerk, now he is a media icon and therefore a rich jerk,

And another thing.

He has little beady eyes.

Blagojevich was at the Comic Con in Chicago. He was getting $50.00 for a photo and $75.00 for an autograph. When asked why he was at Comic Con he said that he may be the next superhero. Help us all.

I thought Chris Wallace did a fine job of calling Blago out on his hypocrisy on Fox News Sunday today. Blago said all along that he would testify in his own defense, then the defense rested their case without calling witnesses or entering evidence into the record. Wallace asked him why we should believe him now, when when he again says he wants to testify to defend himself. Blago had no answer, just a lot of meaningless words. Fumar's use of the word "jerk" describes this idiot perfectly.

I have lived in Illinois since 1979. It is an embarrasment to Illinois that one former governor, George Ryan, has been in prison for about 3 years, and has another approx. 3 years to serve on his sentence, and now Gov. Ryan's successor as Governor has just been convicted of a felony, will most likely be retried sometime in the next six months, and will probably be serving a lengthy jail sentence. And to top it all off, Rod Blagojevich's defense fund is out of money, so the Illinois taxpayers will be footing his defense lawyers' bills going forward for the retrial. It's like a bad soap opera that never ends.:mad:

[QUOTE=Schaumburger;286049]I have lived in Illinois since 1979. It is an embarrasment to Illinois that one former governor, George Ryan, has been in prison for about 3 years, and has another approx. 3 years to serve on his sentence, and now Gov. Ryan's successor as Governor has just been convicted of a felony, will most likely be retried sometime in the next six months, and will probably be serving a lengthy jail sentence. And to top it all off, Rod Blagojevich's defense fund is out of money, so the Illinois taxpayers will be footing his defense lawyers' bills going forward for the retrial. It's like a bad soap opera that never ends.:mad:[/QUOTE

Typical Chicago style

Ok here goes. I am very conservative and a regular viewer of foxnews (and as much msnbc as I can stand for balance) BUT today on Fox News Sunday Chris Wallace was so rude to Gov Bla that I wanted to scream. His first question was, you were selling pics and autographs today, is there nothing you will do to make money? ... my comment back would be oh really, well its nothing like the books, and gold and FREE power chairs you guys sell on this network..

COME ON... what kind of an question is that..it was a rhetorical putdown.. right off the bat.
he was rude throughout, interrupting, constantly accusing the gov of things, and just plain mean. I do not like Gov Bla and I would have convicted him easily by "keep it simple stupid" trial strategy, but I like Foxnews less for that one.. the lady (blonde as usual as I recall) who introduced the clip, said something like watch this...Chris really tears into GB. Well I gotta say.. as a regular foxnews viewer, the left will just love showing clips of that interview to show how unfair foxnews is.
FN managed to make him look GB look good.

I watched the celebrity apprentice that Blago appeared on last year. He was constantly trying to rationalize his innocence with people, both other apprentice contestants and the general public he met in the challenges. He is shallow, clueless, and incredibly inarticulate. How the good people of Illinois managed to vote him in as their governor is beyond me -- and I am a blue dog democrat.

Agree. Totally.

I'm sure that Blogo is as terrible a person as everyone thinks that he is however I want to see people convicted because the prosecution has presented evidence of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I don't want to see the government convicting people just because people like them, do you?

Just a thought.

Yoda

Why isn't this in political? Yes, I understand the question is about people making fools out of themselves in idolizing jerks, but since it was directed at a specific political person (sorry, refuse to say his name) and the whole issue is because of politics, I really think this is in the wrong forum.

I wish I could get in on this conversation. OH Well. Have fun ya'll.

There is nothing political about this unless somebody makes it so. It's not about politics, it's about a criminal. It knows no political boundaries. The only way this would become political is if somebody starts discussing politics.

It is possible, you know, to discuss an issue like this without making it political. Really, it is possible you know.

:agree:

Rude
 

Yes this is a rude posting calling Chris Wallace rude.

And knocking Fox News without cause. For example do you know that all networks sell books, gold and power chairs.

Also why do you not like blond ladies?

And don't worry nobody not even Fox news can make the corrupt ex gov. look good.

I think I know why this may have happened.

The other morning Blagojevich was on the "Today" show. Every time he was asked a question, he ignored it. Instead he replied with gibberish of his choosing totally apart from the question. Each and every time.

As a longtime television and radio interviewer myself, I can tell you that there are times when it is professionally acceptable to treat the interviewee as being hostile. You can't let the interviewee control the interview. You have to keep them reigned in, otherwise it becomes a platform for their agenda.

I know, some will say that reporters, too, have an agenda. I never did, I just wanted to get the job done right and report the facts.

JLK

Bonnie and Clyde.
 

If you want a different picture of Bonnie and Clyde from the one portrayed in movies like 1967's Bonnie and Clyde (Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway), read Jeff Guinn's book Go Down Together: the True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde.

This book hardly makes heroes out of Bonnie and Clyde. They are two inept criminals according to the book often resporting for their takes to breaking into gum ball machines.

Sounds like the former Illlinois governor was of the same vein of folly as the Bonnie and Clyde characterized in Go Down Together.

The cops do not come off all that well either in Go Down Together. They seem like either goons or Keystone Cops.

It is about time that the interviewer held the interviewee's feet to the fire.(is interviewee a word and is holding someone's feet to a fire even a metaphor?) LOL

I am tired of so-called interviews that are really only a platform for propaganda. I want real questions with real answers.

Ditto on this comment. Also, His way of justifying what he did because "Everyone in Washington does it" was like saying if you rob a bank why cant I.

Cheaper Corruption
 

Next time Blago should run in Louisiana. A Senator is a lot cheaper there.

Former LA Resident :coolsmiley:

Watching Gov. B
 

As an ex-Illinoisan (and so long ago, Gov. Rod was probably still in junior high), I'm looking at it like watching a train wreck about to happen. You can't do anything about it, so sit back and wait for the crash.

That said, and following up on the comments about George Ryan, I was in Illinois, indeed working in the Statehouse, during the reign of Gov. Dan Walker, who spent a few years as a guest of the public in a federal lockup.

Election as a governor in Illinois is almost like a ticket to prison.

BTW, before it gets partisan, Illinois governors with prison records cross party lines.

It's something in the water in Springfield.

Just once when one of these jerks says "... the real question is blah, blah.." I'd like the moderator to shut off the guys mike and say "hey moron... if that was the real question I would have asked it. Now try again."
Sadly, it's not just Larry King that lets everyone get away with this. Saw it just last night on Fox when a candidate dodged the "anchor baby" question and got away with it. The questioner almost got him pinned down but it was like catching a greased pig.

Chicago Politics
 

I think people like to bring well known people down from their high horse and then watch and see if they can scramble to the top again so they can repeat the process.

Oh, cut me some slack Talk Host. We all know why this thread is not in the political forum. And you’re making it worse by trying to defend your logic for putting it in this forum.

You established the rules and made the political forum invisible to those that don’t want to read about this stuff in TOTV. So how about leading by example and move this thread to where it belongs.

Bad Attitudes
 

There are really some nasty people voicing their opinions. If you don't like what you're reading or feel its in the wrong place.........DON'T READ IT!!!

Well Frank, perhaps you should follow your own advice. If you don’t like what I post here, then DON’T READ IT !

For those of you who might not be aware, a while back, the administrators moved the political forum into a private area so that you needed to voluntarily join that forum to even see it or have the threads show up.

This was done in response to numerous complaints from members about the number of mindless threads from the political forum cluttering up the ‘New Posts’ list. And there was nothing in the topic line of this thread that even hinted that it would be highly controversial political fodder.

I find nothing nasty of me pointing this out to Talk Host and suggesting that he too should color within the lines.

What were the charges against him? Someone refresh my memory. What was the outcome of the trial? Is it political when you discuss the actual facts of the case? I'm just trying to understand.

Blago is a typical Chicago politician... wouldn't recognize the truth if it bit him in the a$$. They think that if you repeat a lie often enough people will think it's true. That's the strategy Obama and his people are using. Oops... did I just make this political?

lol
 

come from MA, ask me about Kennedyville

Ed, we don't all know. I didn't think the thread turned political until somewhere on the second page. BTW, I support and applaud the move to make the political forum opt in.

This thread hardly seems political to me. It is just about a corrupt former Illinois governor and the media and the public's reaction to him.

I agree there could be a fine line here, I mean after all this criminal is an elected official. This discussion is not abouts politics It is a question about why Americans like to make heros out of criminals. There are those who would like to label it political. Kinda like playing the "race card" when it isn't called for.

There are those who see politics behind every tree. If you don't think so, check the political forum.

TH, I think you nailed it.

TH. I for one believe you’ve disappointed some of us by using your power as the top guy on this wonderful forum. You started a thread that is blatantly political in the regular forums to push your personal agenda.

I respectually request that you reconsider your position.

IMHO, the confusion, at least to me, came with specifically mentioning Blago. The original post wasn't a generic "question about why Americans like to make heros out of criminals." Mentioning a politician in the first post made it confusing about why this wasn't in political. Blago's criminal charges were based on a political office and involved several charges regarding the corruption of that political office. That's political no matter what tree you nail it to or look around.

There were approx. 24 charges against former Gov. Blagojevich. The most serious charges were "selling" Pres. Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder -- as governor, Rod Blagojevich had the power to appoint a successor in late 2008 to complete the last 2 years of Pres. Obama's U.S. Senate term which expires this fall. Of the 24 charges, the jury deadlocked on 23 charges and convicted RB on one charge -- of lying to the FBI in 2005. I believe this is the same charge that Martha Stewart went to prison for a few years ago -- I believe she served about 6 months in a federal prison. RB could get as much as 5 years in prison for lying to the FBI, but most media observers don't think his sentence would be that long. According to media reports on Chicago TV tonight, RB will most likely be retried in January, 2011 after the holidays. And he will probably be represented by 2 public defenders as his $2.7 million campaign fund was used to pay the expensive legal team for his first trial, and that money is all gone.

Laura

The Prince of Providence story is one of the criminal becoming the hero. Former Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor Buddy Cianci is a hero in the area despite him being a convicted felon.

In the cases of Buddy and Blago, it is the same fascination and hero elevated status that people place on Anthony John Soprano, Sr.