Friday, January 30, 2009
'I come out of the alleys of Chicago politics'
Roger Ebert thinks the story of Rod Blagojevich needs to be turned into a movie, the central theme being Blago's obliviousness to what others think of him:
... As for Blago's successor, Patrick Quinn, the only way to describe him to someone from Massachusetts is that he's a kind of mellowed version of the mellowed versions of Jim Braude or Bruce Marks. He's a professional activist turned politician, as opposed to a professional activist turned successful media star or nonprofit real-estate czar. Quinn's got more of a populist streak in him. He's also more of a space shot. He's there, but he's not there. He'll have a brief honeymoon in Illinois, before the pros start cutting him down. His biggest nemesis, who won't leave many fingerprints, will probably be the Illinois House speaker, whose attorney-general daughter covets being governor. ...
Roger Ebert thinks the story of Rod Blagojevich needs to be turned into a movie, the central theme being Blago's obliviousness to what others think of him:
There was another U. S. governor of comparable notoriety, Huey P. Long of Louisiana. Robert Penn Warren wrote All The King's Men about him, and it won the Pulitzer Prize. The 1949 film version won Oscars for best picture, actor and supporting actress.Hub Blog nominates the Cohn Brothers or Oliver Stone to direct it. I'd tilt toward Stone, who can be surprisingly sympathetic to unlikeable characters. In Blago's case, he does deserve some sympathy. He was a clumsy, dumb, corrupt neophyte up against smooth, smarter, corrupt professionals. In his own weird way, Blago sensed this divide and it seems his only regret is that he didn't play the game better. "I come out of the alleys of Chicago politics," Blago mused yesterday to the NYT, later adding, "We should have been more selfish, not selfless." ... Blago was a product of his political environment, acting the part right to the bitter end. ... BTW: One of his last official orders as governor: Don't answer the phone.
The new film could be titled "The Football." If it won awards like that, Blagojevich would probably take them as a compliment, even a vindication. I have never before written so unkindly about anyone, but in this case, it doesn't appear I can hurt his feelings.
... As for Blago's successor, Patrick Quinn, the only way to describe him to someone from Massachusetts is that he's a kind of mellowed version of the mellowed versions of Jim Braude or Bruce Marks. He's a professional activist turned politician, as opposed to a professional activist turned successful media star or nonprofit real-estate czar. Quinn's got more of a populist streak in him. He's also more of a space shot. He's there, but he's not there. He'll have a brief honeymoon in Illinois, before the pros start cutting him down. His biggest nemesis, who won't leave many fingerprints, will probably be the Illinois House speaker, whose attorney-general daughter covets being governor. ...
