Stem to Stern

Roland Burris seems to be implicated in the corruption of Illinois politics. Sad but typical in a state where Governors of both parties have faced indictment or conviction in criminal proceedings of late. Chicago is of course notorious for Daley Machine shenanigans and the rot has crept into Springfield-a town Honest Abe would not recognize (though Lincoln had similar ethical clouds in his day). The Chicago Tribune has called on Burris to resign. If he did, no doubt, his replacement would soon be found to have a skeleton in his closet as well. The remarkable aspect of all this is that every politician in Illinois seems stained-even former Congressman and now White House Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel seems to have received the benefit of free housing without reporting it as income when he served in the US House of Representatives. Everyone in Illinois had a little dirt under the nails expect Obama who we are supposed to believe never got a whiff of the impropriety that is endemic to Illinois politics and was all around him. Did we elect a willful ostrich President or did BO save all his get out of jail free cards when he played board games as a kid? Barack simply soared above the fray not noticing that his peers and close confidants had their hands in the cookie jar. Maybe Obama was just a little smarter and didn't get caught...yet.