Blagojevich Opens Up To Esquire

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Jan 11, 2010 3:00PM

In an interview that once again propels him into the spotlight, former governor Rod Blagojevich tells Esquire that he's totally innocent, compares himself to Galileo and Mordecai of the legend of Purim, tells us how much he hates the Madigans, and - of course - drops the quote everyone is already losing their minds over, claiming he's "blacker than Barack Obama":

"It's such a cynical business, and most of the people in the business are full of shit and phonies, but I was real, man — and am real. This guy, he was catapulted in on hope and change, what we hope the guy is. What the fuck? Everything he's saying's on the teleprompter. I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived. I saw it all growing up."

It's an entertaining interview and a quick read filled with Blago's typical claims of innocence, of being railroaded - "Where the fuck is Woodward and Bernstein? It's shocking that this could happen in America. Because I'm telling you, I am innocent of every single allegation...the people of Illinois had their governor stolen from them based on false accusations that were made knowingly." - as well as plenty of swearing. Do we learn anything new? Not really.

But the "blacker than Obama" quote will be more than enough to keep Blago in the spotlight for a while. Especially in the wake of the controversial comments made by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). Blago's quote is already the hook for most (if not all) media coverage of the interview. And just like with Reid's quotes and the book Game Change, the quote will be used to sell, sell, sell and give the 24-hour news cycle something to devour for a few days before moving on to something else rather than open up an honest discussion on race.