Blago Loses His Cool

By Kevin Robinson in News on Jul 7, 2008 3:19PM

While most other Illinois pols were using the Independence Day holiday to watch fireworks with their constituents, Blagojevich had some bombs for reporters. When asked whether he was the target of a federal corruption probe, the governor responded by calling questions about the matter “ridiculous,” “absurd” and “stupid.”

At what was supposed to be a slam-dunk press conference about Illinois getting tough with gas-pump inspections (huh?), he chastised the press, accusing them of sensationalizing Tony Rezko's conviction. "You know it's a ridiculous question because if you carefully look at the things that have happened and you're not just interested in sensationalizing something so you can do your big news story, you wouldn't even bother asking a question like that," he said. "Tony Rezko is a friend who helped me. He helped Sen. Obama. He helped Lisa Madigan" and other Illinois politicians. But when a reporter pointed out that Blagojevich, unlike other prominent Chicago-area politicians, had been interviewed by the feds, the governor replied that "we don't know that about the other people," and that "I know what I do and know how I do things. And I know I do things right."

Blagojevich said he isn't concerned. "I'm not worried about anything. What I'm a little concerned about is the lack of integrity and the sensationalism of some of the reporters who exaggerate and with hysterical sensationalism overstate and are dishonest about how they report some of the things. That’s the frustration," he said. "So it's difficult to answer questions when people are not honest. And I’m not going to reward dishonest reporters who ask dishonest questions that aren’t factual or based on the facts."

Image via AP