THE DAILY BLADE: The Definition Of Chutzpah: Part VI
IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) hired gun Sheldon Sorosky insists his client “didn't do anything wrong," that “[a] lot of this is just politics” and that he has no plans to resign “that I know of,” reports Politico.
And Blagojevich’s spokeswoman, Kelley Quinn, told reporters it was “business as usual” – Meaning what? That he’s cutting more backroom deals? – and that “At the end of the day, the top priority for our office is to serve the people, and we have not lost sight of that, nor will we lose sight of that,” reports The Associated Press.
To read other posts in the “chutzpah” series, click here, here, here, here and here (second item).
What’s In Her Wallet?
Always on the lookout for Americans who would make Michelle Obama proud, The Stiletto came upon this item:
Billie Watts, 75, of Murfreesboro, TN, found “a bundle of neatly stacked $1,000 bills” totaling $97,000 in a tapestry handbag hanging from a hook the door of a stall in the ladies’ room of a Cracker Barrel restaurant, and asked the lost-and-found department to have its owner call her to arrange its return, reports The Associated Press. Watts does not remember the name or number of the elderly woman who called to establish her ownership of the bag, but says that she was told the money came from the sale of the woman’s home and its contents. Watts also says she refused the $1,000 reward the woman offered.
Leaving aside the fact that no one at the restaurant recalls seeing such a woman or her bag, and that Watts claims to have turned over nearly $100,000 to someone whose name she doesn’t know, the highest denomination bill currently in circulation is $100 – not $1,000. In 1969 President Richard Nixon issued an executive order had all high-denomination bills pulled out of circulation in order to combat organized crime.
The Stiletto Scoops The New York Times
[McCain] never seemed to realize that [he was] running against a Chicago pol. Which means you pull no punches and you throw everything you’ve got at him.
- "When All Is Said And Done," The Stiletto Blog, November 5, 2008
In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of Barack Obama’s rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich. ... Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics.
- "Obama’s Effort on Ethics Bill Had Role in Governor’s Fall," The New York Times, December 10, 2008
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