This ABC News story today nearly had me falling out of my chair: http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=6424985. If you've heard that the governor of Illinois was arrested today, but are sketchy on the details, you must visit the link. But beware that there are several expletives (albeit ***'d-out).

I don't know why I was so shocked, really. There should be no reason why I'm surprised when politics is exposed as a corrupt and broken business. Perhaps it's because I just finished reading an inspiring book by another former governor - Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, which shone a light of hope, simplicity and doing right things the right way - that the actions of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich strike me as so disturbing today.

And yet... who thinks that Blagojevich is the only elected official to have acted this way? Is this not how the game is played? Was he not just doing what he should have been doing - looking for a chip in the game? Would it not have been irresponsible - even silly - of him not to have asked, "What's in this for me?" regarding who received the appointment to Barack Obama's empty Senate chair?

Maybe.

But there is still a part of me - a big part, even - that believes in doing a job, in public officials being committed to and elected to serve, to ignore dollars in favor of doing. To hold to some degree of rightness.

I have a friend who only seems to care that some of the stink of this mess clings to Obama. I can't go there. I truly hope the President-Elect comes out smelling like a rose that grew in a trash heap. I'm even letting myself hope that it was Obama's staff that tipped off the Feds. Our country didn't need this reminder today... unless it eventually causes other politicians to be more careful in what they plot when they seek to use the position people voted them into for personal gain instead of public good.