Blago: 'I'm Blacker than Barack Obama. I Shined Shoes.'
The disgraced ex-governor of Illinois apparently failed to take his Elvis Presley pointer-finger dance into account in assessing his relative level of whiteness in a new interview with Esquire.
The Associated Press' advanced read of Blago's new Esquire interview is a doozy:
Blagojevich, referring to the president as "this guy," says Obama was elected based simply on hope.
"What the (expletive)? Everything he's saying's on the teleprompter," Blagojevich told the magazine for a story in its February issue, which hits newsstands Jan. 19.
"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," Blagojevich said. "I saw it all growing up."
Counterpoint:
It'd be nice if racial diversity in politics meant asinine comments like Blago's would go away, but as Michael Steele proves, there's no guarantee that non-white officials will be much better. It would, however, reduce the pointer-finger dance move quotient by at least 10 percent. Oh—wait—no, Michael Steele ruined that, too, by getting jiggy with his interns. Actually, now that I think of it...
Brothers from another mother? The lack of self-discernment could have spread by osmosis. It would explain why Blago is so convinced he is black.
Anyway, Rod's new gig is opposite fellow comb-over enthusiast Donald Trump on Celebrity Apprentice, where Blago's human personification of the failings of democracy will be juxtaposed with human personifications of the failings of capitalism and celebrity, as well. Fun fact: Darryl Strawberry will be on the show this season, too. [AP]