Dear Friend and Reader:
If I were to teach a political science class at a university one day, I would devote a good week or two to the history of famous political flame outs — that moment in a bad politician’s career when they’ve consciously decided to take a large plugged-in electrical appliance with them to their bathtub, put feet first into the hot water, and let the appliance join in the bath.В
President Richard Nixon had his big flameout moment in 1973 with his famous “I am not a crook” speech on national television, which not only showed him losing control of the Presidency, but also, some say, showed he had lost his mind.
In 2002, Mississippi Senator Trent Lott had his brush with career-immolation at the 100-year birthday celebration for Strom Thurmond who was still an active member of the Senate. Lott reminisced about the Senator’s presidential campaign, admitting unconsciously his preference for the segregationist days of the South when he said: “…when Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either”.
In the days of YouTube, Virginia Senator George Allen lost his bid for re-election with his “macaca” moment, while Senator Larry Craig from Idaho could not keep his feet still in the bathroom stall of the Minneapolis Airport.
But how can these moments compare with this jewel of an example of obliviousness while taking an acetylene torch to your political career? We present to you now former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich defending himself prior to his impeachment by the Illinois State Senate.