Ill. Gov. Blagojevich, seeing he would lose yesterday’s senate vote about his tax plan, urged them beforehand to vote against it, on trumped-up last-minute consideration that more time was needed to consider it. 

Blagojevich sought to minimize the vote’s impact. Beforehand, he suddenly asked lawmakers to vote against his plan as a signal that they think it’s too soon to take a firm position.

More time for him to pass out key favors, rather.  It’s how George Ryan did it: pass out the goodies, call it Illinois First, and watch your legislation go sailing through.  Statesmanlike conduct!

Then he lost the vote, 170–0 (!) and had the further unmitigated gall to look on the bright side:

“There’s ups and downs, but (I) feel good about it,” Blagojevich said after an appearance in Chicago. “Things went pretty well today.”

He is the boy who got a pile of manure for his birthday and jumped for joy because he knew “a pony can’t be far away.”

Smile and the world smiles with you, Guv.  Cry and you cry alone.