 |
| JACKSON: Misunderstood??!? |
That
definitely is the case with regards to one-time Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., who on
Wednesday will appear before a federal judge in the District of Columbia for
sentencing on charges that he used money from his campaign fund in improper
ways.
HE’S
GOING TO wind up doing some time in a federal prison, as will spouse Sandi (the
former 7th Ward alderman) – whose crime is signing the income tax
returns that did not acknowledge the campaign fund money as income.
But
what amuses me the most about this whole situation is the degree to which
people don’t really understand what is going on with regard to Jackson.
For
when I hear people talk about Jackson’s predicament, it seems that everybody is
convinced that Jackson is going to prison for trying to bribe former Gov. Rod
Blagojevich to try to get himself a seat in the U.S. Senate!
I
realize many people don’t pay close attention to the details when they watch
newscasts. And I also comprehend that details can be forgotten (I usually have
to look things up to ensure that I get them correct when I continually write
about an issue).
BUT
I HAVE lost track of the number of times that I have had to explain to people
that the criminal case against the former Congressman from the Far South Side
and surrounding suburbs has nothing to do with the Senate seat from Illinois
once held by Barack Obama.
That
was the political vacancy that Blagojevich got to fill when Obama was elected
president in 2008. It also was the one that resulted in Blagojevich’s
indictment when the federal investigators who were already scrutinizing him
felt his negotiations with political people to fill the post amounted to him
soliciting bribes in exchange for the appointment.
A
part of me wants to believe that if Jackson’s behavior amounted to offering a
bribe, the prosecutors would have filed the requisite criminal charges. They’d
have no reason to hold back.
Although
in the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday, Blagojevich’s brother, Robert, insisted
that Jackson’s people offered him what amounted to bribes that he personally
turned down on behalf of his gubernatorial brother.
IN
SHORT, JACKSON is the criminal and not Rod.
Take
that perspective for what it’s worth. All I know is that there are many people
who are going to eagerly snap it up. They will believe it. Some will desperately
want to believe it.
It
has me wondering if Jackson is destined to go down in the political annals as
the guy who tried to bribe his way into a higher political office – even though
the record of facts we now have doesn’t really back up that assertion.
What
is humorous about this particular instance (Blagojevich wound up giving the
Senate appointment to former Illinois comptroller and attorney general Roland
Burris, and there’s no record that he made any kind of payoff) is that I specifically
recall thinking that Blagojevich should have seriously considered Jackson for
the appointment.
BUT
HE DIDN’T, in large part because Blagojevich giving the post to Jackson would
have resulted in him creating yet another political person who would have
surpassed Milorod in significance.
And
the big thing about comprehending Blagojevich is the fact that he had a bloated
ego – even by the standards of a political person.
Which
means it is possible – likely, in fact – that Blagojevich would have rejected a
bribe from Jackson just for kicks. Which might mean that Blagojevich wasn’t
guilty.
But
the reality is that Blagojevich is doing a lengthy prison sentence, while
Jackson looks at up to four years in a federal facility because he couldn’t
resist using other peoples’ money to buy himself kitschy items that once
belonged to people like Michael Jackson and Muhammad Ali to decorate his
office.
WE
SHOULD ALL keep in mind that many of the people who are most eager to see
Jackson put away are the ones who have resented his ever being elected to
Congress in the first place.
He’s
not exactly “Public Enemy Number One.”
-30-
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment