U.S. Sen. Roland Burris today said he shouldn’t be blamed for any lack of candor while under oath earlier this year before a special Illinois House panel about his appointment to the seat because his duty was only to answer the questions posed by the committee members and nothing more. Full Story »
Posted by Michael Bugeja
The article covers the basics, or 5 W's and H (who, where, what, when, why and how) as in: Roland Burris returns to Springfield, Ill., and equivocates about striking a deal with impeached Gov. Blagojevich earlier in the year, maintaining he had no ethical obligation to be candid in securing the seat vacated by Barack Obama. Just enough background is provided to give the story some context, as in noting Sen. Dick Durbin's demurs. (I'll link to one from December 2008).
“See, you all have got it all backwards,” Burris said. “It is not upon a person who is testifying to go out of his way on anything. It is the person who has to ask the questions.”
This is typical justification to cover up wrongdoing. Burris wanted the appointment so badly that he tarnished his own record, perhaps permanently.
In time, Burris will be implicated in Illinois-style deal-making and be removed from office. The Democrats should have listened to Durbin from the start, because any appointment by Blagojevich was bound to end up like this for a seat that was the platform for Obama's successful presidential bid.