On
rare occasions somebody will ask me if I've ever given any thought to moving up
to the "bigtime" political scene in Washington, DC.
I
have a standard reply.
Never.
Here
are my top ten reasons...
10)
Partisanship can be intense in Illinois, but rarely will you see political
followers swoon over gigantic flip-flops from their party leaders here like
they have nationally with Barack Obama and John McCain.
Obama
says change comes to Washington, not from Washington, but picks a running mate
who has been in the US Senate since Richard Nixon was president, and the
Democrats cheer wildly. McCain spends months ridiculing Obama's lack of
experience on the national stage, then chooses a veep who was chairing the
Wasilla, Alaska PTA six years ago, and the Republicans go gaga. What a pathetic scene.
9)
Our last two governors have been even more unpopular than our current
president, but at least they haven't started any wars. At least, not yet.
Perhaps I shouldn't be giving Rod Blagojevich any ideas. I shudder to think
what might happen to Indiana or Wisconsin.
8)
Arrogance abounds in Illinois politics. But everybody in DC from the president
all the way down to the janitors on K Street believe they reside at the center
of the universe. It's a terminal illness, and nobody out there is immune.
Barack Obama was immediately dismissed by the Beltway crowd because nobody knew
who he was. Oops. The same goes for Gov. Sarah Palin, who has been subjected to
some of the harshest press coverage anyone has seen in years. If you don't
regularly attend cocktail parties with the DC elite, you are nobody and
therefore are not to be respected.
Unlike
Washington, DC, we give people a chance here in Illinois. Rod Blagojevich, an
unknown, backbench Congressman vaulted to our state's highest office without
anyone really claiming that he didn't have the "right" sort of
experience.
OK,
maybe we made a mistake with that one.
7)
A national columnist referred to Bill Clinton as the "first black
president," and was taken seriously. Rod Blagojevich called himself
Illinois' first black governor, and was widely ridiculed. We just have more
perspective on things.
6)
US House: 435 members. US Senate: 100 members. Illinois House and Senate: Only
one member who matters in each, the House Speaker and the Senate President. As
a reporter, the Statehouse is just much easier to cover than the US Capitol.
5)
For security reasons, the American president is practically condemned to living
most of his term in the White House. Our governor can live wherever he wants,
which, come to think of it, is mostly in a bunker far away from reporters who
want to ask him about his various scandals. So, maybe that's not a great big
difference.
4)
Illinoisans are far superior to those DC folks because we long ago figured out
Barack Obama's eery supernatural powers.
Obama
managed to kick an incumbent off the ballot the first time he ran for state
Senate, which is about as rare in Chicago as a pro-gun politician. Then,
billionaire Blair Hull self-destructed in the 2004 Democratic US Senate primary
after allegations surfaced of spousal abuse. Then, Obama's Republican US Senate
opponent Jack Ryan was forced off the ticket after a sex scandal involving the
candidate and his own wife. Then, the state Republicans convinced Maryland
resident Alan Keyes to run against Obama, only to discover soon afterwards that
Keyes' daughter was an Anarchist lesbian. Hull, Ryan and Keyes can now barely
show their faces in Illinois.
I'm
not sure I'd want to be John McCain or Sarah Palin.
3)
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is a 74 year old man who can do a
standing backflip. No kidding. Eat your heart out, Condoleeza Rice!
2)
Unlike Vice President Dick Cheney, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn has never shot anyone
in the face.
And
the Number One reason I prefer covering Illinois to Washington, DC: I couldn't
bear to leave my readers at the [insert your newspaper name here]!!!
Rich
Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and
thecapitolfaxblog.com.