State Journal Register: Governor: "I think we're doing great"

[Tweed]

http://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/45305.asp

Governor: 'I think we're doing great'
Blagojevich reflects on his first two years in office

By BERNARD SCHOENBURG
POLITICAL WRITER

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, at the halfway point of his term as the state's chief executive, says he is proud of his accomplishments, but has some regrets about the way he has dealt with other politicians.
"It's hard to say these things about yourself ... but I think we're doing great," Blagojevich said during an interview with The State Journal-Register in his Statehouse office last week.

"I think we're doing a lot of good things to help people, help them live better lives, help them build better lives. I think we've dealt with a lot of difficult challenges, and we've been able to fight for the things that I promised to fight for, and we've been getting them."

Blagojevich has said he wants to change state government priorities in order to spend more on schools, education and public safety without raising income or sales taxes. That's what has happened, he said.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. How do his re-election chances look?

[Tweed]

2. You probably posted in this thread off of the Latest page

but this is in the Illinois Forum. If you click on the Illinois Forum and scroll down some, you will see all kind of threads about Blago. I'll sum it up in case you don't want too. Blago has a lot of luke-warm support. That being said, he also has a 15 million dollar campaign chest right now. The primary is a year away. He'll probably have 30-35 million for the actual campaign. Given the disastrous results of the Illinois GOP recently, any candidate will have a hard time raising enough money to beat Blago. However, a non-Chicagoland moderate could strike a dagger into the most well funded re-election campaign. Some see Blago as connected to Chicago still. That hurts him with downstate Democrats and independents. While Chicago does have a huge chunk of the population, a Chicago only candidate would lose 70-30, maybe even less. A congressman, Ray LaHood, has announced he may run and he is from Peoria. Peoria is downstate, LaHood has been in office for years, and he is a moderate. The GOPers in the Chicago suburbs won't vote for a right-wing lunatic (i.e. Alan Keyes). The GOP downstaters will vote for LaHood in higher numbers than they would a Chicagoland moderate. LaHood's problem will be making it past the primary. If a downstate guy with politics like Keyes runs and a Chicagoland moderate runs, it will be a three-way scrap and who knows who will come out on top. Everything I just said may be moot: 30-35 million dollars.

[Guns Aximbo]

5. I think they're 50/50

He's pissing a lot of people off for some of his policies. I think it all depends on who runs against him. If the guy from Maryland comes back - Blago's a shoe in.

[Radical Activist]

3. The way most of Springfield will read this headline

"Governor looks at Springfield in the eye, spits in it"

[Tweed]

4. Yeah, I thought you would find great irony in this one

What a nice headline for the State Journal Register of all papers.