The soap opera that is Illinois politics has been thrust onto the national scene, and brings with it all the appeal of watching a car wreck. At the center of the maelstrom is Sen. Roland Burris, whose appointment to Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat led to a bitter fight within the Democratic Party. Burris won the battle over his confirmation, but he’s poised to lose the war over his political legitimacy. With his reputation at stake, the Senator has mishandled his situation and projected a poor image that may be tough to overcome.
The man who appointed Burris, Rod Blagojevich, is a Northwestern graduate who has reached a level of national notoriety normally reserved for alumni who enter acting. In July of last year, only 13 percent of Illinois voters thought he was doing a “good” or “excellent” job — numbers so low, even President Bush would laugh at them. And this was before he was arrested on federal charges that included attempts to sell Obama’s Senate seat.
Many party leaders, including Dick Durbin, Howard Dean and Obama himself, called for Blagojevich’s resignation. A quick exit would have minimized damage and let Illinois Democrats regroup. The wily governor, however, had a trick up his sleeve. While Democrats were watching horizontally and vertically, he hit them diagonally. A black former attorney general with 16 years of public service experience and complete detachment from the ongoing scandal? Pretty sneaky, sis!
Despite at first being publicly denied entry to the Senate, Democrats have had to make nice and make room for Burris after his swearing-in on Thursday. This may seem like a victory for Burris, but he actually played his cards completely wrong.
Burris was chosen by a governor charged with corruption, a high-profile association likely to stick with him. He fought tirelessly to gain his seat and seemed to make no friends in the process. Finally, Burris is 71 years old. His stay in the Senate probably won’t be long enough for him to get rid of the attached stigma and earn respect as a politician and legislator.
The logical first step would have been to turn down Blagojevich’s appointment. Burris could have publicly announced that the Governor had chosen him before saying something like, “I wish to be your Senator, but not at the behest of a governor who has been arrested for corruption. I am turning down the offer.” The benefits here are twofold: Public opinion would look kindly on Burris for his staunch anti-corruption stance and he would be set up as the front runner for either an appointment by a lieutenant governor or in a special election. This way, he could be chosen for the seat on his own terms and act as an honorable foil for the disgraced governor.
Burris chose to act differently, and it has cost him. A recent poll showed that 52 percent of Illinois voters oppose his appointment. He has come across as overambitious and slightly crazy, as if all he wants is to be able to add “United States Senator” to the accomplishment list on his creepy, already-built mausoleum. This may not seem completely fair; after all, egotism and ambition often go hand-in-hand with being a national politician. By unashamedly campaigning for his seat, however, Burris simply annoyed Americans.
You see, Burris fits a mold that people just love to hate. He’s the office worker that kisses up every day to get a promotion. He’s the student that stays after every lecture to beg for a higher grade. He may have gotten his way without resorting to anything illegal (like trying buy the seat), but he sure seemed annoying doing it. We’ve been making fun of the teacher’s pet and the overambitious office drone all our lives, and Burris has exhibited these qualities throughout the confirmation process.
This only helps to accentuate one of the Senator’s less-than-admirable character traits: his self-confidence. Burris has a habit of referring to himself in the third person, and has called himself a “trailblazer” and a “visionary.” He certainly talks the talk, but most Illinois residents know him best for his three losing runs for governor and his unsuccessful bid for mayor of Chicago. After falling short in so many races, it’s no wonder Burris would rather cling to his appointment than compete in a special election.
The Senator’s lack of humility also comes with an apparent lack of self-awareness. Many Americans view Blagojevich’s alleged crimes as heinous, and the general consensus seems to be that the state’s government is almost comically dysfunctional. Burris, on the other hand, ignores Blagojevich and sticks with his own qualifications and the legality of his appointment. “I don’t look upon the governor’s problems as my problems. I look at the governor’s problems as his problems,” Burris told CNN. He went on to say that he has “no opinion on the governor’s problems.”
By failing to recognize that he is linked to the man who appointed him, Burris demonstrates an ignorance of this country’s politics and, quite honestly, a lack of common sense. Yes, Burris is a qualified candidate. Yes, his appointment was probably a legal one. It is understandable, however, that the public isn’t comfortable with a senator chosen by a governor who was arrested and has since been impeached. Burris has never seriously acknowledged this fact in his crusade for a Senate seat, and it’s made him look delusional and out of touch.
Sen. Burris could have done many things to alter his recent political trajectory. He could have refused Blagojevich’s appointment, opting instead to run in a special election or vie for an appointment from the Lieutenant Governor. He could have shown humility after being chosen instead of campaigning heavily and lashing out at those who didn’t want to grant him a seat. At the very least, he could have demonstrated a bit of awareness as to why people are so hesitant to seat him. Now, trailblazer or not, Burris’s reputation may be irreparably stained.