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New Book About Blago
What caused Gov. Rod Blagojevich to be such a voracious fund-raiser?

It was because he wanted to run for president, says Elizabeth Brackett, author of Pay to Play: How Rod Blagojevich Turned Political Corruption into a National Sideshow (Ivan R. Dee, $24.95), a book on the former governor's life story. She says this was at one time a realistic goal: He had won the office of governor handily in a large state, he was a populist who knew how to campaign, and he was able to raise money, though his fund-raising has landed him and his cronies in court facing federal charges.

Brackett says Blagojevich had a Washington consultant who advised him on how issues and his rhetoric would be received by the national press, which is why he chose to play up issues of national importance, such as health care, including the ill-fated importation of flu shots, his push for senior citizens to buy drugs from overseas themselves, and the expansion of the Kid Care program.

(Illinois Radio Network)
05 10 09 by Newsroom
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