Everyone’s complaining about the Governor and stem cells so it seems that all those stories about power washing aren’t front and center.
The point? If anyone is curious as to why the Governor all of a sudden cared about embryonic stem cell research after letting Hynes and Cross hang out to dry for the session, it was a pretty effective means of changing the story to one where partisans complain about process and the average voter hears that stem cell research has been approved. Opponents sputter about the way it was done while he gets a campaign commercial. “When the politicians refused to fund life saving treatments, Rod Blagojevich changed the way business is done in Illinois and found the funds…”
I have concerns about the way he did this, but if you look at the political considerations, it’s damn obvious why he did it and it was a slick move. The Governor’s obvious problem is that he’s a little too slick and that can eventually catch up to you.
While I still think he’s in trouble, he’s a remarkably cagey politician. If his numbers stay low for too long, that becomes a problem because people’s perception is hardened around his problems, but a move like this is smart politics, if bad process.