Gov. Blagojevich

Dear Victorious,

It looks like Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is about to be impeached. He didn't attend his own trial ... and instead went on national TV (several shows) to talk about how innocent he is. What do you make of this? What do you think he should have done?

Curious George

Dear George,

I've read the media accounts of the charges made against Gov. Blagojevich. Certainly the things he is alleged to have done seem inappropriate and outrageous. But perhaps his most daring feat was to try and capitalize on his "fifteen minutes of fame" by going to the national TV shows. Let's face it, when else could he get such national attention? I would not be surprised to find that he's hired an agent who engineered that move for him. (Expect a book deal or a talk show to follow.)

I think society loves to demonize people whom offend us. I also think that's wrong. So I tend to look at the individual who is being demonized --- and try to discern what is really true of them. Are they as despicable as they seem? Or were they just mistaken? Typically I try to look past the circumstances and see what else is known about them. Is there anything to suggest righteousness in their lives? If so, has it been consistent or growing? Or has it been sporadic or on the decline? I have to say that I've watched Mr. Blagojevich in this way since his story burst onto the news a while back.

It seems that Mrs. Blagojevich got fired from her job recently, because of what her husband has been accused of. She was a donor development officer for a Christian charity. They thought it would be hard for her to represent them if her husband was accused of being a crook. I took note that the Christian charity fired her before they were certain that he was a crook (he hasn't been convicted of anything). And I thought it was less than righteous of them to do so. But before I broke into tears for Mrs. Blagojevich, I did a little research and discovered that she is a real estate agent --- who has been questioned in the past about some of her deals with people who had state government contracts. (I put away the tissues.)

It's like this: I don't know if Mr. Blagojevich did what they say he did or not. I don't know if he will be convicted. Of course if he didn't do it then a huge travesty of justice is being committed. On the other hand, if he did it, perhaps the travesty of justice is being committed by him. Rather than address the issues, it appears that he (this week) tried to capitalize on the drama.

What would I do if I were him? If I did it, I would apologize profusely. I would call a press conference, go on national TV and tell my constituents that I had a severe lapse in judgment. I would throw myself on the mercy of the court. I would tell the people that I could be an effective governor for them, and wanted to continue to serve in that capacity. But I would humbly submit to their will, and volunteer to resign if that were their preference. In other words, I would try to excel at owning my brokenness.

We all make mistakes, some of them are big, and some of them are public. Some of them have disastrous consequences. But some of them can be turned for good. When repentance and humility are offered by the culprit, the mistakes can bring great healing and unity. Of course, such outcomes are entirely dependent on the leader who makes the mistakes. My advice to Mr. Blagojevich? "Learn to own your brokenness with great humility. You might be a great leader, but the inability to do something constructive with your mistakes is killing your leadership."