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First lady leaves door open for governor’s Senate move
By Kartikay Mehrotra
kartikay.mehrotra@lee.net
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SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois’ first lady wouldn’t rule out her husband as a candidate to replace U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in Congress if Obama wins the Oval Office in November.

Patti Blagojevich was answering questions during a mock press conference with a group of fourth-graders from Harristown Elementary School on Monday when she was asked: “If Senator Obama resigns his Senate seat, is Governor Blagojevich interested in his position?”

The first lady wouldn’t say no.

“That’s an interesting question. What happens is if Senator Obama becomes president of the United States, then he can no longer be a senator,” Mrs. Blagojevich told the class. “I think picking that person alone is going to be a tough job. It will only come after really careful thought over who will be the best person for the job and who will be the best person to serve Illinois.”

If Obama gets the presidential nod, Gov. Blagojevich will decide who takes Obama’s seat for the remainder of his term.

The question was among nearly 50 Mrs. Blagojevich fielded from the nine and 10-year-olds who were playing the role of reporters at the Executive Mansion.

While Mrs. Blagojevich told most of the children about her favorite hobbies, her children, Annie and Amy, and the governor’s favorite movies, some of the junior reporters’ questions weren’t so easy.

A few of them wanted her thoughts on who would be the 44th American president, if University of Illinois Chief Illiniwek would ever return and if she would ever run for Illinois governor herself.

“Politics is an interesting business, it’s also a very hard business,” said Mrs. Blagojevich, in response to a question about her future political plans. “It would be good for us to have a woman governor. It would be good for us to have a woman president of the United States, but I certainly wouldn’t want the job.”

Although the questions seemed to be getting tougher this year, the sixth year she has participated in the 38-year-old event, Mrs. Blagojevich says she was privileged to be part of it.

“Some of those questions are a little bit tougher than usual,” she told the kids. “I don’t know if you’re getting smarter or if you’re getting help with your questions.”

The kids were equally impressed with their first lady and some even more so with themselves.

“I’m good at making friends with mean people,” said ten-year-old Hunter Lambert.

Hunter later acknowledged that the first lady was not a mean person, but in fact a very nice one.

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Reader comments on this story - 23 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Sigh wrote on Jun 2, 2008 12:23 PM:

" re: Ktlin - The things you posted about McCain are not bad.

If you think Obama has displayed anything good about himself during this campaign other than the ability to read a scripted speech then you are huffing it.

Seriously have you seen him talk with no script? He is possibly a worse speaker off the cuff than GWB (although it is a close call). He has no policy whatsoever to stand on other than his slogan of change.

Then there is his complete lack of integrity with the whole church matter. First he lied about not knowing what the first pastor was saying, then he blamed white people (in addition to his grandmother) for him being a racist, and now he is quitting his church after a new preacher comes in and continues the racist traditions there - too late he should have quit it 20 years ago. "

DaveII wrote on May 20, 2008 10:33 AM:

" I prefer my neighbor's cat to anyone from either party. At least the cat does something somewhat useful. "

ktlin wrote on May 20, 2008 7:23 AM:

" I am certain we would be all lined up to vote for the Gov. To jdl look how Obama has ran his campaign compared to HIllary and mcCain. 5 lobbyists just quit the McCain campaign. They were dealing with foreign governments and organizations McCain says he will not deal with. McCains wife sold stock involving the Sudan. And yet people are afraid of Obama and what he might do. Well check it out. What is he doing compared to the Hillary and McCain? Hillary won't release important records. Why? In their zeal to brand Obama they are not checking out Hillary and McCain. And in Blagos plans he is also forgetting the obvious - us. "

gypsydayne wrote on May 20, 2008 6:22 AM:

" You have got to be joking? This man is an embarassment to the State of Illinois & now there's a possiblility of him replacing Barrack???? Am I not waking up this morning & still in nightmare land? "

Pontiac resident wrote on May 20, 2008 4:59 AM:

" I think he'll have a hard time finding a job, after he's done with the one he has? "

gwreck wrote on May 20, 2008 12:03 AM:

" You notice that she did this as a mock with 4th graders. It certainly would never have happened in the 5th grade because they are even too smart to drink the Kool Aid Patti was serving. What a joke, Senator Blowdryer. "

jdl wrote on May 19, 2008 11:27 PM:

" Won't it be kind of hard to run for Senator from jail?

And as for Obama, he has not done much in the Senate either, that is what is so amazing in that he thinks he can run a country. Since we all know how good a job he and the Democrats have done with Illinois. "

dancinggirl wrote on May 19, 2008 10:09 PM:

" if we're lucky, he'll be in jail by then. "

MajorMinor wrote on May 19, 2008 9:48 PM:

" He's got an awful lot of heat to dodge before he can think about doing that, and if he can't, it's a little difficult to run for Senate when you're stuck in Marion.

And if he does, apparently he can convince Chicago voters to ignore the obvious, so he'll get the seat. "

Thoughts a Million wrote on May 19, 2008 9:42 PM:

" Who will pay for his nightly trips home from DC? "

Annienap wrote on May 19, 2008 9:11 PM:

" Just what this country needs - Chicago running the country and Blago in the Senate. Let's face it - if Obama wins the White House, this country will be run by the windy city. This would be this country's WORST nightmare. "

Chelly wrote on May 19, 2008 8:43 PM:

" As a jr senator he wouldnt have much power,Obama was a rarity in this case, so think of it this way we can pass our problem off to Wash DC. "

cats55ire wrote on May 19, 2008 7:48 PM:

" oh, please . . . .

don't make me laugh!!!

this is a joke, right?

rather late for an April Fool's line!

HEAVEN FORBID! "

IlliniFan wrote on May 19, 2008 7:06 PM:

" She CAN'T be serious???? "

c.a.t.s. wrote on May 19, 2008 6:53 PM:

" did you print this as a joke ? i hope so because i almost pissed myself "

Not so Political wrote on May 19, 2008 6:42 PM:

" Heaven forbid !! "

reader66 wrote on May 19, 2008 6:32 PM:

" Hasn't that man had enough chances at damaging our state?? Now someone mentions putting him where he can do the same to the country?! NO!! "

Pool Boy wrote on May 19, 2008 6:24 PM:

" He could probably do us less harm as a senator than he can as the governor. Let him do it. Give him a way to pass the time before his sorry ... goes to prison like so many governors who proceeded him. "

History Alum wrote on May 19, 2008 6:18 PM:

" Bwahahahahaha! I seriously doubt that the Illinois Democrats will put up Blago as the candidate. He's burned too many bridges. I'm a Democrat and I wouldn't vote for him, either as Governor or a Senator, and I do regret voting for him the last time. "

BILLYBOB23 wrote on May 19, 2008 6:17 PM:

" OMG - you've got to be kidding me!
Is this guy serious?
Doesn't he realize that literally ANYONE could beat him.
How delusional is he?? "

beerslinger wrote on May 19, 2008 6:12 PM:

" Ha Ha Ha "

rbll wrote on May 19, 2008 5:59 PM:

" Don't even think it.

I sure hope he doesn't appoint himself. "

noogie wrote on May 19, 2008 5:53 PM:

" In other news, hell just froze over. "
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