Blog Buzz: Rod Blagojevich, Welcome to Rock Bottom, Meet Larry Craig

Our daily look at stories and topics that are lighting up the Internets:

And You Thought Nixon Was a Crook?

Today we spell Tuesday with an S. And then a C. And then an A . . . N . . . D . . . A . . . L. This after the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich today on corruption charges. Among the charges is an intent to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. Steve Benen notes at Political Animal that this makes four of the last five Illinois governors who have been officially charged with a crime. Many bloggers were simply stunned. Some demanded Blagojevich's immediate resignation, while others speculated on the implications this will have for Obama. Politico's Ben Smith passes along a tip that Rahm Immanuel turned Blagojevich in after the governor "reached out" to Rahm. When authorities let Blagojevich know they were coming for him this morning, he apparently asked, "Is this a joke?" If only.

Free Speech, Wide Stance

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho is unhappy after a three-judge panel rejected his appeal to overturn his disorderly conduct conviction. Not realizing that the "wide stance" excuse didn't cut it the first time, Craig's lawyer apparently argued that the senator's foot tapping should be protected under the First Amendment. The judges, however, weren't buying it. Political Animal takes this opportunity to pitch the senator some advice: run and hide.

Bailout Balls

Bloggers are still talking about the bailout for the auto industry, though they've been getting more and more creative. Robert Guttman at Huffington Post proposes that, instead of ritzy balls for the inauguration, Obama hosts bailout balls instead. At one bailout ball, he writes, mortgage bankers could explain to people whose homes were foreclosed what happened to them. At another, CEOs could explain to their laid-off workers why the execs deserve bonuses. Do the automakers take us for a bunch of chumps? asks Michelle Malkin. Turns out GM's latest apology/request for a bailout from the American consumer was recycled from a June 2003 apology of the same sort. Meanwhile, Ali Frick catches GM's vice chairman drastically off-message from last week's message to Congress. Good thing the American taxpayer wasn't watching.