In his first appearance since being accused of engaging in a “political corruption crime spree,” Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich defiantly rejected the many calls for him to resign from office. Blagojevich insisted that he would “fight” the “political lynch mob”:
I’m here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing, that I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight, I will fight, I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong. … And I’m not going to quit a job that people hired me to do because of false accusations and a political lynch mob.
Watch it:
“I am dying to tell you how innocent I am,” he said. “I am absolutely certain I will be vindicated.”
Update
Blagojevich cited Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” in his defense. Perhaps another of Kipling’s works “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” — story of a mongoose who defeats a snake — would have been more appropriate.
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