Governor, meet microphone

The Fourth of July was last Friday, but the fireworks began a little earlier for Gov. Blagojevich and the Chicago press corps. What began as a typical gubernatorial PR event ended in one of the most heated and revealing exchanges between this administration and reporters in some time.

While Blagojevich wanted to talk about his ground-breaking announcement of new efforts to make sure gas stations were properly calibrating their pumps, he immediately was questioned about the ongoing federal investigation surrounding disgraced fundraiser Tony Resko.

When asked whether he was a target of the investigation, Blagojevich dismissed the question as "absurd" and "ridiculous." When pressed further about his characterization of the question, the governor responded like any respected leader of Illinois:

"Because it's stupid."

Anyone who's ever run for fifth-grade class president can certainly appreciate the smackdown the governor just laid down on those silly reporters whom he chided for being more interested in sensationalism than the truth.

As if the truth behind what's really been going in the Blagojevich administration the past few years really needs a dash of sensationalism. For months now, the governor has provided journalists and the public they serve with little reason to embellish or exaggerate. The truth, when it mistakenly finds its way out of the alternate reality that the governor seems to be living in, is more galling that anything that could be made up.

Case in point is another exchange at the same event that in a nutshell, describes everything that's wrong with Illinois politics. Ben Bradley of WLS-TV asked, "Governor, since you answered it 10,000 times, what's the answer? How did Rezko wield so much influence?"

"I've answered that."

Bradley: "What's the answer?"

"The answer is the price of gasoline is really high."

It's long past time for the Governor to start taking his critics seriously. Such action may help his chances in 2010. Of course, if he thinks he has a chance in 2010, he's more divorced from reality than anyone ever imagined.