Guantanamo Inmates Have More Rights than Governors?

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has not been indicted (the prosecutor has asked for a three month extension to try to secure the necessary evidence for an indictment), yet alone convicted of a crime, but he is judged sufficiently guilty by Democrats that he shouldn't exercise his legal right to appoint a successor to Barack Obama's Senate seat.

For a party that has taken great offense to the detention of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, this is remarkable behavior by Democrats. After all, U.S. citizens are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

There is one principle that explains this seemingly contradictory behavior: political expediency. Guantanamo has been a useful rallying cry to denounce President Bush and Republicans, and the Democrats fear ongoing negative publicity from having a U.S. Senator appointed by Blagojevich.

This is not exactly a Profile in Courage.*

* John Kennedy published a book in 1955 titled Profiles in Courage, which presented the stories of eight U.S. Senators who demonstrated a willingness to stand up to their party or public opinion and suffered politically for it.