Would Blagojevich Have Been Better Off Staying Home?

As the state Senate's impeachment trial for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich draws to a close, media relations pros say he might have been better off mounting a defense in the state capital rather than on the airwaves.

Blagojevich appears to be making a last-ditch effort to do just that, requesting a chance to give a closing argument Thursday in Illinois. But Blagojevich boycotted the trial to that point, instead granting a slew of radio, TV and print interviews during the past couple days, declaring his innocence and lashing out at the state Senate for violating his rights.

"I try never to be surprised anymore by anything he does," said Republican former Gov. Jim Edgar.

State Democratic sources said Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn is now preparing to head into Springfield on Thursday morning, meaning he would be in place to be sworn in as the next governor if the Senate votes to kick Blagojevich out of office. And state Senate President John Cullerton told reporters Wednesday that the governor was "lying" to interviewers about the rules anyway. He said the claim that the governor cannot present any defense to the Senate is untrue, and the governor knows it.

"I guess this is going from bad to worse for Blagojevich," said Peter Fenn, head of Fenn Communications. "His charm offensive is having just the opposite effect.

"Instead of asserting his innocence on 'The View,' he should have been asserting his innocence before the court that is the Senate of Illinois."

Some have speculated that Blagojevich's media campaign was intended to affect a potential jury pool, should the federal corruption case against him eventually come to a criminal trial.

Pete Snyder, CEO of New Media Strategies, said there is a silver lining for Blagojevich.

"I guarantee you that VH1 is going to be doing some celebrity reality program for him," Snyder said. "This has been clearly an audition for some sort of bizarre reality show, which I think would be a huge success. You get Flavor Flav and Vanilla Ice in there, and it'll be great."