The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.

NOTE: The excerpts below are from the Feb. 11 and Feb. 17 BOTW archives.

Help Wanted

  • “Marion Sheriff’s Office Seeks Gang Member”–headline, Statesman Journal (Salem, Ore.), Feb. 11
  • ” ‘Neckbrace Bandit’ Wanted for Bank Heists”–headline, Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.), Feb. 10

Oh, That Rod Blagojevich!
Sen. Roland Burris of Illinois is back in the news. The man former governor Rod Blagojevich appointed to fill President Obama’s seat has changed the story he told the Illinois House impeachment panel, the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Blagojevich’s brother solicited U.S. Sen. Roland Burris for up to $10,000 in campaign cash before Blagojevich named Burris to the coveted post–something Burris initially failed to disclose under oath before an Illinois House impeachment panel, records and interviews show.

Burris acknowledges being hit up for the money in a new affidavit he has sent to the head of the House committee that recommended Blagojevich be removed from office. . . .

Burris said he sent the new statement to House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) after he read the transcript of his testimony before the impeachment committee she headed and realized it was incomplete. “There were several facts that I was not given the opportunity to make during my testimony,” Burris said. “I voluntarily submitted an affidavit so everything was transparent.”

The Sun-Times, however, suggests that this was more than an act of omission:

In a sworn statement filed with the House panel Jan. 5, before he testified, Burris said he had no contact with Blagojevich’s camp about the Senate seat aside from his appointment in late December. In testimony before the committee, he added that he spoke with Lon Monk, Blagojevich’s former chief of staff. In his new affidavit, Burris confirms he also spoke of his interest in the Senate appointment with Blagojevich insiders John Harris, Doug Scofield and John Wyma.

The Associated Press reports that Republicans in the state House plan to ask for an investigation into whether Burris committed perjury. Since Democrats control the Legislature and all statewide offices in Illinois, they presumably could block any such probe. If the Dems want to hold that Senate seat, however – and they do – watch for them to abandon Burris sometime in the next year.

For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”