How Burris blew it

By: Manu Raju
Politico
February 23, 2009

CHICAGO — The crisis now threatening Sen. Roland Burris’ political career started with revelations about his entanglements with disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But it was the way the situation was handled by Burris and his advisers — trapped between competing political and legal demands — that has made the problem much worse and has pushed him to the brink of losing his seat. In multiple interviews, several Senate aides and Burris confidants say the senator was unprepared from a public relations and political perspective to deal with the national media frenzy and ethics problems he now confronts.

“The whole thing got out of hand so quickly and perhaps too quickly for it to be effectively managed,” said Rep. Danny K. Davis, a Chicago Democrat. “I think people have made up their mind ... and I don’t know if there’s a great deal he’s going to be able to do to turn that around.”

A Burris insider was more blunt: “This thing has snowballed into something that can’t go on,” he said. “It’s a disgrace — 30 years of service ... and all of a sudden he’s a criminal?”

(More here.)