Posted by Ha on September 11, 2009 at 13:09:30:
In Reply to: Guess who is going to be on The Howard Stern Show? posted by Jailhouse Jimmi on September 11, 2009 at 08:36:05:
Blagojevich gets tough grilling from -- Bonnie Hunt
The toughest television interview of Rod Blagojevich's current media blitz comes from the most unlikely of places.
Comedian Bonnie Hunt urged the former governor to take responsibility for his actions and stop blaming others for his impeachment and subsequent criminal indictment during a Thursday taping of "The Bonnie Hunt Show," which airs at 2 p.m. today on NBC-Channel 5. (View clips here, here and here.)
The Chicago-born talk show host - whose program is known for its a sunny tone and her self-depreciating jokes - criticized Blagojevich and his new book, "The Governor," for not owning up to his mistakes.
Released this week, the 259-page memoir faults several people for his political ruin, including his father-in-law Chicago Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) and his top fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, whose was convicted of public corruption and is now cooperating with Blagojevich's prosecution.
"At some point, even for your own children, don't you want to be accountable? Sometimes you make bad choices," Hunt said, drawing loud applause from the audience.
Hunt, whose large family still lives in the Chicago area, questioned why more people aren't sticking up for Blagojevich if he's getting such a bad rap. She later called the ex-governor "a smooth operator."
"I would describe you as a perpetual victim of circumstance," she said. "Could that possibly be true?"
Clearly agitated by the questions, Blagojevich raised his voice to Hunt, pointed his finger at the audience and said his name would be cleared once the tapes are released.
"They're lying," he said. "These are false accusations and there are taped conversations that will set the record straight. That's the truth. I'm the one that wants you all to hear them. My accusers don't. Now what does that tell you?"
Blagojevich became so riled by the questioning, Hunt jokingly asked for "a sidebar."
"You went to law school, I didn't," she says. "I'm only a nurse, but I might inject you with something just to get you to quiet down."
-- Stacy St. Clair | Chicago Breaking News Site