Burris: Not Cosby Clean Anymore

What a difference a month makes …

When we last wrote about U.S. Senator Roland Burris (D-Illinois), we were under the impression that – while hopelessly liberal – he at least came by it honestly.

In fact, given his apparent distance from the scandal-plagued administration of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, we hailed his appointment to the U.S. Senate as that rare combination of doing the right thing and political shrewdness on the embattled ex-governor’s part.

Unfortunately, the revelations that Burris was substantially less than honest about his proximity to the corrupt Blagojevich regime – and specifically the process of filling President Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat – have cast a huge shadow over his legitimacy as a U.S. Senator.

These revelations also make us substantially less likely to picture him in a Cosby sweater reading us “nite-nite” stories.

It’s not that the level of interaction between Burris and Blagojevich’s people – or really even the substance of that interaction – approaches the blatant quid pro quos allegedly contemplated by other aspiring Illinois politicians who wanted the seat Burris now holds.

In other words, he’s no Jesse Jackson, Jr., if the charges against Blagojevich are to be believed.

Of course that doesn’t change the fact that had Burris answered questions about his association with Blagojevich honestly when they were first asked of him, there’s no way an already-reluctant U.S. Senate would have admitted him.

No way in hell.

As we’ve said dozens of times in the past, “it’s the lie that gets you.”

While the pressure mounts, Burris is steadfastly dismissing calls for his resignation and refusing to talk to the media. Like Blagojevich, he swears he’s “done nothing wrong.”

Newly-installed Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has requested that Burris step down, though, and the Obama administration has issued a Jack Napier-like “think about the future” statement, with Obama himself expected to join the resignation chorus this coming week.

Whether in Republican or Democratic hands, the Land of Lincoln is obviously among the most corrupt states in America.

And while Burris may not be one of its arch offenders, his inability to tell the truth about his limited contact with Blagojevich’s people fuels an already stratospheric public distrust.

For that reason alone, he must step down.