Earlier today, I read a review by Ruben Navarette, Jr, of CNN.com regarding the recent travesty pulled off by Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois when he decided to go ahead and name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Navarette seems to gloat in his piece in describing what he believes is now a racial dilemma that both the state of Illinois and the Senate of the United States has to deal with if they try to go through with their threat that they will not certify the appointment of Burris because the Governor is under possible indictment for, among other things, trying to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Like a lot of people, including Mr. Burris and some of his supporters from last week, they're all missing the point, while trying to use an issue that doesn't work in this instance. For one, I will agree that, without this appointment, there will be no minorities in the Senate as of January 6th. But that's where things fall apart. Mr. Obama himself is against this appointment, while saying Mr. Burris is a good man. The head of the Illinois Senate, another black man, is against this appointment while saying Mr. Burris is a good man. There are a lot of people of all races who are saying Mr. Burris is a good man. Because of this, there is no proof that race has anything to do with it, and anyone who tries to bring it up is being disingenuous to the real problems of race in America.

Mr. Burris issue is one of honor, a lack of honor, on many levels. Governor Blagojevich lost his honor when he was caught saying the things he did on tape. He compounded that by making this appointment instead of resigning, which would have been the honorable thing, something that former Governor Eliot Spitzer did last year here in New York, and his "crime" was more personal than anything else. Blagojevich showed contempt for the state of Illinois, and now for the government of the United States.

Illinois Representative Bobby Rush was the next one to lose his honor, because he's the one who made this a racial issue in the first place by gonig on CNN and claiming that anyone against Mr. Burris appointment was a racist; no, that wasn't a quote, but he pretty much said that. He missed the point also, because there wasn't a single person who'd said a single negative thing about Mr. Burris at that point, or even now, and introducing race into this proposition was, once again, disingenuous to everything that minorities and black people in general have fought for all these years. It's almost as if he hadn't learned anything from the election of Mr. Obama.

The final person who's lost his honor, unfortunately, is Mr. Burris himself. Just a few weeks ago, on December 13th, Burris announced his interest in the seat at a press conference, and described Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell the Senate appointment as "pretty appalling" and "just reprehensible." He also endorsed Attorney Gen. Lisa Madigan's effort at the time to get the Illinois Supreme Court to remove the governor from office, describing Blagojevich as "incapacitated." My, how things change when one has a chance to attain one of the highest political offices in the United States. Sometimes, the wont for power can be blinding, and can make a "good man" forget what his principles are all about. He should have turned this appointment down from the Governor and waited to see if someone else would recommend him later on. As it is, he's probably going to first sue Illinois, then Congress, and if he ends up winning his Senate seat he's not going to be appointed to any committees, nor given any real authority, and at that point how will he have served the state of Illinois? Because he can force himself into the party, but he can't make anyone talk to him.

When it comes down to matters of honor, there can be distractions that drive people away from the real point of it all. True leaders know how and when to do the honorable thing, not the selfish thing. I haven't seen any leadership or honor during this entire affair. But maybe I'm being a bit too hard on all parties involved; what say you?