Allow me to throw in my two cents to the VP discussion Reid's been conducting (here, here, and here), but only to point out one name that is absent from the list - and for good reason: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Once upon a time Blago was touted as a rising star in the Democratic party, and after he won the top executive job in 2002 promising to clean up the corruption of the previous Republican administration, there was immediate speculation that if he could win reelection and deliver on his promises he would be very much in the mix for a chance at a number two spot on the '08 ticket.

Blago did the former, winning reelection last year against a weak opponent, but as to the latter, well, let's just say there's a reason you don't EVER hear his name mentioned as a possible running mate this time around.

As my Sun Times colleague, Rich Miller, put it in his column last Friday:

Aside from his unhealthy Nixonian penchant for secrecy, political revenge and personal isolation, and all the corruption investigations targeting his administration, what really bothers me about Gov. Blagojevich is his failure to grow as a leader.

For those who aren't aware, Blagojevich is in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out fight with members of his own party over the budget, which still has yet to pass. The Governor has kept the Democratically-controlled legislature in executive session for something like two months, and tensions - not to mention tempers - are running extraordinarily high.

Yesterday at "Democrats Day" at the Illinois state fair in Springfield, the squabbling was on full public display. It's gotten so bad that it appears Blago paid to bring a bus load of supporters down from Chicago to boo and heckle his rival in the budget battle, fellow Democrat Mike Madigan (speaker of the Illinois House, father of AG Lisa, and also Chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party), when he took the stage yesterday.

The Governor's office denied any involvement in the episode. But - and this gets to the nub of it - Blago has so little credibility left with the public or his own party that no one believes anything he says anymore.