Below The Beltway

Ann Althouse takes a look at Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s performance before the Supreme Court during the oral argument of her petition to remove Rod Blagojevich from the Governor’s Office.

Here, I think is the most telling part of the exchange:

Q I know you say that you haven’t been thinking about politics at all, but there have obviously been a lot of questions about politics, and there wouldn’t be questions about politics unless your political future was considered very bright and in play here. Given the fact of your possible interest in being governor, given the fact that you’ve been mentioned as a possible Senate replacement for Barack Obama, was any consideration given to your removing yourself from this issue because of a possible perception, if not reality, of conflict of interest?

MS. MADIGAN: No. And let me make two further statements. One is I never expressed any interest in even being considered for the U.S. Senate vacancy. I never contacted or talked to any — the governor or anybody in the governor’s office about that.

In addition, I am supporting putting the lieutenant governor in to serve as at governor of the state of Illinois. I think that is in the best interests of the people of this state. And I am happy to serve as the attorney general of this state. And I will continue in that role to do what is best for the people of this state.

As Althouse notes, the answer isn’t as important as the question. Combined with Madigan’s rather tortured interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Illinois Constitution, the fact of her rather obvious political ambitions, not to mention that her father, the Speaker of the State Legislature is, apparently, delaying legislative impeachment proceedings so that she can take the lead on this issue, argues strongly that the Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court should, and hopefully, will deny Madigan’s attempt to make an end run around the state’s Constitutional provisions for removal of a Governor who committed wrongdoing.