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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Gov. Rod Blagojevich today arrived in a crowded Illinois Senate chamber to dead silence, a surreal moment of political drama as the impeached governor prepares to administer the oath of office to the lawmakers who will decide, starting later this month, whether to remove him from office.
Later in the tense hour-long appearance -- in what sounded like a plea to angry lawmakers -- Blagojevich reminded them of Abraham Lincoln's call to treat each other "with malice toward none, with charity for all."
Shortly after noon, Blagojevich, wearing in a dark suit, stepped into the packed chamber where Barack Obama once served and began his constitutional duty of leading the formal ceremony of swearing in the new Senate that begins its term today.
Traditionally, the arrival of the governor is met by thunderous - or at least polite - applause. But in what is likely an unprecedented event in Illinois political history, there was absolutely no sound at all in the previously loud chamber in response to the arrival of Blagojevich, who has infuriated lawmakers with his alleged crimes of corruption and his refusal to resign as Illinois has become a national political laughingstock.
Later in the tense hour-long appearance -- in what sounded like a plea to angry lawmakers -- Blagojevich reminded them of Abraham Lincoln's call to treat each other "with malice toward none, with charity for all."
Shortly after noon, Blagojevich, wearing in a dark suit, stepped into the packed chamber where Barack Obama once served and began his constitutional duty of leading the formal ceremony of swearing in the new Senate that begins its term today.
Traditionally, the arrival of the governor is met by thunderous - or at least polite - applause. But in what is likely an unprecedented event in Illinois political history, there was absolutely no sound at all in the previously loud chamber in response to the arrival of Blagojevich, who has infuriated lawmakers with his alleged crimes of corruption and his refusal to resign as Illinois has become a national political laughingstock.
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