HERE HE COMES TO SAVE THE . . . OH, NEVER MIND

OK, so Rod Blagojevich smoking pot years ago shouldn't determine whether he
should be a governor. Past disregard of laws, small or large, surely has
nothing to do with future respect for law enforcement, right?

And, OK, so Blagojevich is so dull that he couldn't come up with a better
response to the "Did you ever smoke weed?" question, and ended up looking
more Clintonesque than Bill Clinton.

OK, so Blagojevich inspires so little trust that no one believes that he
can't remember if he inhaled.

And, OK, so Jim Ryan should get no credit for never having done drugs. In
fact, let's ridicule Ryan for being a Boy Scout when it comes to character.

So what does that leave us to discuss? Of course! The serious issues. The
great suffocating stuff of white papers that clog both candidates' Web
sites, and which hardly anyone reads. On--oh let's pick a topic-- creating
jobs. Blagojevich claims he can create 250,000 of them. Wow! Imagine that.
Elect Rod and we've got 250,000 new jobs in the state. Just how many is a
quarter million new jobs? That's almost the number of existing construction
jobs in Illinois. Amazing. Blagojevich says he can create what amounts to
the employment provided by the construction business, one of the largest
industries in the state. That when the nation has lost about 2 million jobs
during the recession, Rod, right here in Illinois, knows how to bring 12.5
percent of them back. Apparently, he's correct, because no one-- including
all us supposedly skeptical media types--has bothered to challenge the
number. Why did he stop at a quarter million? He might just as well have
claimed that he could create a half million, or even a million jobs, and
get away with it.

Maybe, I thought, his Web page tome would provide the evidence. But in all
7,239 words, I failed to find it. Where do the numbers come from-- thin
air? There's the statement that of the 250,000 new jobs, 53,000 would be in
Northern, Central, Southwestern and Southern Illinois. Meaning that parts
east are going to get almost 200,000 new jobs?

In fairness, I liked some of his ideas, especially providing high- speed
Internet infrastructure throughout the state to build upon the new economy.
Folks who think everyone ought to crowd into the city won't like the idea,
because it would allow more people to use the Internet to work from rural
areas, where more people would move because they like it better there. But
that's another column.

I also read Jim Ryan's job-creation plan, which at only 4,237 words right
there makes it superior. Both shared obvious ideas that no one could
reject, such as more opportunities for small businesses, better use of
Illinois coal reserves and promoting tourism. The kinds of things people
have been working on for years. The major difference was in philosophy:
Ryan believes that "jobs are created by the private sector, but the actions
of state government can promote or discourage business development." Which,
of course, is the correct approach.

If Blagojevich adheres to that philosophy, it is camouflaged by such tired
and empty language as "[the government program will] foster successful
statewide partnerships that achieve real results for working people all
across Illinois."

Oh, one other important difference. Ryan was not so bold or foolish to
assert how many jobs he would create, because I think (I hope) he knows
that it is impossible to predict. One disadvantage of predicting how many
jobs you will create is that it strongly invites an accounting of how much
it will cost. For example: Suppose the average cost of creating each of
Blagojevich's new jobs is a very conservative $5,000. That comes to a total
of $1.25 billion. Where this money will come from, he doesn't explain.

Helping to create jobs is a wonderful thing that a governor ought to try to
do for his state. Making wild, unsupportable claims that ultimately erode
public trust is not.