In his mind, Rod Blagojevich was a gladiator forced to battle 59 hungry lions conspiring to attack him because he stood in the way of their master plan.

Blagojevich led the state with an invincible attitude. He expanded the state’s health care programs without the legislature’s approval because he believed no one could stop him. He gave campaign donors government jobs and swung legislation the way his financial supporters wanted because Chicago Democrats had gotten away with it in the past.

But Blagojevich was ignorant to his Achilles heal in this contest: an incorruptible district attorney ready to strike down public officials with that invincible attitude.

Though certainly not a conspiracy, Operation Board Games is what defeated gladiator Blagojevich. The initiative, led by U.S. District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, was created to unveil pay-to-play politics in state governing boards and commissions. The same campaign brought down fundraiser Tony Rezko, attorney Stuart Levine and Ali Ata, a former Blagojevich aide, who, in the governor’s mind, were lying on the ground in front of him bruised and beaten.

Standing behind him was his Brutus, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who was his running mate in 2006 but was in Springfield Thursday waiting for the fall of Blagojevich.

In the days leading up to his last stand, Blagojevich swung his sword by claiming the show was rigged in the lions’ favor, and tried to deflect criticism with the shield of two gubernatorial election victories. It was not unlike Monty Python’s Black Knight insisting that his missing limbs were merely flesh wounds.

No lions perished in Thursday’s final contest. In fact, all 59 of them voted to strip gladiator Blagojevich of his governing shield. But before he was defeated, Blagojevich spoke to the ‘unfair’ impeachment trial in a way no lion, mobster or ally had seen before.

In the 45-minute speech, Blagojevich lashed out at the Articles of Impeachment brought to the Senate by a special House investigative committee. Some of the charges he faced dated back to the first term. Blagojevich asked, ‘Why didn’t you impeach me then?’

Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, said the governor’s Dec. 9 arrest shed a new light on the Blagojevich administration for his remaining legislative allies. Had an impeachment been tested before the arrest, Blagojevich’s claim that he was a martyr for the people of Illinois would have won more public support than what he gained after last week’s national media tour, Brown said.

‘The elements that went into the affidavit shed a real shocking light on the total abuse of power that was going on,’ Brown said.

The tale of gladiator Blagojevich will continue as his time in federal court draws near. The battle for the office of Illinois governor was lost, but to Blagojevich, the fight against jail time is only beginning.

Lorimor is a sophomore studying journalism and political science.