The Rockford Register-Star’s Aaron Chambers nails it again:

…WHEN GOV. ROD Blagojevich says limits on campaign contributions should apply to everybody from the governor and other statewide officials to lawmakers and lobbyists, he is setting campaign-finance reform on a track to failure.

When another columnist suggested that the governor’s motive might in fact be dooming efforts at reform, Blagojevich told her: “Don’t be cynical.”

Yet it’s officials like Blagojevich who truly drive cynicism among the press and public.

It’s the governor who raked in more than $11 million in campaign contributions since taking office in January 2003. It’s the governor who is primarily responsible for administering state contracts. And it’s the governor whose campaign donations have neatly coincided with contract awards.

I’ve noticed that a few people out there are using the word “cynicism” to describe the coverage of the governor’s recent statements about political reform. I prefer the term “realism.”