* Mrs. Ryan should never have said this to the Sun-Times…

When asked if there were anything George Ryan would change, Lura Lynn Ryan said neither she nor her husband has any regrets.

“His conscience is as clear as his mind,” she said. “If he had it to do over — and I’ve heard him say this — he would govern the same way as he did before. All he wanted to do was help people and I think he’s done that.”

* I had a long talk with former Gov. Jim Thompson several months ago about Ryan’s refusal to explicitly apologize for what he did wrong. Thompson seemed surprised that this was even an issue for myself and others. But Ryan’s recent petition to President Bush asking for a pardon included these contrite words…

I have devoted most of my adult life to public service and to trying to make life better for the people of Illinois. And I think I did many good things in public office, and I am proud of those accomplishments. But I accept the verdict against me, and I apologize to the people of Illinois for my conduct. There is a deep shame for me in serving this 78-month sentence resulting from my public corruption conviction.

My failings have brought humiliation upon my family, cost me my reputation and name, brought financial ruin to me and my wife, and worst of all, caused me to be away from Lura Lynn when, in our twilight years, she needs me most.

My heart is heavy knowing that I have hurt the public, my family, and my friends in failing to keep their trust. I failed them and for that I have profound remorse. [emphasis added]

Ryan’s latest statement is in direct contradiction to his wife’s comments to the Sun-Times. Mrs. Ryan may have provided us with a window into her husband’s real feelings, but I would rather not put this all on her head. She’s a spouse, and political spouses are infamous for defending their husbands/wives through thick and thin. It would’ve been far better if Ryan had made a completely contrite statement months ago to the public that he betrayed, rather than confine it to his pardon petition.

* Mark Brown’s open letter to Sen. Dick Durbin, who created a firestorm last week when he said he was thinking about asking President Bush to commute Ryan’s sentence, is quite good…

We are told that you are acting out of compassion, not so much for the sake of the former governor as for Ryan’s wife, Lura Lynn, with whom you have developed a friendly relationship over the years. Look, I’ve rarely met anybody around politics who doesn’t like Mrs. Ryan. It’s understandable to feel sorry for her.

But she and her family benefitted from her husband’s wrongdoing, and now they are sharing in the pain that every family must feel when their loved one goes to prison.

By singling out the Ryans for your concern, you are adding to the perception that the political class protects itself first and foremost.

I’ve long believed that politicians treat their accused colleagues a little too much like society in general used to treat drunken drivers, as if following the maxim: There but for the grace of God . . .

Frankly, though, I thought you were better than that.

* This is what Durbin said…

“His family name has been damaged,” Durbin said. “He has, at an advanced moment of his life, been removed from his family. He has lost the economic security which most people count on at his age. And he is separate from his wife at a time when she is in frail health. To say that he has paid a price for his wrongdoing, he certainly has. And the question is whether continued imprisonment is appropriate at this point.”

* Perhaps more than anything else, though, Gov. Blagojevich’s comments probably undermined Ryan’s hopes and put Durbin on the hot seat…

Gov. Blagojevich, who for years has blasted corruption under his predecessor, George Ryan, said Thursday “it would be a good decision” for President Bush to let the 74-year-old Ryan out of prison early.

“I always err on the side of compassion,” Blagojevich said during a Thanksgiving visit to the Chicago Christian Industrial League on the West Side. […]

“I think people make mistakes. George Ryan has paid a significant price for those mistakes. And if President Bush makes that decision, I think it would be a fine decision,” Blagojevich explained. “He’s a man well into his 70s. Mrs. Ryan is in her 70s and in frail health.

“So if the president makes that decision, I think it would be a good decision.”

He always errs on the side of compassion? Really? Is that what all those Rezko deals were about?

* Carol Marin explains…

In the campaign of 2002, the one in which Ryan did not dare run for a second term given the federal heat, Blagojevich was relentless in referencing the corruption and scandals in Ryan’s administration.

“Pay to play” — before it became the term of art to describe big Blago donors getting big contracts or board appointments — was a term he weaponized to use against Ryan and the Republicans who ran against him, including former Attorney General Jim Ryan (no relation) and former state Treasurer Judy Barr Topinka.

Now he sees his predecessor’s agony.

No doubt Ryan is suffering. And no doubt whatsoever that his wife, Lura Lynn, needs and wants her husband by her side. The scandal took just about everything away: his pension, his freedom, their savings, their life together. Blagojevich, who says he is convinced that the feds have nothing on him, sees a year in prison out of a sentence of 6½ as quite enough.

You can understand why.

Thoughts?

* Related…

* Blagojevich wants commutation for Ryan

* Durbin shouldn’t ask for reduction in Ryan’s sentence

* Don’t let Ryan go, pols say

* Keep George Ryan in jail

* Ryan doesn’t deserve pardon request

* George Ryan should finish his sentence

* No get-out-of-jail card for unrepentant Ryan

* Clemency for Ryan? I have a better idea