Patti Blagojevich to join reality TV show husband couldn't

May 21, 2009

Only a Democrat could make such a poor example for their country.

Administrator

56 minutes ago

By The Associated Press

SKOKIE, Ill. - Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't allowed to appear in

a network TV reality show in Costa Rica, but his wife will.

A federal judge barred Blagojevich, who faces federal corruption charges, from

being on the NBC show " I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here " because it would

send him out of the country. But his wife, Patti, accepted the network's offer

to appear on the show and went to Los Angeles earlier this week to film a

promotional shoot, said Glenn Selig, the Blagojevichs' publicist.

The couple appeared on NBC's " Today " show Thursday to announce the move. Patti

Blagojevich said she hopes her appearance on the reality series will help show

that she isn't the profanity-spewing person portrayed on federal wiretaps.

" I don't think those characterizations were fair at all, " she said.

According to the complaint filed by prosecutors, she was taped on an

expletive-laced phone conversation suggesting the Tribune Co. " just fire "

newspaper editors who didn't favour her husband.

" I think that people who know me know the truth behind those comments, " she said

Thursday.

In public, Patti Blagojevich has been generally been reserved, often shielding

the couple's two children and avoiding television cameras herself. Now she'll be

the one thrust into the spotlight.

Rod Blagojevich said that although he won't be a contestant, he will be involved

with the show in some way. In the meantime, he'll stay home to take care of the

children.

The former governor " jokes that in a way she will have it easier competing in

the jungle, " Selig said in a statement. " He knows how hard it is to take care of

the kids and to run a home. "

Rod Blagojevich is charged with scheming to sell or trade President Barack

Obama's U.S. Senate seat and using the muscle of the governor's office to

squeeze companies with state business for campaign contributions. He has pleaded

not guilty.

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