This story aims to get to the bottom of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s use of poetry in his press conferences and interviews. For a contemporary American politician, this is indeed rare and even a bit odd.

But I venture to say it makes perfect sense, especially considering the governor’s Serbian heritage. The love of poetry, especially epic poetry where heroes are up against incredible odds and struggle to overcome them, is so deeply ingrained in the Serbian psyche that Blago’s recitation of poetry and his embattled stance and stubborn refusal to even admit that he’s in the process of being impeached doesn’t surprise me one bit.

We know that Maureen Dowd is enamored with Blago. But if she really wants to light it up in her column, she should look at the Serbian angle with all of its psychological nuggets. What a sizzling column that would be!