Illinois Governor Blagojevich and the Politics of Corruption

On Monday of this week, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested and charged with offering Barack Obama's senate seat for sale to the highest bidder. The President-elect, himself a product of Chicago politics, made a distinction yesterday between what he called two separate traditions: public service and "what's in it for me." But, in a political system that's based on wheeling and dealing, what constitutes breaking the law? Just how did Blagojevich step over the line? Does the incident reveal anything about Obama? With the US preaching democracy, how does it look to the rest of the world?