Sam Adam Jr., Unplugged

Give Rod Blagojevich’s attorney an hour-and-a-half, and he’ll give you Bartlett’s Quotations – of a certain hyperbolic kind. The attorney everybody was waiting to hear filled reporter’s notebooks with words that won’t soon be forgotten.

Here’s just a sampling from his opening remarks Tuesday.

On Blagojevich’s first gubernatorial victory:

“In a state that is basically Irish, a Serbian won.”

On Blagojevich taking the stand:

“He’s not going to let some chubby four-eyed lawyer talk for him.”

On Blagojevich’s psychology:

“He is probably one of the most insecure men you are going to see.”

On the U.S. Attorney’s office case against Blagojevich:

“The same people chasing Bin Laden are chasing him.”

On Blagojevich’s law school:

“Pepperdine is as far away an experience as we are from mars right now.”

On Lon Monk:

“Lon Monk wasn’t just a friend. He exemplified America. And I’m not overstating that.”

On Blagojevich hiring Lon Monk as his chief of staff:

“Do you know what Lon Monk was doing in 2002? He was a volleyball agent in California. Volleyball!”

On Stuart Levine:

“In the history of ever, this is the most corrupt man ever.”

On former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan:

“One of the most respected politicians in the history of Illinois.”

On Tony Rezko:

“This is one of the top international businessmen in the history of business. At one time he was worth $70 million.”

“Rezko is the Bernie Madoff of Chicago.”

On global population:

“There are four billion people on this planet.”