C’mon, he really is America’s governor. A deeply unpopular Chicago cronyist and a smug, silly pseudo-celebrity: Is there anyone who better represents the sheer crapulence of American politics circa 2010 than Blago? Imagine if we elected a guy like that president.

Here’s your reaction thread in case you’re watching cable news; we should have a verdict by 6 p.m. ET. One ominous note per Ace: Why did the jury ask the judge for a copy of the oath they took before trial? Do they really need reminding that they swore to deliver an honest verdict? Or is this just par for the course in Chicago?

Update: As of five days ago, they were deadlocked on 22 of 24 counts. As of today, they’ve been deliberating for more than two weeks. I’m guessing that means we’re going to see an awful lot of “oh, the hell with it” acquittals here.

Update: Unbelievable.

A federal jury today convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich of one count against him: lying to the FBI. The jury was deadlocked on the other 23 counts against the former governor, and all four counts against his brother.

Gabe Malor notes on Twitter that that was one of the counts Martha Stewart was convicted on. Question: What now? Is the U.S. Attorney going to re-try him or do we sentence him to parole on the lying charge so that he can jump into the Kirk/Giannoulias race and fulfill his destiny?

Update: The case is too high-profile for the feds to walk away, so as expected, Patrick Fitzgerald says it’s on to a retrial.

Update: Ace e-mails with a new theory: What if the jury was split 11-1 to convict on the remaining counts? That might explain why they wanted a copy of the oath — to confront the holdout with his duty to render an honest verdict. It also raises the disturbing question of what kind of juror would be so invested in seeing Blagojevich walk that he’d hold out for two weeks against 11 increasingly frustrated colleagues.