ROD BLAGOJEVICH created a new distraction for his state by making an appointment to the US Senate even while he faces federal corruption charges for, in part, allegedly trying to sell the very seat he now is trying to fill.

A defiant Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich named a political trailblazer to Barack Obama’s Senate seat, a surprise move that put the governor’s opponents in the uncomfortable position of trying to block his choice from becoming the Senate’s only black member.