Rod Blagojevich is on trial and, thankfully, it’s hardly a somber affair. Today we learn that Blagojevich “seriously considered asking Chicago heavyweight Oprah Winfrey to take over the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.” Blago’s rationale: “Nobody would assail this pick . . . it’s huge! She’s a kingmaker!”

Here’s a snippet from the tapes, via the Chicago Sun-Times:

Blagojevich is increasingly out of breath while he’s talking; the sound of weights clanging is audible in the background. It sounds like he is working out at home while discussing the appointment.
Rod: “She made Obama … she’s a Democrat.”
Harris: “You’re looking for a celebrity to be your friend?”
Rod: “She’s so up there, so high …”
Later, Rod keeps brainstorming: “Maybe a black Albert Einstein,” he suggests. At that, one African American juror gently shakes her head.
Blagojevich is insistent that they “bolster the list” of potential candidates — even if it means looking outside of Illinois.
“Who outside of Illinois might fit the bill?” he is heard asking Harris. He mentions Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as an example.
Harris tries to talk him out of it.
“Picking somebody outside of Illinois has a whole host of problems,” Harris tells him. “(They’ll say), ‘There are 13 million residents (in Illinois), Rod hates them all.’”

So, after all of this, he ends up tapping Roland Burris?