As has been true with all things Rod Blagojevich related, the jury's inability to return a verdict on 23 of the 24 counts against him resulted in: a media frenzy and PR tour, some good jokes at the former governor's expense, and a lot of speculation of just how corrupt Chicago politics is (Blagojevich won't be the first former governor to spend time in prison, after all).

And then the conservative blogosphere weighed in, taking some good old-fashioned Blago speculation and turning into something ugly, making personal and (wait for it) racially charged attacks on Jo Ann Chiakulas, the juror thought to have been the lone holdout on the charge that the former governor tried to sell an appointment to President Obama's Senate seat.

Kicking off the how-low-can-you-go competition was Ace of the blog Ace of Spades, who after noting that the holdout was an African American retired public health worker who has “ties to the Chicago Urban League,” once campaigned for a family member and “listens to NPR and liberal talk radio shows,” wrote: “So she's sort of hooked up with .... community organizers?” The Horror!! He wasn't done though, calling her a “cog in the Chicago machine” and suggesting that because the Chicago Urban League was once headed by Blagojevich's former press secretary (several years after the juror left the Urban League) Chiakulas was “steeped in dirty Chicago machine politics” and she “had no business being anywhere near a jury.”

Got that? So because she listens to NPR and once supported an organization that someone who once worked for Blagojevich later worked for, she's dirty. So who does have “business being anywhere near a jury,” according to Ace? Can only Rush Limbaugh's supporters be trusted to serve on juries?

Unfortunately, we haven't hit bottom yet. Blogger Tom Maguire earned that spot (so far) for his comments related to the revelation that Chiakulas' former boss later served on the board of trustees for the hospital where Michelle Obama worked, and then concluding:

Which means what? Maybe nothing - Chicago is not that big a city if you restrict the world to black community activists such as Ms. Chiakulis or the Obamas. But it is the sort of coincidence that may or may not be a coincidence. Fortunately, we can rest easy knowing that our tireless watchdog press will ferret out the truth.

MY TIRED EYES FAIL ME... Time does not permit, but it seems from the picture and bio that Dr. Lumpkin may also be black. I only care because it increases the odds that he took a professional interest in both Ms. Obama and Ms. Chiakulis.

That's right, Maguire actually suggested that because they have an acquaintance in common and they're both black, the first lady of the United States and this juror are involved in some conspiracy to get Blagojevich off the hook.

It's worth noting that were this an elaborate plan to get Blagojevich off the hook (White House connected or not), it would be the worst plan of all time, given that he was found guilty of lying to the FBI, and could face up to 5 years in prison, and thus Chiakulis must have agreed with at least that count.

Unfortunately, this rush to destroy Chiakulis' character isn't all that surprising. The conservative media proved they had no decency in 2007, when they attacked (and even stalked) a 12 year old boy who dared speak about his support for the SCHIP program. I just hope this time other media figures have the good sense to call out this ugliness, and stick to the facts.