The Proverbial Flagpole on Trial.

Tom Balanoff, the president of SEIU Local 1, was on the witness stand today in the Blago corruption trial and delivered some testimony that, in Tasty's view, is total BS.

Blago called Balanoff after the 2008 presidential election and pitched a scheme for trading Obama's senate seat for money. Blago would set up his own organization and then wealthy Democratic allies would donate $15-$20 million to the organization. In exchange, Blago would appoint Valerie Jarrett to the senate seat. All this is captured in an FBI recording of Balanoff's phone call with Blago. At the end of the call, Balanoff tells Blago that he'll run the proposal "up the flagpole."

So, today, an attorney asks Balanoff, "Who was the flagpole?" Tasty can just imagine the jurors and the audience in the courtroom thinking, 'Yeah, who is the flagpole? Could it be Andy Stern? A politician? Also, why does this guy talk like a 90 year old man?'

And so, who was the flagpole? Balanoff says that HE (Balanoff) was the flagpole. "I never had any intention of taking this anywhere."

Hold the phone--Does this sound credible? Have you ever run something up your own internal flagpole? If you have, do you have borderline personality disorder?

Balanoff's story became even less credible by his answer to a question about what he did right after hanging up with Blago. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, "Balanoff then said he immediately called Jarrett and left her a message saying: 'call me, I have a quick question for you.'"

For more on Balanoff's testimony, check out the Chicago Sun-Times