"Brilliant" and "nuts" aren't mutually exclusive. They're really just two different sides of the same coin.
Some of the craziest criminals in history were both at the same time. Brilliant at what they did but completely crazy by any normal measure of the term.
This man is NOT nuts. Hot wired, yes. Perhaps a sociopath? Possibly. Well, maybe more than possibly. But nuts? Not.
What you’re seeing is politics played Chicago style. This is something the rest of the nation rarely sees. But this is how it’s done. And Blago has learned and learned well how to play the system.
There is another side that people who know him see, which is seldom discussed here, but should be. And that is "asshole". I'm not being flip here. I'm serious. He is a genuine honest to goodness one-in-a-million example. He knows what he is doing, and he will do his damnedest to minimize his own damage, whatever it takes. The one thing about a true asshole, is that he is dependable. You can count on him to always be an asshole. With that in mind you can stay a step ahead of him. Discount it, and he'll eat you for breakfast.