As a public figure, how do you know when you’re in really deep doo-doo?

How about when your spokesman decides that he can no longer spin your conduct, and resigns on you in the middle of an ongoing debacle? (To put this in perspective, just think of some of the conduct that spokesmen have gamely defended with a straight face, even if they had to cross their fingers behind their back.)

A spokesman for Illinois Sen. Roland Burris resigned Thursday in the wake of new disclosures about requests that Burris raise money for disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich while seeking a U.S. Senate appointment.

“I initially began helping the senator on a temporary basis because he is a long-term friend who I served several years when he was [Illinois] attorney general,” Jason Erkes said in a written statement to CNN.

“It is now time for me to get back to focusing on … my newly formed strategic communications business.”

“Spend more time with my business” makes a nice little change from “spend more time with my family”.