Did he really say that?

The 76-page criminal complaint of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich includes shocking charges, troubling scenarios, and 18 "f-bombs."

The governor or his wife, Patti, repeatedly used the expletive as both an adjective and a verb in the taped conversations released Tuesday as part of the federal corruption case against Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris.

Examples of the bad language include the "(expletive) Cubs (expletive)," "Fire those (expletives)," and calling President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat "a (expletive) valuable thing" that's "(expletive) golden." He even hurled the word at Obama himself in various forms.

Such foul language is common in angry conversations and politics (remember Nixon's Watergate tapes?), but the sound bites make the governor sound a little more like Tony Soprano than Abraham Lincoln, some observers said Tuesday.

"I remember being surprised by the Watergate tapes," said Jim O'Connor, president of the Cuss Control Academy in Lake Forest. "That was kind of the turning point in the use of profanity. Nixon kind of condoned it. He made it obvious that's the way people do talk."

Because Blagojevich apparently was unaware he was being recorded, O'Connor cuts him some slack for the potty mouth alleged in the complaint. However, he believes the governor's word choice makes a bad situation worse.

"He accentuated his mistake," O'Connor said.

These days, coarse language from a government official shouldn't come as a surprise. Nearly four years ago, incarcerated former Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board member Stuart Levine was secretly recorded calling Naperville's Edward Hospital CEO Pam Davis a variety of insulting pejoratives not fit for print in any family-friendly newspaper.

"It's partly a power thing," said Highland Park-based forensic linguist Alan Perlman. "The governor is using these words with subordinates, behind closed doors and mostly for emphasis to be impactful."