Tom Corbett says he takes comfort in the wisdom of Dr. Seuss.

The Pennsylvania attorney general, speaking at Wednesday afternoon's meeting of the Rotary Club of Lancaster, said he still reads the Seuss book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" for inspiration.

A few lines from that book: "So be sure when you step — Step with care and great tact — and remember that Life's — a Great Balancing Act," can relate to Corbett's current situation of trying to balance a tricky investigation into legislative bonuses while running as a Republican for a second term as attorney general.

Corbett said he is in an unfortunate situation because he cannot speak about what is going on in the "Bonusgate" probe because the grand jury prohibits him from talking about the case, and he cannot respond to condemnation from politicians, media and the public for indicting only Democrats thus far.

"I can't respond to criticism that we should have been investigating all four caucuses at the same time, other than to say 'Who knows we aren't?' " he said.

Corbett spoke for a half hour, addressing issues in Lancaster County including growth and development, agriculture and going after drugs and gangs.

During the question-and-answer session, Corbett was asked about the possibility of organizing a new constitutional convention in Pennsylvania to deal with issues in the state and local government.

Corbett said questions of a new constitution are difficult to answer because he is still conducting the investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the Pennsylvania Legislature.

There is a great deal of money set aside by the Legislature to run its operations, Corbett said, and there is little oversight of that money.

Corbett said legislative procedures could be changed in a new constitution, but it could also be changed by having new members in the General Assembly.

"We cannot be happy with what we're seeing in Harrisburg," Corbett said. "But I want to be careful that you don't throw out the baby with the bathwater."

In 2007, Harrisburg's Patriot-News reported that millions in taxpayer dollars had been given out as bonuses to legislative staffers starting in 2006 by Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate.

In July, after a grand jury probe, Corbett's office charged 12 Democrats — including former Whip Mike Veon, current Rep. Sean Remaley and two former leaders of the Lancaster County Democrats, husband and wife Scott and Jennifer Brubaker — with using tax dollars to pay staffers bonuses for working on political campaigns, a violation of the state's ethics law.

The lawyers working on the case believe in grand jury secrecy and not harming reputations of people until they have time to release reports, Corbett said, and are trying to prosecute the case fairly and evenly.

Corbett said comments criticizing his actions from his Democratic opponent, John Morganelli, editorials and commentaries "are talking about things they have no information about."

"It's one of those times — I hate to say it, but I almost feel like saying, 'Trust me — we're going to get there, and when we're finished there are going to be a lot of people with egg on their face,' " Corbett said.

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