Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's selection as White House chief of staff, was in contact with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich regarding the appointment of Obama's replacement to the Senate.
Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Chicago Tribune has learned.
The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat?Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill.
Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and was "confident that no representatives" of his had engaged in any dealmaking over the seat with the governor or his team. He also pledged Thursday that in the "next few days" he would explain what contacts his staff may have had with the governor's office about the Senate vacancy.
Emanuel, who has long been close to both Blagojevich and Obama, has refused to respond to questions about any involvement he may have had with the Blagojevich camp over the Senate pick. A spokeswoman for Emanuel also declined to comment Friday.
A.J. Strata puts the incoming administration's deceit in context:
The big dominos seem to be falling already, less than a week from the news breaking. I simply cannot fathom the damage Barack Obama and Rahm Emmanuel have done to their incoming administration, a month before it takes office. But I do know they dealt hit a critical blow this week. Barack Obama has just been exposed as a liar to the American people. He lied to us in a manner that puts him in the same league as Bill Clinton, Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Robert Torricelli, Rep Randy “Duke” Cunningham and Rep William Jefferson. We have yet to know what, if any, crimes Obama has committed. But the fact is this week he went out and lied straight to the American people. He tried to cover his tracks ....Obama won the election by gaining the trust of the majority of the voters. He was preparing to take office with the added trust of many like me who were willing to give him a chance to prove us wrong. There are no perfect politicians. I was more than willing to give Obama a shot. But his followers were living a dream come true - or so they thought.
I will not be lied to and right now my view of Obama is totally shattered. But my blowback on Obama is going to be mild compared to all those true believers who voted for ‘change we can believe in’. The entire Obama administration is now in a shambles because it’s load bearing characteristic has failed in a devastating manner. Obama is not only just like all other pols, he is inexperienced klutz as well.
Obama could not trust the American people to simply tell them he exchanged information with Blagojevich on the matter of the vacant senate seat. All of us would have been shocked at his ineptitude if he hadn’t been pre-planning his transition. But Obama failed America by failing to trust us with obvious details. So he lied and tried sell the idea his ‘office’ had nothing to do with ‘the issue’ (his office of course being his senate office, not his transition team).
Actually, I'm not surprised at all.
Throughout the campaign, a few writers, especially Stanley Kurtz, examined in detail Barack Obama's long acculturation and political grooming in Chicago's corrupt Democratic Party machine. Further, in response to Ryan Lizza's New Yorker essay, with the famous cover cartoon of the radical Islamist fist-bump from heaven, I wrote this:
If Barack Obama's elected in November, we'll see the accession of a machine-style party boss to the Oval Office ...
Well, we're seeing it now, the dark side of Obama's machine-style politics, and his administration's not even taken office yet. Obama's scale of corruption's going to put Richard Nixon and Watergate in the shade.
13 comments:
What damage? Obama is a democrat and therefore incapable of doing anything immoral, illegal or unethical. Those are solely the purveyance of the GOP. Expect this to get ignored, ridiculed and swept under the rug by the MSM. After all, it's the MSM's job to make this administration successful so this is merely a neocon witch hunt...
I guess you're right, Vegas Guy. Depressing thought to think that society's to the point where nothing is out of bounds nowadays.
birds of a feather, steal and lie together
I'am with Vegas Art Guy. This morning, Frank Rich, a NY Times
columnist and Obama supporter was interviewed on talk radio. He would not let himself be drawn into a serious discussion on Blagogate. He thought the whole situation was so outrageous as to be funny and the country needs a good belly laugh. His making light of the scandal will be the tactic that the left wing uses to belittle anyone who attempts to make a serious charge against Obama.
Just wait until the fairness doctrine makes it's comeback, then none of this will ever see the light of day. I have said it before and I will say it again. The democratic party is concerned with one thing and one thing only: Getting and staying in power and they will do it by any means necessary. Doubt me? Look at the gay marriage fight then get back to me.
"What damage? Obama is a democrat and therefore incapable of doing anything immoral,
Great post Donald and this particular comment is a beautiful thing, as this is exactly where we find the democratic party of today. A party do devoid of ethics and morals they simply keep repeating behavior we've just come to expect from them, nothing more nothing less.
People who keep getting put in to power by voters who are themselves devoid of same, so they see nothing wrong with their behavior because they too live the same ethically and morally bankrupt lives from day to day.
Wow, I just read all the comments, and replaced "democrat" with the word "republican" and it sounded like the last 8 years.
Imagine getting lied to by a politician. The nerve. This may come as a shock, but we were lied to for eight years by the most corrupt banana republic regime in our history--Dick Cheney wouldn't even release his records of meetings and felt he was above the law--and now this comes up and you compare him to Nixon. That is intellectually incompetent, at best.
Unless Obama has fingerprints on this, except merely having legitimate talks about it, which I hope he has, and he seems to be saying, then this is not something that is a career killer, except for Blago.
Grade: D-
The difference, Tim, is that when a Republican gets caught in a scandal it's front page news for weeks and weeks. If 'Freezer Burn' Jefferson had been a member of the GOP, it would have dominated the headlines of the MSM for weeks and months, especially during the Presidential campaign, but because he was a democrat it was barely noticed. If Elliot Spitzer had been a Republican the press would have tarred to whole party with his name, but hell the press never put his party affiliation next to his name and title during the scandal, and I looked for it. Same thing with the Gov. of IL. If he were a member of the GOP that 'R' would be there every time you saw his picture and name, but since he is a democrat... nothing...
You get a D- for that lame reply.
Which party did nothing to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Was it the Ebil GOP or the pure as the newly fallen snow democrats?
Wrong!
It was the democrats who defeated try after try after try by Bushitlersatan to prevent the coming collapse but you'd have to think independently to figure that one out.
my question is do all these morally bankrupt dems have what it takes to actually fight to support thier bankrupt way of life and thinking? and how long do they think actual free thinking Americans will tolerate them before we punch em in the nose??
Wow Mr.Obama lied? what's been happening in Washington the last 8 years with the Bush administration?
The only way the republicans can get to Mr. Obama is through Governor Blagovich. You say that the Democratic Machine is corrupt in Chicago well let me tell you all. The Republican Machine is also very corrupt in Illinois and especially in DuPage County.
If Blagovich goes down. hopefully He will take more officials with Him.
Wrong again, I hope that Obama had nothing to do with the scandal at hand, I hope he told that scum bucket to take a hike when he made his pay for play offer.
Unfortunately the reality maybe somewhat different.
VAG, the transcripts of Blago's profane outrage at Obama's reluctance to go along with his "pay to play" schemes would suggest the former; absent any evidence to the contrary, I give the man the benefit of the doubt until further evidence makes itself known.
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