It never ceases to amaze me how incredibly stupid elected officials can be. The guy has been under investigation for going on 3 years, and tries to sell a senate seat in the midst of all that.

Story can be found here.

The indictment also states Obama wouldn't play ball with Blagojevich:TPM speculates that Candidate 1 is Obama's senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Big question here is, what happens with that senate seat now?

I would imagine Pat Quinn, the Lt Gov, would make the appointment, unless he was implicated also.

Theoretically, unless the Lt. Gov. assumes the responsibilities of the governor, he probably lacks the authority.

It's a good week for good government. First Bill Jefferson in New Orleans lost his re-election bid, now we're rid of Blago.

Hmm, interesting read:

Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch ... arise.html

I'm sure there will be a LOT of investigating into Obama's role.

Who cares? He's the President in a month. Haha.

Anyhow, it's a moot story.

If nothing is confirmed between today and monday, Obama will be President. If anything illegal is confirmed we will see if the Electoral college is truly worthwhile.

I'm just curious about whether Obama will pardon Blagojevich after the 2012 campaign season is over.

You guys are frothing at the mouth again.

Obama will be president.

This is just another one of those background relationships of Obama that was not discussed during the campaign.

I have a feeling that once the initial euphoria of Obama being president wears off (and he does something that the media doesn't like) we will start seeing more "Who really is Barak Obama?" pieces in the media and connections like these will be discussed -- since they were not fully discussed during the campaign.

I'm not 'frothing at the mouth'. It's just that the scenario where a President-Elect is found to be unfit is one of those "I wonder what would happen if...." kind of things for me. It would be interesting to see the outcome and either justify the EC or show how ridiculous the whole concept is, personally I think the latter would happen.

Blago's own comments in the indictment show there's no love lost between him and Obama. They're key members of the same party in the same state, but that's where the relationship likely ends.

Lol.

Mr. Obama, just what exactly was is your relationship with the governor of your home state??? Why are you consorting with a man like this??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU?????????

Nah, Skycrasher more like: "Mr Obama, why did you endorse Blagojevich 2 years ago when he was already under investigation for hiring irregularities?".

this is change america can believe in

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Because Obama could not have known the full extent by which Blag was acting, and as such having a Democratic governor is better than having a Republican governor. It's politics, babe.

Obama did nothing wrong. I love all the frothing at the mouth at the idea that he may have though. Makes me that much more happy that Obama won and spites you because of that fact.

Suck it, and enjoy it for 8 years.

God, you make this too easy. Obama endorsed him in the primary. Blagojevich spoke with someone within the transition team or he would not have known that Obama wouldn't play ball. Take your blinders off, Skycrasher, and see Obama for what he is... a typical politician who successfully came up through a corrupt political machine of which he was part. Also, the least experienced President we will have who has been barely vetted by the adoring press.

who cares who blag talked to if it wasn't obama?

obama aint corrupt, look at all the transparency he's pushing for his administration. that's awesome.

ps: he was vetted -- there was a ton of controversy about his relationships and such during the campaigns.

Barely vetted? Really?

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SHENANIGANS!

obama wasn't barely vetted, palin was

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This gives me hope in our government.

Obviously this guy is an idiot, but I think smarter people in the Democratic Party could have easily swept this under the carpet if they wanted to. They could have gotten rid of this black sheep in more clandestine ways and we would all have been none the wiser.

To see someone like this, busted from the same party that holds power, and not only that but has close regional ties to the president-elect (by that I only mean they come from the same region of the country, not that they actually interacted with each other).....it suprises me this is out in the open like this.

This is a signal that corruption won't stand, no matter how thin the connections you think you might have to the powers that be. I hope this trend continues.

The most awesome bit is that Blagojevich started peddling favors because Obama helped pass legislation to curb this kind of corruption:

"Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say."

Looks like Jesse Jackson Jr is Candidate #5. Damn..

And here I thought I'd have to wait until sometime AFTER Obama was sworn in to say I told you so. Tee hee.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Is 'Senate Candidate No. 5', Says He Did Nothing Wrong
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/ConductUn ... 739&page=1



So that's Obama's campaign national co-chair and his senior advisor Axelrod with close ties to this crime on the scoreboard so far.

Surprises you that democrats know other democrats? Obama has nothing to do with this, neither does Axelrod. Why do you keep bringing them up?

Because clearly that means Obama had something to do with it. Oh noze, some bad eggs in a campaign, that obviously reflects on the next *administration*!

To quote Fitzgerald, "I should make clear the complaint makes no allegations about the president-elect whatsoever".

The investigation is still ongoing, and we have yet to confirm whether Jesse Jackson Jr. or Axelrod were responsible for actually offering the money, or if one of their underlings did so without their permission or knowledge.

Talk about counting your eggs before they hatch... but then again, you've been doing that since the story broke about the chick who got "beaten" by an Obama supporter. Nothin' but hard fact from you!

Obama was in the country when Jon-Benet Ramsey was killed!

Obama was breathing out of the same planetary atmosphere as the 9/11 hijackers!

Obama shares a great amount of similar genetic code with Osama Bin Laden!

Really, are we done yet?

I think we're just gettin started!

His #1 pick for his seat was born in Iran!!!!!!!!

From that very article:


That is the key thing for those of us not drinking the Obama-ade. You can't stand in a pile of shit and not come out smelling like a rose.

Obama did.

I always considered that one of Obamas best selling points. Coming out of Chicago there was bound to be someone that was willing to dish the dirt if there was any to dish, he came off very clean.

Wow, my post was a joke, but you basically just did exactly what I was joking about.

"Obama lived in a place where bad things happened!!"

Well, it does affect Obama, however indirectly.

This Blagojevich guy is obviously a jerk that peddles influence. No reasonable person can believe that this is something new, it's probably been going on for years.

The question, for me at least, isn't whether or not you were partner to it, or participated with Blago in it.

The question is, if this behavior runs contrary to your beliefs and your own principles as a politician, why didn't you report it?

Now, I'm not going to point any fingers at Obama, because I don't know how deep his involvement with Blago is, though I think it is important to find out.

I am, however, pointing fingers at people like Jesse Jackson Jr. People who have known, direct contact with Blago.

Blago obviously knew who was willing, and who wasn't willing to "pay and play". This means he had contacts with politicians and/or their representatives. If it was a representative, chances are that representative reported to the politician, at which point the politician had a chance to say yes or no.

Which politician had the courage to say "what the fuck is he saying? Is he trying to peddle influence? I'm going to report this to the FBI".

This is what I want to know. Which politician(s) chose to look the other way, and which politician(s) (if any) had the courage to report this behavior BEFORE it got made public.

I gaurantee you people in the Illinois political power grid knew what type of person Blago was before this story broke. The question is how many considered this "politics as usual" and just ignored it and/or embraced it.

Probably anyone that did know. =/

I dunno why these idiots do things like this when they're already "on top of th world" so to speak.

I am betting that someone in Obama's camp turned Blago in.

I don't see how you can point the finger to Jesse Jackson at this stage of the investigation. "Maybe" Jesse Jackson knew about Blago's corruption. "Maybe" one of the Jackson's representatives actually told him before hooking up the deal. There is no hard evidence that Jackson did any wrong at this point.

As for Obama, it should be innocent until guilty, rather than the usual "omg this looks really really bad for Obama look at these connections omg". It warrants investigation, but we haven't reached anything near conclusive yet. Leaping on every little tidbit Joxur-style gets you nowhere.

Ahh yeah, and "Maybe" Cheney didn't tell Scooter Libby to out Valerie Plame. Sure.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell today criticized Barack Obama for not being more upfront about the Illinois corruption scandal.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16520.html

So much for promised transparency. Enjoy the next 4 years.

Where's the proof he was involved? Or are soundbites good enough for you?

LOL, fucking hilarious.

Joxur-- maybe you didn't read this the first time it was linked, so I'll post it a second time.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28190263/

Lol, oh Joxur.

You've said this now, like 3 times, in 3 different "leap to conclusion" events...and each time, Obama has been shown to not be involved. You go on and on about "Obama-ites" and drinking the kool aid, that you are incapable of seeing that you are so blinded with dislike for the man (and have been for quite some time now) that you are unable to actually think logically on the topic any longer, if you were ever capable of it to begin with. For someone who spends an awful lot of time patting himself on the back for being able to see "the true picture", you seem to be incapable of recognizing the tunnel vision you've locked yourself into. You WANT him to be corrupt, so that is what you see.

It's kind of sad.

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Naw man, you just drank the kool-aid.

Honestly - because being an elected official is not all that profitable, unless you're corrupt.

The governor makes what... $150,000 a year? That really isn't that much money considering most people don't hold the job for too long. Then, once out of office, what do you do? Your "real skills" are fairly stale at that point.

This is why politics usually only involve 2 types of people:
1. The poor with nothing better to do
2. The rich with nothing better to do

I have thought about getting involved in politics. But, I couldn't afford the pay cut. To try for state senator or something like that would be a lot of work to take something like a 50% paycut, heh.

Let's say I had the ability to get elected to the US House of Representatives - they only make $170k a year. Yeah, that's more than I make now, but let's say I managed to get the job and lost the next election. I'm hosed.

Long way of answering... but that's why they cheat/steal.

It's called confirmation bias.

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Hope is the new black.

As for the Obama thing, I think he (and many Democrats) knew what was going on. I think Obama has told some "white lies" about the issue, but whatcha going to do?

As someone mentiond above, I think Obama's pick for his seat is referenced as "Senate Candidate 1" and there is a part of the indictment where they specifically cite the governor asking for cash from that candidate and her supporters. He then says something like "all they are willing to give me is their gratitude, fuck that." hehe.

So, I have to believe Obama knew stuff was going on. Other reports indicate most people were steering clear of the governor because they knew he was toxic.

If you want to attack Obama, you could based on the fact that he turned a blind eye to what was going on. Not sure I crucify him for that, but it would have been nice to see in the indictment that Obama actually went to the feds and said "you need to be checking this out."

While your point is valid, there are lots of door opened to people in that situation. I think hosed may be taking it a bit too far. Sure, it shakes up your life, but it in no way ends it.

Nice post, Rugen.

see it would be this mat with different conclusions on it that you could jump to

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Isn't this the GTAIV billboard ban in Chicago guy or some shit?

You forget that $150,000 is like 3x more than what the average American makes. It's not chump change for most people.

I forgot where I saw it, maybe it was Hardball, but they were talking about how there's like two types of politicians.

The first type is where this job is like the best they could ever hope to get in life, so they cling to it like made, and use it's power to indulge themselves.

The second type is where they want to be a politician because they want to actually affect change in the world.

The problem is that politics attracts both camps. Also, the salary is negligible, and frankly, not the point. The salary could be $1 a year, the real power is all the other benefits you get from your job, especially if you were corrupt. You don't really need to draw a salary when people are giving you money, free trips, free dinners, giving your spouse a job, etc.....

That's why you have people who give up jobs making $500,000 to get into politics. Because it's a small price to pay for power and influence.

According to a Chicago Tribune reporter-

President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is reportedly on 21 different taped conversations by the feds -- dealing with his boss' vacant Senate seat!

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I have mixed emotions about Gingrich...
His politics are a bit rough for me, but he is a savvy beast.

Gingrich has always been pretty wise in the area of "too much" when it comes to attacks and mudslinging.

That's not to say that I think he's above attacks and mudslinging, but it seems like he's always been good at knowing when to say, "Hey, this isn't helping us here."

He's also one of those politicians who, while being very partisan, is rational enough about it that people listen to what he has to say. It's just the right people in his own party don't always do so.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/secti ... Report.pdf

Suck it haters!

The Obama team's investigation of the Obama team has cleared the Obama team of any wrongdoing. Whew, glad that got cleared up.

Did you have a nice Christmas break, Joxur? This is old news. =)

You are predictable, Joxur! Shake things up a bit and surprise us with a non-cynical Obama post sometime.

I thought it was funny.