Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship

[catzmeow]

I don't believe for a second that Obama had anything to do with this (and I'm just as skeptical of Obama as the next person). The Governor clearly made the point that he wasn't choosing Obama's pick to fill the Senate seat because all Obama was willing to offer was "goodwill."

Guess goodwill don't pay the bills.

 

[Lycurgus]

Of course it is. He's black, right? He has to be a robber.

btw, I'm cracking up at everyone taking Blago's bullshit as an indictment of Jackson, Jr. So far nothing suggests that Blago is anything but a fucked up slime bucket but all y'all seem to believe his comments to be evidence that everyone else is a crook.

No partisanship there at all, no indeedy.

What would skin color have to do with it?

From what I have read and seen, people from all races and both genders could be connected either closely or remotely. Further, personally I wouldn't be surprised to see connections to the republican party as well. Maybe not in this particular case, but, in terms of dirty deals period, over time, with this governor and those connected to.

So I don't understand your comment about race. No one has exclusives to being a crook in office. I hope the press does not take this in a racial direction, that would make no sense at all.

 

[bk1983]

Which doesn't necessarily mean anything since that rest of the "fuck Obama" goes along the lines of "he wouldn't give me anything."

Well since this is a pay to play politics case, I would say "he wouldnt give me anything" is about as good as it gets..

 

[Silence]

and lest we forget that Obama was crucial to the passage of an ethic reform bill earlier this year that is quite possibly responsible for Blago being arrested.

Apparently Obama and Blago have been on very differing sides of Chicago politics. Obama wants reform and Blago wants power.

 

[jillian]

Is Bush running? Straw man.

I think you can follow the fact that she was talking about double standard.

As much as I know you guys HATE talking about Bush.

 

[Silence]

Well since this is a pay to play politics case, I would say "he wouldnt give me anything" is about as good as it gets..

don't confuse the righties with logical reasoning bk..... they want to make this into something it's not because it's all they have to cling to right now.

Fitzpatrick already said Obama had NOTHING to do with this and appears to have had no knowledge of Blago's intentions or actions regarding selling his soon to be vacant seat in the Senate.

IMO the more the right pushes this idea that Obama is guilty merely because it's his seat and because he's from the same party and same state the deeper the hole gets for the pugs. They should just start pulling the dirt in on themselves because they are burying any hope they have of recapturing power in washington.

 

[Lycurgus]

nope Bush isn't running and neither is Obama, he ran...he won. It's time for the pugs to get over it and start trying to fix their own fucked up image rather that attempting to damage Obamas to make themselves look more attractive again.

What is a pug?

Yes, Obama did win, which means he will be the main focus of most political issues coming out of Washington and for a while Chicago and rightfully so.

Further, everyone has every right to ask questions about the person who sits in the white house, so I guess your going to be irritated for a longtime to come. So maybe you need to get over that!

In this case there is nothing connecting Obama to any wrong doing, but, when one of his top people states one thing and then he states another, it's fair to expect there to be questions.

Thankfully not everyone has accepted the don't ask, just accept mind set.

 

[WillowTree]

and lest we forget that Obama was crucial to the passage of an ethic reform bill earlier this year that is quite possibly responsible for Blago being arrested.

Apparently Obama and Blago have been on very differing sides of Chicago politics. Obama wants reform and Blago wants power.

lest we forget that on Nov. 23 Axelrod says on TV "Yes, Obama has talked to the Govenor, there are many names on the list he has a fondness for.. Then Obama says "I never talked to the Gov." "I didn't know anything about this" he also didn't know about Wright,, or Ayres, or Rezko.. he's either the biggest liar in the land or the most fucking clueless person you'll ever blindly vote for.. now which is it??

 

[sealybobo]

ABC News: FBI: Illinois Governor Sought To "Sell" Obama's Senate Seat

Obama is a politician there is no way he didnt know something and this is just the beginning of it.

This stuff goes on all the time. Look at all the stuff the Alabama governor gave to Toyota. Billions of US Federal tax payers $ to help them set up shop in Alabama. Free money too. Not a loan. No need to pay anything back. And that son of a bitch doesn't want to give a loan to the Big 3? Anyways, different subject. My point is, what do you think that governor gets in return from Toyota on the come back?

In the end you will realize Obama is the one who turned the guy in.

Of course the Governor told Obama's team that the position was valuable and he wasn't just going to give it away. Remember Bush said he earned political capital and he planned on spending it? Same diff.

And too bad you guys didn't wait for him to actually commit the crime. Now he's gonna walk not guilty. But his career is ruined, so mission accomplished I guess.

But what does Obama care? He's not worried about who fills that seat. He had a preference, but if that person isn't appointed to the seat, they'll still work for Obama's cabinet.

What if we find out Jesse Jackson Jr. lied yesterday? That would be funny. Like father like son.

 

[Ravi]

And too bad you guys didn't wait for him to actually commit the crime. Now he's gonna walk not guilty.

I wonder why they didn't. To me it would have made a lot more sense to actually have a solid charge against him, and maybe something is happening that we don't know about, but from what I can tell he hasn't actually done anything other than run his stupid mouth.

 

[editec]

Blagojevich is the guy with the legal authority to choose Obama's replacment.

Fitzgerald undoubtably has their meeting on tape.

Fitzgerald has said that Obama is in no way culpable for any untoward activities regarding his replacement

I'm failing to see what the problem is.

Somebody want to explain to me what crime or corruption they believe Obama is guilty of?

Is he guilty of meeting with the person who had the legal authority to name his replacement?

 

[catzmeow]

Blagojevich is the guy with the legal authority to choose Obama's replacment.

Fitzgerald undoubtably has their meeting on tape.

Fitzgerald has said that Obama is in no way culpable for any untoward activities regarding his replacement

I'm failing to see what the problem is.

Somebody want to explain to me what crime or corruption Obama is being accused of?

There isn't a problem (as relates to Obama). Blagojevich and Obama don't have close ties, at all. Obama likely suggested possible replacements, that's normal and perfectly legal. Blagojevich is on tape as saying he rejected those suggestions because Obama wasn't willing to pay. No story, except that Chicago remains one of the most corrupt places on earth, paralleled only by New York and Louisiana.

 

[WillowTree]

There isn't a problem (as relates to Obama). Blagojevich and Obama don't have close ties, at all. Obama likely suggested possible replacements, that's normal and perfectly legal. Blagojevich is on tape as saying he rejected those suggestions because Obama wasn't willing to pay. No story, except that Chicago remains one of the most corrupt places on earth, paralleled only by New York and Louisiana.

Sigh!
And, it should be pointed out, Mr. Obama has a relationship with Mr. Blagojevich, having not only endorsed Blagojevich in 2002 and 2006, but having served as a top adviser to the Illinois governor in his first 2002 run for the state house.

In the Democratic gubernatorial primary that year, then-state sen. Obama endorsed former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris. But after Blagojevich won, Obama came around enthusiastically. At the same time, meanwhile, Axelrod had such serious concerns about whether Blagojevich was ready for governing he refused to work for his one-time client.

According to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., Mr. Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, Emanuel, then-state senator Obama, a third Blagojevich aide, and Blagojevich's campaign co-chair, David Wilhelm, were the top strategists of Blagojevich's 2002 gubernatorial victory.

Emanuel told the New Yorker earlier this year that he and Obama "participated in a small group that met weekly when Rod was running for governor. We basically laid out the general election, Barack and I and these two."

Political Punch

 

[Tech_Esq]

don't confuse the righties with logical reasoning bk..... they want to make this into something it's not because it's all they have to cling to right now.

Fitzpatrick already said Obama had NOTHING to do with this and appears to have had no knowledge of Blago's intentions or actions regarding selling his soon to be vacant seat in the Senate.

IMO the more the right pushes this idea that Obama is guilty merely because it's his seat and because he's from the same party and same state the deeper the hole gets for the pugs. They should just start pulling the dirt in on themselves because they are burying any hope they have of recapturing power in washington.

I don't think Obama is involved in this particular scheme to sell off his Senate seat. I think that's patently obvious. His pick was Jarett and Blago was pissed that he would get nothing but appreciation if he picked her. I think that lets The Bama off the hook on that point.

Now, query what his responsibility is to report a crime if he has knowledge of one? For instance if he became aware at some point in this process that the Governor wanted pay for play, did he have a duty to report. If not him directly, whoever did have contact, Jarett, Emanuel whoever. Out of this particular activity, I think that is the only potential issue that could effect Obama.

On a larger level, every single player in this sad story is someone Obama has had close personal contact with for years. That is undeniable. If I'm standing next to you and you are jumping in mud puddles, how clean can I be? If I'm standing the the middle of a crowd of people and they are all jumping in mud puddles, I'm really going to be dirty. Unless I've invented the magic stain free suit.

Bottom line, so far, I don't see anything that implicates Obama in anything. But I sure as shit think he's been around a lot of dirty players. So, they should start pulling the Blago string and see where it leads. That's the problem when the press doesn't do it's job.

 

[Tech_Esq]

I wonder why they didn't. To me it would have made a lot more sense to actually have a solid charge against him, and maybe something is happening that we don't know about, but from what I can tell he hasn't actually done anything other than run his stupid mouth.

My understanding is that the Chicago Tribune ran an article detailing that Blago was under surveillance and the next day Blago started pulling the plug on everything. So basically, it looks like the jig was up.

 

[pete]

The U.S. attorney had also said there was no indication that Mr. Obama was in any way involved. But Mr. Obama did note that his staff was still gathering facts about whether anyone on his team might have been involved, leaving the door open that some inconvenient news could emerge. It seems unlikely that Mr. Obama’s statements today will put these questions to rest.

The Obama Press Conference - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

Hahaha .. "some inconvenient news" how convenient! I wounder who's getting tossed under the bus?

 

[Annie]

I don't think Obama is involved in this particular scheme to sell off his Senate seat. I think that's patently obvious. His pick was Jarett and Blago was pissed that he would get nothing but appreciation if he picked her. I think that lets The Bama off the hook on that point.

Now, query what his responsibility is to report a crime if he has knowledge of one? For instance if he became aware at some point in this process that the Governor wanted pay for play, did he have a duty to report. If not him directly, whoever did have contact, Jarett, Emanuel whoever. Out of this particular activity, I think that is the only potential issue that could effect Obama.

On a larger level, every single player in this sad story is someone Obama has had close personal contact with for years. That is undeniable. If I'm standing next to you and you are jumping in mud puddles, how clean can I be? If I'm standing the the middle of a crowd of people and they are all jumping in mud puddles, I'm really going to be dirty. Unless I've invented the magic stain free suit.

Bottom line, so far, I don't see anything that implicates Obama in anything. But I sure as shi* think he's been around a lot of dirty players. So, they should start pulling the Blago string and see where it leads. That's the problem when the press doesn't do it's job.

Whatever is or isn't there will come out. There is one nexus to all these players and that is Emil Jones-watch for that.

 

[sealybobo]

December 09, 2008 3:37 PM

"Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney's office today," said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint against Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich for corruption. "But as this is a ongoing investigation involving the governor I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on the issue at this time."

Asked what contact he'd had with the governor's office about his replacement in the Senate, President-elect Obama today said "I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening."

But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.

While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a "kingmaker," Axelrod said, "I know he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."


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