12/11/2008

17 Responses to “Obama Camp Will Reveal Contacts Between His Staff and Blago Regarding the Senate Seat”

1. Out On A Limb Prediction – They will not be the staff members or contacts that Baracky knew about.

   daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 12/11/2008 @ 9:45 pm

   
   

2. Get ready for the Mother of all Frog Marches.

   Perfect Sense (9d1b08) — 12/11/2008 @ 10:50 pm

   
   

3. Lynn Sweet reports it even more definitively:

   Axelrod said–counter to Blagojevich–Obama never wanted Valerie Jarrett in the Senate
   By
   Lynn Sweet
   on December 11, 2008 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   CAMBRIDGE, MASS.–Contrary to comments made by Gov. Blagojevich–according to federal wiretaps–about President elect Barack Obama wanting confidant Valerie Jarrett to replace him in the Senate, David Axelrod said Thursday that Obama’s “preference was always she serve in the White House.” Jarrett was tapped to be a senior advisor. Axelrod spoke at a forum at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.

   MayBee (4a9480) — 12/11/2008 @ 11:23 pm

   
   

4. My formatting is terrible in the comment above, but I’m going to ask you all to do a little brain exercise and figure it out yourselves.

   MayBee (4a9480) — 12/11/2008 @ 11:38 pm

   
   

5. MayBee – Now they are getting their talking points coordinated. One of them is sure to claim they misspoke on the wiretapped conference call once the parties involved are identified.

   daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 12/11/2008 @ 11:44 pm

   
   

6. Huh.

   Obama already lied about this.

   Why should we believe him now?

   Evil Pundit (843b74) — 12/12/2008 @ 12:34 am

   
   

7. Odd – Obama is not promising the most ethical administration in history!

   Perfect Sense (9d1b08) — 12/12/2008 @ 2:03 am

   
   

8. Jumping to conclusions as usual? What else should any one expect?

   love2008 (1b037c) — 12/12/2008 @ 2:43 am

   
   

9. Can we believe anything Axelrod says now that he has recanted the ‘i know Obama talked to” hot Rod statement?

   eaglewingz08 (080c62) — 12/12/2008 @ 4:11 am

   
   

10. […] via Patterico, we read that The New York Times reports that our incoming president is taking my advice: […]

    Common Sense Political Thought » Blog Archive » Is the climate of corruption in Illinois really this bad? (73d96f) — 12/12/2008 @ 4:37 am

    
    

11. I think that there’s something more important in the New York Times article our esteemed host linked:

    In a rare firsthand account of how Mr. Blagojevich, a two-term Democrat, went about the selection process, an Illinois state senator said in an interview that he had felt pressured to respond to the governor’s interest in him with a quid pro quo agreement and has withdrawn his name because of increasing wariness about the process.

    The state senator, Kwame Raoul, who represents the South Side of Chicago, offered few details of his interaction with the governor’s office but said he received a call about a month ago confirming that he was under consideration. Soon afterward, however, Mr. Raoul said he ran head-on into another message: that the governor was looking for a candidate who offered something of tangible value to him.

    “It was open knowledge among people in and around Springfield,” Mr. Raoul said. “Legislators and lobbyists alike openly talked about the fact that the governor would want to appoint somebody who would benefit him. I can firmly say that I’ve had these conversations, that I’ve spoken with both legislators and lobbyists who felt that that would be the consideration in his appointment.”

    Mr. Raoul would not specifically say what the content of the conversations were, or whom they were with, except that the initial inquiry from the governor’s office was made by Victor Roberson, deputy director for intergovernmental affairs. Interest in his candidacy died on both sides, Mr. Raoul said, adding, “Obviously, the perception was that I didn’t have anything to give other than my service.”

    In other words, everybody knew about this anyway, yet nobody did anything about it. Diogenes would flee the whole state.

    The amazed Dana (3e4784) — 12/12/2008 @ 7:58 am

    
    

12. Oh well……another Democratic administration, another Special Prosecutor.

    Actual (70f2ce) — 12/12/2008 @ 8:03 am

    
    

13. Whan is Obamassiah going to say these aren’t the aides and supporters I knew?

    PCD (7fe637) — 12/12/2008 @ 8:04 am

    
    

14. Look at this bullsh!t spin coming from the WaPo:

    Obama Worked to Distance Self From Blagojevich Early On
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121103936.html?xid=rss-page

    Is this how you “distance yourself”:

    On the Chicago TV show “Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz” on June 27, 2002, state Sen. Obama said, “Right now, my main focus is to make sure that we elect Rod Blagojevich as Governor, we…”

    “You working hard for Rod?” interrupted Berkowitz.

    “You betcha,” said Obama.

    “Hot Rod?” asked the host.

    “That’s exactly right,” Obama said.

    In 2004, then-Gov. Blagojevich enthusiastically endorsed Obama for the Senate seat after he won the nomination, and Obama endorsed Blagojevich for his 2006 re-election race in early 2005.

    In the Summer of 2006, then-U.S. Sen. Obama backed Blagojevich even though there were serious questions at the time about Blago’s hiring practices.

    Obama and Blago’s Connections:

    Obama Advised Blagojevich On His Victorious Gubernatorial Run. “That year, [Obama] gained his first high-level experience in a statewide campaign when he advised the victorious gubernatorial candidate Rod Blagojevich, another politician with a funny name and a message of reform.” (Ryan Lizza, “Making It,” The New Yorker, 7/21/08)
    Obama: “If the governor asks me to work on his behalf, I’ll be happy to do it.” (John Patterson, “Senator Says He’s Still Willing To Help Blagojevich Despite Hiring Concerns,” Chicago Daily Herald, 7/27/06)
    Obama Endorsed Blagojevich For A Second Term. “Obama, who endorsed Blagojevich for a second term nearly 18 months ago, said he’s ready to help Illinois democrats in the upcoming elections.” (John Patterson, “Senator Says He’s Still Willing To Help Blagojevich Despite Hiring Concerns,” Chicago Daily Herald, 7/27/06)
    Obama: “We’ve got a governor in Rod Blagojevich who has delivered consistently on behalf of the people of Illinois.” (Deanna Bellandi, “Illinois Democrats Talk Unity But Don’t Show It,” The Associated Press, 8/16/06)

    From the WSJ:

    In 2002, Mr. Obama turned up to help Mr. Blagojevich, a staunch ally of Mr. Jones, win the governor’s mansion. Rahm Emanuel, Mr. Obama’s incoming White House chief of staff, told The New Yorker earlier this year that six years ago he and Mr. 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 [other participants].”

    This does not look like “distancing yourself”to me.

    We have Obama stating:

    “I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening.”

    LOOKS LIKE CONTACT TO ME:
    Obama: Do Not Believe Your Lying Eyes
    http://minx.cc/?post=279535

    Obama and Blagojevich at the National Governors Association meeting last Tuesday:

    We have Axlerod stating that Obama has had contact with Blago concerning the Senate seat(then conveniently saying “I mis-spoke.Damn,I bet Libby wishes that he could have convinced liberals and the MSM by so easily saying “oops,I mis-spoke!”) :

    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.”

    A definitive “I know” has now conveniently turned into
    “I mis-spoke”.
    yea,anything you say master Obama.Whatever you want me to say master Obama.We must protect the lightworker master Obama.

    We have at least 3 independent news articles that state Obama has had contact with Blago concerning the Senate seat:
    Surprise! Stories Noting Obama-Blagojevich Meetings Disappear Down Memory Hole
    http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2008/12/surprise-stories-noting-obama.html

    From KHQA(who have conveniently followed in Axlerods footsteps without explaining how they got the story wrong not once but twice or have printed a retraction.Reminds me of the WaPo denying that Raines was part of Obama circle even though they printed it more than once and never retracted the story).

    (Tribune)

    Obama met with Governor Rod Blagojevich earlier this week to discuss it. Illinois law states that the governor chooses that replacement. There’s already been speculation about his selection…from Congressman Jesse Jackson, Junior to Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth.

    “I just don’t want to jinx him and I don’t like the karma of me thinking that far ahead,” Blagojevich said of Obama’s prospects in Tuesday’s election. The governor added, “We have had some discussions about a process which we’ll share … if all goes well.”

    We have Obama stating that he nor his staff has had contact with Blago concerning the Senate seat:

    Obama Is ‘Appalled,’ Insists He Had No Contact With Blagojevich Over Senate Seat
    President-elect Barack Obama says neither he nor his aides had any contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich regarding his open Senate seat.
    FOXNews.com
    Thursday, December 11, 2008
    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/11/obama-says-contact-blagojevich-senate-seat/

    And now it appears that Emanuel had contact with Blago.

    Liberals have set the bar incredibly low and are exhibiting
    a double standard in moral outrage and need for getting to the truth concerning their Messiah Obama that would make Putin blush.

    Starts his campaign fund raising and serves on a board dishing out tens of millions of dollars with a marxist domestic terrorist.
    Nothing to do with me,just a guy in the neighborhood.

    Supports,writes a book,and there are hundreds of articles showing him hugging and smiling and talking about how much of a big influence Wright/Trinity have had on him.
    Nope,I had no idea Wright was a bigoted propagandist and the church taught a racist separatist theology that called for the genocide of the white race if they didn’t conform.

    Does a land deal with one of the most corrupt Chicago political movers in Rezko that has connections all over the place with Obama,Daly,Blago and the rest of this Motley Crue.
    Nope,I had no idea that there was anything amiss with getting this land so cheap and Tony always seemed like such a standout guy.

    Sure is a lot to dismiss from the Haliburton,Bush lied,Bush outed Plame,No blood for oil crowd.

    Baxter Greene (8035ae) — 12/12/2008 @ 8:15 am

    
    

15. Baracky is holding off on full disclosure as they are trying to figure out who exactly Fitzgerald has on tape. Hard to pick out the right lie, given the circumstances.

    JD (6a82b7) — 12/12/2008 @ 8:34 am

    
    

16. It took the clintons (small “c”, small people) six months to get caught in a scandal. Snobama (keep the change, you’ll need it) did it before being sworn in – now that’s change we can believe in. Have you noticed that many of the left wing radical moonbat articles never mention the word “DEMOCRAT” when referring to the pond scum of Chicago?

    lOVEJOY508 (05ca44) — 12/12/2008 @ 11:12 am

    
    

17. Obama also has to wait until the SEIU guys get deposed. Until that testimony gets leaked Obama can’t be sure he’s including enough to satisfy the demands of the known facts, and he clearly doesn’t want to add new or more facts to Fitz’s investigation.

    MTF (8254eb) — 12/12/2008 @ 12:48 pm