Just when the national media was hooting up the dawn of a new era of Good Government, another political hack goes down.
The arrest of Illinois governor Blagojevich for auctioning a U.S. Senate seat is the perfect tonic to Obama-mania.
Initial reports indicate that the feds caught Blagojevich red-handed on tape. If he is guilty, it will be good that he gets boarhawged big time.
The one drawback is that some folks will presume that the feds are a force for righteousness – riding in on white horses and redeeming democracy at the state and local level.
Unfortunately, with the way the laws and the courts work in this country, Illinois prosecutors and investigators do not have a level playing field.
If the state officials in Illinois could put wiretaps on the offices and homes of FBI agents, congressmen, and HUD and FEMA officials based in their territory – how many crimes would they uncover?
What would happen if state officials could set up the type of entrapment operations targeting federal agents that the FBI routinely conducts on local and state officials?
If that were the case – I reckon the news would get even more entertaining.
It will be a treat to watch the details leak out about this conniving.
The thing to remember is that as a politician in the same state and party any politician has to interact with people. However, he or she does not have to befriend a person, and limit the interactions to professional boundaries. Obama might have endorsed Blago in the general but in the primary he did endorse his opponent. So, the conclusion is that all the interactions were strictly professional. In a similar analogy, a lots of folks who endorsed Hillary then turned their endorsement to Obama when he won the primary. Even though he was not their first choice, he was the Democratic nominee so they endorsed him. That is politics works. Obama does not need to discuss any interaction once he indicates that he has not have any discussions regarding the vacant seat. Therefore, he was not involved in any wrongdoing – it’s time to move on and look forward! Let’s focus on all other critical problems at hand!
The writer above is absolutely correct. It’s time to move on and look forward.
It is premature to call for the impeachment of Obama before he even takes office. We should wait until at least February 2009.
Meanwhile, I am looking forward to watching Jesse Junior and Rahm Rove, er Emanuel squirm a bit. I’m wondering if Rahm’s House Seat was also for sale and if Jesse Junior was to pay a million for Obama’s Senate seat, how much would it cost to buy his House seat?
I wonder if Blagojevich was offering a deal on the House seats – buy one and get the second for half price.
If Blagojevich ends up serving any time he will be the fifth Illinois governor in recent history to do so. Yes, it would be great if law enforcement agencies at all levels investigated each other as well as most government officials. Since we have the best government that money can buy the dirt uncovered would probably fill volumes.