Obama's support of ethics reform is good news for the GOP...
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Obama's support of ethics reform is good news for the GOP...
....or Rudy Giuliani, or something like that.
Seriously, I'm trying to get my arms around this new story on the Blagojevich scandal that the New York Times has put out there. The lede of the article is tantalizing:
In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of Barack Obama’s rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.
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.
OK, so what I'm getting from that is that Barack Obama supports ethics in government, that he doesn't think state contractors should be making large campaign contributions. Hey, that's a good thing, right?Right?
Uh, according to the New York Times, not necessarily:
Beyond the irony of its outcome, Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics. It is a world he has long navigated, to the consternation of his critics, by engaging in a kind of realpolitik, Chicago-style, which allowed him to draw strength from his relationships with important players without becoming compromised by their many weaknesses.
"Beyond the irony of its outcome..."? Huh? How about...beyond the irony of the fact that an Obama phone call for an ethics reform bill -- strongly opposed by none other than Rod Blagojevich -- is an excuse to somehow tie him to the "murky" world of Chicago politics. Look (as Obama himself might say), there's some interesting new information in this Times article, but their basic perspective is all upside-down wrong.
Did it occur to them that maybe Obama was elected 44th president of the United States exactly because he HAS escaped "the murky and insular world of Illinois politics"? When people ask why would someone like Obama involve himself in Chicago politics, the bottom line is Chicago is where he lived -- he moved there to organize laid-off steelworkers, got a job there and then even married a Windy City native.
Most people run for office in THE CITY WHERE THEY LIVE -- that caused Obama to cross paths with an interesting cast of characters, but in the case of Rod Blagojevich, it seems like once he took the measure of the man he didn't want much to do with him. He had little to do with Blago after 2006, didn't even ask him to speak at the Dem convention in 2008, and his people didn't give the governor the time of day regarding his recent Senate machinations. Obama mostly kept their "murky" world at arm's length, which is a reason why he is president-elect and why the notion that a machine hack like Blagojevich could even think about running for president in 2016 is almost proof of his insanity.
But this Times story is Day One of what is going to be a brand new silly season in American politics, just when you thought it was safe. No matter how much the next few days demonstrate that Obama didn't want any part of Blago's scam, every phone call in which a junior staffer didn't immediately hang up, or any time that Obama and Blagojevich were in the same room and Obama didn't slap a pair of cuffs on the governor will be more proof of the "murky" circles that Obama travels in.
Wait until they found out that Obama's set foot in Philadelphia, too.
Comments (73)
"db, past your cute nickname for the IL guv, you offer nothing new. Read the indictment again, Blagovich was on AUDIO TAPE saying that he discussed it ith Obama, but was clearly upset that Obama didn't offer him anything in return. " So why is Obama lying about not having any contact with Blag-o-crook about the matter? That's my point - it's a pattern with Obama to downplay and lie about associations. If there is nothing wrong going on, why the lie?— db_cooper- From same article: "The two Illinois politicians have never been especially close and have largely operated in different Democratic Party camps in the state. Blagojevich's disdain for Obama was clear in court documents; he is quoted as calling the president-elect a vulgar term in one phone conversation recorded by the FBI."— RG
- Wrong, db. If you think there is something meaningful about Ayers' statement that Obama was a "family friend," then you need to consider how Ayers contextualizes that comment. The term is fairly ambiguous, and so if you're going to accuse Obama of lying in that he said something different than what Ayers said, you have to determine what Ayers meant by the term family friend. Here is how he contextualized the term: --snip-- "I think my relationship with Obama was probably like thousands of others in Chicago." --snip-- There is nothing about that definition of "family friend" which is inconsistent with what Obama said. Meanwhile, you voted, twice, for someone who downplayed an extensive network of associations with Abramoff. Also, please note that for all their trying, no frightwinger ever provided evidence that when Obama said that he hadn't heard Wright say the things that everyone was so horrified about - he wasn't telling the truth. You and Hannity must have pulled out all the stops to come up with something about that complete irrelevancy also. Give it a rest, db. Move on. Get over it. Go back to lecturing us about what "libz" need to do to win elections. It was far more interesting.— Talking point sleuth
- Let's talk about something meaningful, db. Do you have some evidence that Obama was somehow involved in Blagojevich's illegal activities? Do you have some evidence that Obama knew that Blgojevich was conducting illegal activities and didn't notify authorities? If so, please provide it. Otherwise, why don't you focus on explaining how Obama's cabinet/administration appointments support your wild-eyed conspiracy-based statements that Obama is a "Marxist."— Talking point sleuth
Comment removed.- You missed the point, LJL. Obama is, by deductive reasoning, guilty of anything that you could imagine because the vast left-wing media conspiracy is dedicated to duping the stupid American public. The brilliant Republican toadies are so much smarter than anyone else that they can see through the conspiracy, but they just can't quite put their hands on any actual evidence.— Talking point sleuth
- I completely agree with your take, will. Here's the paragraph from the Times article that had me going huh? "Though extreme examples, they were emblematic of the path cut by Mr. Obama through Chicago politics, where he became known for making alliances of convenience with personalities that seemed antithetical to his self-image as a progressive reformer. His political roots were in the left-leaning neighborhood of Hyde Park, but at key moments in his career he did not hesitate to form relationships with politicians who were fixtures of the Democratic machine." So a state senator or US Senator who LEGALLY works with other office holders to get something done is "making alliances of convenience" or refusing to "hesitate to form relationships with politicians who were fixtures of the Democratic machine." Yes, Messers Zeleny and McIntire, it's called governing. It's probably been so many years that we've seen it done successfully that one can be forgiven for not recognizing it and regarding it as foreign and sinister.— GreyHippie
- "Do you have some evidence that Obama was somehow involved in Blagojevich's illegal activities? " Why is Obama lying about not meeting with Blag-o-crook over his Senate replacement? That is clearly becoming a pattern of his.— db_cooper
- "If you think there is something meaningful about Ayers' statement that Obama was a "family friend," then you need to consider how Ayers contextualizes that comment." Spin, spin, spin away the lies, TPD.— db_cooper
- This is typical city driven Democratic politics. Why is everyone so shocked? Because 25% of the people who voted for Obama had no idea what they were voting for, and the other 25% are hate driven radicals who will vote for any dem no matter what.— sleepy
- "Spin, spin, spin away the lies, TPD...--}}} Lol! First you say that Ayers' statement that they were family friends proves that Obama is a liar. Then you say that how Ayers defines "family friend" (coincidentally, in a way that is consistent with how Obama characterized their relationship) is "spin." C'mon db, you can do better than that. Step up to the plate. How was Obama's statements about their relationship different than what Ayers says he means by the term "family friend?"— Talking point sleuth
- "Why is Obama lying about not meeting with Blag-o-crook over his Senate replacement? ..---}}} I take that as an admission that you have absolutely no evidence, eh db? None. Zilch. I'm not sure I'd call it "lying." It could have been a mistaken comment - you know, like Bush's hundreds of comments about Iraq's WMD. But for the sake of argument, let's say it was a lie to try to avoid any misconception about ties to illegal activities. I wouldn't, for a minute, think that Obama is above lying to cover his *ss. He's a politician, and by definition, they all do that. But without evidence of wrong-doing, all you have is a conspiracy theory. It seems that increasingly, that's what you have to bring to the table. Speaking of which, where's your evidence of the great Obama-as-a-Maxist conspiracy?— Talking point sleuth
- Comment removed.
- Really, this is about what I'd expect. Any evidence that Obama was tied in any way to illegal activities? Nope. In fact, you have clear evidence that Obama REFUSED to deal with someone who is accused of illegal activities. Any you're going to focus, obsessively, on whether there is an inconsistency in Obama's statement about a conversation he had? Seriously, have you become that pathetic? Has your election loses - where you had a campaign based on smearing your opponent on irrelevant issues - taught you nothing? Get to work. Dig up something of significance. It's your only hope for not being even further marginalized. I say that as a friend who cares about you deeply. Namaste.— Talking point sleuth
- "Because 25% of the people who voted for Obama had no idea what they were voting for, and the other 25% are hate driven radicals who will vote for any dem no matter what....---}}} There you go. Yet another "patriot" who thinks nothing of smearing the majority of the American voting public.— Talking point sleuth
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