Just saw this news headline while checking my e-mail:
Yes, poor, poor Barack Obama, having to take time talk to federal investigators about a major corruption scandal involving (allegedly) the selling of his current Senate seat and perpetrated (allegedly) by the sitting Governor of his home state, who was also one of his closest political allies in the not-too-distant past, a (alleged) crook we now know has had recent contacts with the President-Elect’s would-be chief of staff. Will there be no end to this vile harassment?
2 comments:
Of course the media's fond of President-elect Obama - he's (relatively) young, charismatic, and photogenic. Furthermore, he's still a novelty, and if there's one bias that every journalist shares, its an appetite for topics that are fresh and sensational.
Oh, and one other thing worth pointing out - of course representatives from the Obama camp (or even Obama himself) talked to Blagovich. Heck, it would be bizarre if Obama didn't take an interest in what was happening with his former Senate seat - beyond any nostalgia or affection he might have for it, his Senatorial replacement is someone Obama will have to work with for the next several years. Therefore its only natural that he'd have an interest in seeing it end up with a friend/ally (or at least someone amenable to his goals).
Bryan:
Actually, I agree with you that it's quite natural that Obama and his aides would be quite interested in who filled the seat, and would try to have their input about the choice. Which makes it all the more puzzling that the Obama camp initially tried to sustain the position that there was no such effort.
As for Obama, at this point I don't see any evidence that he did anything illegal or improper in this matter. But neither do I think that it's an extraordinary and terrible burden to have him answer a few questions from investigators, as the headline writer for that article seems to believe.
Best,
Brian
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