Clipmarks
merriefollowshare
12-23-2008 1:54 AM
122 views
merrie says:
Now the awkwardness of the Obama denials make sense.

This political problem arose in part because Obama was so eager to appear purer than any politician can actually be. In his initial statements, he sounded as if he was trying to say that he knew nothing at all about the selection of his successor. “I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening,” he told the press, and refused to elaborate.

That remark clarified nothing; today it seems like obfuscation at best and prevarication at worst. Nobody is likely to believe that Emanuel spoke more than 20 times with Blagojevich or the governor’s aide John Harris without informing Obama about those conversations. To insist that he had “no contact” when his top aide was involved in so many contacts is precisely the kind of parsing that undermines confidence.

Emphasis mine.
1 Comment   | Add a Comment
12-23-2008 1:55 AM
merrie
Well, it wouldn’t make sense if Team Obama was being pressured by a crooked governor to pay something for a candidate they preferred. But it does make sense if Team Obama is the one that was applying the pressure. If it is true that Team Obama was in contact with Team Blagojevich to pressure Blagojevich to dump his own preference and defer to Team Obama’s directives the whole thing turns around.

Obama was perfectly within his right to let Blagojevich know who he would like, or would not like, to succeed him but he would be way out of bounds if they pressured Blago to pick who he wanted which then forced Blago to push back.

Was the pressure illegal? No idea. But the fact that Obama and ...
Login to Comment.  Not a member yet? Sign up
Embed This Clip In Your Site...

New from the makers of Clipmarks:  Amplify.com - Don't just share the news...Amplify it!

OK