So. Turns out Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is just the teensiest bit corrupt. Maybe you’ve heard.
Blagojevich was arrested at his home on Tuesday for allegedly trying to sell the senate seat vacated by President-Elect Obama. Turns out he wanted a lot of money. Or political favors. Or a job for his wife. Or a lot of money and political favors and a job for his wife.
So… Yeah. That, folks, is what I call galling corruption.
And then the governor went and got himself caught on tape – even after knowing that the FBI had been investigating him for corruption for quite some time. The governor even brazenly taunted the government and the press about the wiretaps.
And that is what I call jaw-dropping stupidity and arrogance.
It is also a political headache for Obama – a major political distraction at a time when political distraction can be little afforded.
The U.S. Attorney leading the investigation, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, has stated publicly that there is no evidence to suggest that Obama had anything to do with Blagojevich’s ill-conceived cash-grab. None. Zero evidence.
Just don’t tell that to the conservative press. Or the RNC. They are already trying to link Obama with Blagojevich. Turns out RNC chairman Mike Duncan feels that Obama should clarify his association with the governor. On Wednesday, he called Obama’s statements on the matter “vague.” And RNC spokesman Alex Conant distributed an e-mail to reporters that, while careful not to explicitly state that Obama knew of the Illinois governor’s actions, nevertheless strongly suggested some impropriety by linking a series of disparate Obama quotes that sound supportive of the governor. Need I say that the quotes are taken out of context?
Again, according to the lead U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald, there is no reason to suspect that Obama had anything to do with Blagojevich. None.
But there’s more. From Fox News. Good old, conservative spin-happy Fox News.
So far Fox has been careful to note that Obama hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing – but watch out, because the wording of the reporting is significant here.
On her blog, Greta Van Sustern posted a statement from David Axelrod, a senior Obama advisor, that tries to explain the contradiction between Obama’s recent statements that he hasn’t spoken to Blagojevich about the vacated seat and an earlier statement by Axelrod in which the advisor said that Obama had spoken to the governor.
Now, let’s be clear: that is a contradiction. But it is, I suspect, a rather innocent one. If Obama did speak to the governor, it probably wasn’t about selling the senate seat. But it's the structure of Van Sustern’s blog that is important. She is very careful to say that she doesn’t see what would be wrong with Obama speaking to Blagojevich about the vacated seat – thus giving the impression that she doesn’t have an ax to grind with the President-Elect. But then she includes Axelrod’s statement about being “mistaken,” and gives no further context. Van Sustern lets herself look sincere and makes Axelrod (and Obama, by extension) sound fishy. Clever, clever.
And then there is this, from an article that appeared on the Fox news site:
Blagojevich was arrested at his home on Tuesday for allegedly trying to sell the senate seat vacated by President-Elect Obama. Turns out he wanted a lot of money. Or political favors. Or a job for his wife. Or a lot of money and political favors and a job for his wife.
So… Yeah. That, folks, is what I call galling corruption.
And then the governor went and got himself caught on tape – even after knowing that the FBI had been investigating him for corruption for quite some time. The governor even brazenly taunted the government and the press about the wiretaps.
And that is what I call jaw-dropping stupidity and arrogance.
It is also a political headache for Obama – a major political distraction at a time when political distraction can be little afforded.
The U.S. Attorney leading the investigation, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, has stated publicly that there is no evidence to suggest that Obama had anything to do with Blagojevich’s ill-conceived cash-grab. None. Zero evidence.
Just don’t tell that to the conservative press. Or the RNC. They are already trying to link Obama with Blagojevich. Turns out RNC chairman Mike Duncan feels that Obama should clarify his association with the governor. On Wednesday, he called Obama’s statements on the matter “vague.” And RNC spokesman Alex Conant distributed an e-mail to reporters that, while careful not to explicitly state that Obama knew of the Illinois governor’s actions, nevertheless strongly suggested some impropriety by linking a series of disparate Obama quotes that sound supportive of the governor. Need I say that the quotes are taken out of context?
Again, according to the lead U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald, there is no reason to suspect that Obama had anything to do with Blagojevich. None.
But there’s more. From Fox News. Good old, conservative spin-happy Fox News.
So far Fox has been careful to note that Obama hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing – but watch out, because the wording of the reporting is significant here.
On her blog, Greta Van Sustern posted a statement from David Axelrod, a senior Obama advisor, that tries to explain the contradiction between Obama’s recent statements that he hasn’t spoken to Blagojevich about the vacated seat and an earlier statement by Axelrod in which the advisor said that Obama had spoken to the governor.
Now, let’s be clear: that is a contradiction. But it is, I suspect, a rather innocent one. If Obama did speak to the governor, it probably wasn’t about selling the senate seat. But it's the structure of Van Sustern’s blog that is important. She is very careful to say that she doesn’t see what would be wrong with Obama speaking to Blagojevich about the vacated seat – thus giving the impression that she doesn’t have an ax to grind with the President-Elect. But then she includes Axelrod’s statement about being “mistaken,” and gives no further context. Van Sustern lets herself look sincere and makes Axelrod (and Obama, by extension) sound fishy. Clever, clever.
And then there is this, from an article that appeared on the Fox news site:
The matter also highlights ties between the disgraced Democratic governor and some members of Obama's inner circle. His top campaign strategist, David Axelrod -- who will move to the White House for a senior adviser's job -- lists Blagojevich on his firm's Web site as one of his clients, when the politician was a candidate for Congress.
And because Blagojevich stands accused of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the president-elect, Obama's name will be forever linked to the case, even though he isn't accused of wrongdoing.
Chicago has been home to some of the country's most notorious corrupt politicians as well as some leading political reformers.
Again – the reporters are careful to note that Obama has been accused of nothing. Yet that statement comes within three paragraphs that tie Obama’s camp to the corruption scandal. The reporting here is structured to foster the notion that something is fishy in the Obama camp.
It is all very ridiculous.
No comments:
Post a Comment