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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lorne who wrote (56779)	12/10/2008 6:30:20 PM
From: MJ	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224738

"Asked if he was aware of any conversations between Blagojevich and any top aides, including Chief of Staff John Harris or Rahm Emanuel, Obama said: "John, let me stop you there because, as I said it out there, it's an ongoing investigation. I think it would be inappropriate for me to, you know, remark on the situation beyond the facts that I know. And that's the fact that I didn't discuss this issue with the governor at all." Recommend \| Keep \| Reply \| Mark as Last Read " Question: Is Obama passing the buck of responsibility for his staff or associates with his glib remark? "You know" is the phrase he uses when he is about to waffle-----gives him time to parse his remarks. jmho

To: lorne who wrote (56779)	12/10/2008 6:52:19 PM
From: Neeka	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224738

Surprise, surprise........The One is just another one of those arrogant politicians who doesn't think Americans can either read or understand what they read. Sigh!

To: lorne who wrote (56779)	12/11/2008 9:23:48 AM
From: TideGlider	2 Recommendations Respond to of 224738

Jackson needs to start answering questions Even appearance of wrongdoing could hurt him Recommend Comments December 11, 2008 BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has some more explaining to do. On Wednesday, he confirmed rumors that he is the person identified as "Senate Candidate 5" in the papers filed with the criminal complaint against Gov. Blagojevich. "I have done nothing wrong," Jackson said during a news conference in Washington, D.C., shortly after his Chicago lawyer, James Montgomery, told reporters that Jackson is "Senate Candidate 5." Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell "I am appalled by the pay-to-play schemes," Jackson said before calling on Blagojevich to resign and forfeit his authority to make the Senate appointment. Jackson said he met with Blagojevich on Monday, the day before the governor was arrested and led out of his North Side home in handcuffs. "I met with him for the first time in four years," Jackson said twice, contradicting claims Blagojevich made when he conspired to plant a bogus story with a Sun-Times columnist. According to the complaint, the governor falsely claimed he had a "long, productive discussion" with Jackson on Nov. 10. There's no allegation either by the feds or in the criminal complaint that Jackson or the other five candidates under consideration to fill Barack Obama's seat did anything illegal. In fact, Blagojevich is the only one recorded boldly talking about acts that, if committed, would be a brazen abuse of his power. He was allegedly picked up on a wiretap telling an adviser that he was approached by an associate of Jackson about "pay to play." "That, you know, he'd raise me $500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him [Senate Candidate 5] a Senator," Blagojevich said, according to the complaint. Later, Blagojevich allegedly said, "he might be able to cut a deal" with Jackson that provided Blagojevich with something "tangible up front." Jackson denied sending anyone to propose a deal for the Senate seat, and the wiretap did not capture any conversation between Jackson and Blagojevich. Frankly, Jackson isn't a target of this federal probe any more than Candidates No. 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6. This case is solely about Blagojevich's obscene abuse of the public trust. The same way Blagojevich jerked around the General Assembly when he couldn't get his way, he jerked around the people who wanted to fill Obama's Senate seat. In an intercepted phone call, Blagojevich told someone close to Senate Candidate 5 that he was "very much a realistic candidate" and that Blagojevich was getting a "lot of pressure" not to appoint him, according to the federal court filing. If Jackson "is going to be chosen to fill the Senate seat, some of this stuff's gotta start happening now . . . right now . . . and we gotta see it," Blagojevich allegedly said. There's no claim by the feds that anything did "start happening," or that Jackson himself made any promise to make something happen. Still, Jackson is a rising political star with close ties to Obama. Their enemies are champing at the bit, and the very appearance of wrongdoing could change the trajectory of Jackson's political career. At one point, near the close of his news conference, Jackson choked up when he talked about the support he has received. "This morning I got a text message from my little sister. She told me she was proud. That she was proud that in the 14 years that I have served, I have tried to honor public service because I believe it is a noble profession," he said. It's tough for anyone to defend against the perception of wrongdoing, which is what Jackson has to do. That's why it makes sense that Jackson could hire an attorney and not be guilty of anything. But leaving the podium after the news conference without taking any questions from the media wasn't smart. The chorus asking for answers today will only grow louder tomorrow. As much as pols talk trash, it is difficult to believe that everyone was in the dark about what was going on with the vacant Senate seat. That the seat could be shopped like an heirloom on eBay is evidence that it is going to take more than tinkering with ethics laws to end the pay-to-play culture. It will take whistleblowers. In the end, anyone who heard about this corrupt scheme but did nothing is as guilty as the schemer. suntimes.com