Pressure builds on Obama to release his Blagojevich contacts

In case you're wondering about that list President-elect Obama promised a few days ago to release in "a few days" detailing all of his office's contacts with accused Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the vacant U.S. Senate seat, the Republican National Committee would like to fan your doubts.

Saturday, as the governor met with a high-profile Chicago defense attorney, the RNC released a short videotape (see below) detailing some of Obama's connections to and statements about the governor, who is allegedly on FBI wiretaps trying to sell his nomination to the highest bidder.

Both Obama and U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald have said there's no evidence of the ex-senator's involvement in the alleged political auction. And Obama has denied speaking to the governor or his office on the Senate vacancy.

But the Chicago Tribune reported Saturday that Obama's new White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, did indeed have contacts with the governor's office, providing a list of replacement nominees acceptable to Obama and then later adding one more.

And, it is believed, those conversations were captured by the FBI wiretaps and bugs.

That does not mean, of course, that Emanuel was involved in any wrongdoing. He's a close political friend of Blagojevich's in the clan-filled world of Chicago machine politics and inherited his 5th District House seat from Blagojevich when he became governor in 2002 on a reform platform.

As a representative of the outgoing senator and president-elect and a member of the same party, it would be hard to believe Emanuel or someone did not communicate somehow with Blagojevich or his staff.

What's puzzled some people and raised suspicions among others is Emanuel's refusal to talk about it (reportedly physically pushing one reporter's tape recorder away and having a verbal altercation with another) and the delay on Obama's part in releasing the promised diary of contacts.

From a practical point of view, if everything is above board, what's to hide?

From a political communications and PR point of view, the atypically clumsy silence and delay creates doubts among even some Democrats, an information vacuum that opponents seek to fill with items like this video below and that has turned what could have been a one- or two-day state scandal story into nearly a week-long saga now involving a new national leader who promised to change the way the people's business is done.

All of which also distracts from the message the Obama camp would prefer be focused on: the formation of a talented new Cabinet before Obama escapes Chicago's frigid South Side to Hawaii for the holidays. The scandal is now certain to be a major topic today on the Sunday morning political talk shows as listed here.

The Illinois legislature meets this week to begin preparations for impeachment of Blagojevich and a costly special statewide election to fill Obama's ex-seat. The Tribune story is here. (See video below.)

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: Associated Press

Comments

[Alessandro Machi]

I do find it suspicious that both Barack Obama and Blagojevich wanted to spend a lot of money on infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges so we can all drive our foreign cars over them.

http://www.DailyPUMA.com

[cspolj]

Barack has been involved in the "pay to play" Chicago way for a long time. Obots like to point out how angry Blagojevich was at Barack. Yeah he is angry because Blagojevich knows very well that Barack plays this game and when Barack initially didn't agree to his demands he got mad.

Who would approach the next President with this scheme unless that person already knows that the President to be is real dirty?

That being said I think Blagojevich would have been a better POTUS than this narcissistic Chicago thug Barack.

[alex]

This is deeply troubling. this is a pattern behavior with Obama vis-à-vis many of the characters surrounding him.

This silence and opacity he is built around himself is not what he promised us, this is not change.

We demand to know his contacts with Blago and we demand to see his birth certificate and the findings of the closed door Supreme Court hearing on the 12th

Why all the secrecy? We elected an official to handle the affairs of our nation, not mafia boss and his gang to strong arm us into submission.

We demand absolute transparency; America deserves that! The office of Obama as president has already been severely tainted. This is a dark cloud over the Inauguration now.

Heartbreaking that we suffered a grueling election only to get this!!!

[alex]

This is deeply troubling. this is a pattern behavior with Obama vis-à-vis many of the characters surrounding him.

This silence and opacity he is built around himself is not what he promised us, this is not change.

We demand to know his contacts with Blago and we demand to see his birth certificate and the findings of the closed door Supreme Court hearing on the 12th

Why all the secrecy? We elected an official to handle the affairs of our nation, not mafia boss and his gang to strong arm us into submission.

We demand absolute transparency; America deserves that! The office of Obama as president has already been severely tainted. This is a dark cloud over the Inauguration now.

Heartbreaking that we suffered a grueling election only to get this!!!

[Edwin L. Jones]

Just because there have been conversations doesn't mean there is wrong doing. Let's not prejudge the incoming administration.

[Chris]

I understand Obama would have some input in his replacement... I think they are concerned about the audio on the tape... They can’t sugar coat raw political speak......They probably didn’t play ball with Blogo, but its not going to sweet little made for TV conversations. Meanwhile they keep stonewalling the press and digging a deeper hole. To bad the vale will be pulled off the Obama Image. And he will be reviled as just another deal making Politician….. But I already new that…

[richard]

republican or democrat - the word politics says it all.

[Goldie]

Of course the Republicans are building up a fantasy of taint around Obama, while they ignore issues around one of their own golden-boys, Governor Arnold S., who is shown in this same paper to be skirting the intent of ethics laws by giving high profile personal appearances to companies in return for campaign donations. Politicians really need a clear rule-book by which to operate and I don't think they have one. Obama is the one that has been pushing for reform, both in Illinois and Congress, so leave it up to the pols and corporations and media types, those who are on the other less-ethical side, to try to stop him by painting him as compromised. They seem to be saying that an advisor just talking to Blago, even if they did not give him anything, is a crime. Bby that standard the whole Congress is guilty of talking to people who have been indicted. I trust Obama will give us the information when he sorts all this out.

[Zero's Resignation Watch]

WORST PRESIDENT ELECT EVER!

MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT-ELECT EVER!

WHY DID OBAMA LIE? WHAT DID OBAMA KNOW? WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?

WORST PERSON IN THE WORRRLLLDD!

Choke on that one Olbermann, you creep and hypocrite.

Obama and this whole Democrat gang are the most corrupt ever to attempt to fraud their way into the WH.

Obama won't produce his long form birth certificate BECAUSE HE CAN'T.

Now instead of Illinois corruption contained to Illinois, the Democrat Culture of Corruption is taking their rank stinking corruption nationwide.

MERRY FITZMAS CHUMPS! The tentacles of the Democrat Culture of Corruption run long and deep and straight through the Obama inner circle. People are getting squeezed and singing left and right.

To quote the Democrats of the last eight years "Nobody is above the law" - you either believe it and stand by it 100%, or you don't. If you don't believe it and stand by it then shut your yap about Bush and the Republicans.

To quote the Democrats of the last eight years "Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism" - - you either believe it and stand by it 100%, or you don't. If you don't believe it and stand by it then shut your yap about Bush and the Republicans.

[Reverend Write]

"Barack Obama's chickens are coming home to roost."

[Veronica]

This is the problem your mother warned you about--You may not be doing anything wrong, but if you hang out with kids who do, when they get caught everyone will believe you are also guilty of something. It is human nature to sort information and lump into categories, OF COURSE the Republicans are again going to jump into a smear campaign without evidence of any wrongdoing. By the same reasoning, one could say that any member of Congress who is Republican, has talked to Larry Craig and ever gone in a men's room was guilty of participating in sexual acts in the bathroom. Obama SHOULD release the requested information, but I don't blame him for taking his time. If he misses even one phone call, the Republicans will jump on it as proof of guilt and call for his impeachment before he even gets inaugurated!

[Name one honest Illinois Dem..just one]

Even ultra-partisan James Carville was unable to name one in a recent appearance on fox news.Howard Dean,
the DNC chairman needs to step up to the plate and
excomunicate all elected Illinois democrats from the party
and substitute senator Clinton to the usurpator who owes his victory to corruption and false pretense.

[sherlock]

"In case you're wondering about that list President-elect Obama promised a few days ago..."

Thanks for your concern, but actually I am wondering about the FIRST promise Obama made... that niether he nor his staff had any contact with the Governor's staff on the subject. Funny how nobody in the media seems to be wondering about that one.

Republicans can have their literal words in their SOTU speech changed by the media to better fit the narrative, or have comedy show lines attributed to them as actual quotes for the same purpose. But a Democrat can say something right in front of them, and then reverse it a couple of days later as if it never was said, and they won't say a peep about it. No "change" there, it's the same old corrupt media giving cover to the same old corrupt Democrats.

[Mike Strate]

Obama always knew, was very informed and is working on a cover-up. Look back at his associations, he and Jesse and the whole crew knew what was up. It all starts with his failure to provide a document all of us need to do anything in the USA a simple birth certificate.

[Al]

One sure thing about U.S. politics is: "Whatever goes around...comes around". "Gotta love it!

[Jack Harper]

I have heared that Obama has refused to produce a birth certificate. Is there any truth to this, and why is this being withheld?

[Sable145]

When is this craziness going to stop. Why is it that every conversation, every relationship, every person that Obama speaks to turns into a reflection of him? We have an economy in chaos, not Obama's fault. We are currently in a Recession/Depression, not Obama's fault. We are currently fighting two wars, not Obama's fault, but somehow all of our problems are now Obama's fault. Our nation is in some deep ......and there is not a shovel big enough to dig us out of it. Let's spend our energy talking about how we and our families are going to survive the next year. The time for this us vs them is over. Let's pull ourselves together and get America working again and leave the innuendo and gossip to the tabloids.

[Insufficiently Sensitive]

"If he misses even one phone call, the Republicans will jump on it as proof of guilt and call for his impeachment before he even gets inaugurated!"

Well, somehow that just doesn't have the cachet that the MSM has poured into undermining the Bush administration for the last six years. Like, we're supposed to trust the MSM, but the evil Republican party is, well, partisan.

So the MSM has been essentially calling for the impeachment of Bush, but leaving the actual words others - while remaining as viciously partisan as any self-interested political party.

Guess the Democrats will have to learn to live on the receiving end for a while, even though the dishing out only comes from mere Republicans, and not the whole media herd. It's amazing that they've even allowed this much to leak through, and one wonders how much of this Chicago story has already been redacted and suppressesd.

[mICHAEL gULA]

Too bad,too sad but the DNC and the media did not vetted B.O.when had to do it.The american people do not know nothing about B.O. too many unanswered questions and misteries about this man.After I lived for 25 years in a comunist regim country,things what start to happen in America ,troubles me big time.We have to open our eyes quickly before is too late.

[Jariya]

It's said,Silence is gold"But in this context "patience is gold' Too early to count the chickens.Wait and see what could happen.All what you hear is not true.All what you see is not true.

[Mambo Bananapatch]

Wow, an LA Times writer is asking Obama tough questions!

At least, sort of kind of thinking about asking him tough questions.

"Um, pardon me, Mr. Obama, Sir, but...well, I know it's a bit awkward, but...oh, this is so hard...well, I'll just come right out and say it: are you going to, you know, do what you said you'd do and be open and honest? SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY!!!"

Still, that's an even bigger story than the Blagojevich scandal, isn't it? A Times writer openly wondering if Obama might not be Christ returned. Wow.

[Liberal Blagojevich]

Hey if liberal Bill Clinton could get his dirty hands on
thousands for letting another liberal scoundrel sleep in
the Lincoln bedroom, why couldn't Rod Blago ask for
what is only a 5 or 6 multiplier of senatorial revenue ?And
while some other lib burns down a church in Alaska to
distract from the political disaster looming, all the Illinois
president's men are either in jail or facing corruption
charges.Maybe Sorros will wake up and pull the carpet
from under this bunch of leppers and perhaps give us
an incorruptible like say....Kucinich ?

[zanne]

The American voter wanted a new IDOL. They believed the MSM and didn't do their homework. Online sites for months previous to the election were demanding to see Obama's long form b.c. and sealed education records. Don't depend on MSM for information. It is tainted and dying. Wake up. It is almost too late.

[ko shin, Bob Hanson]

I hope that his chief of staff will be run out the door, a victory for peace in Palestine and Israel.

[James Fujita]

"I do find it suspicious that both Barack Obama and Blagojevich wanted to spend a lot of money on infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges so we can all drive our foreign cars over them."

yeah, because it would be horrible to have new infrastructure built. goodness knows, I can't think of a single road or rail project that needs to get built or a single example of a bridge needing repairs.

****cough cough Minnesota bridge collapse cough cough****

who's going to stop these corrupt politicians from CREATING JOBS for people to construct, maintain and fix the roads and bridges we all use?????