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Memo to Sprinkles Sidoti: Whitewater is so 90s. But why let a little thing like facts ruin your blast fax reportage? To wit:
President-elect Barack Obama hasn’t even stepped into office and already a scandal is threatening to dog him.
Obama isn’t accused of anything. But the fact that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, has been charged with trying to sell Obama’s now-vacant Senate post gives political opponents an opening to try to link him to the scandal. A slew of questions remain. The investigation is still under way. And the ultimate impact on Obama is far from certain….
Republicans pounced nonetheless.
"The serious nature of the crimes listed by federal prosecutors raises questions about the interaction with Gov. Blagojevich, President-elect Obama and other high ranking officials who will be working for the future president," said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the new GOP House whip.
Added Robert M. "Mike" Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee, "President-elect Barack Obama’s comments on the matter are insufficient at best."
Digby called this yesterday, but let’s contemplate the rinse, lather, repeat planting here, shall we? Quotes from the GOP House Whip and the RNC Chairman, with no specific evidence of wrongdoing, planting political seedlings nonetheless because that makes for pretend balance and allows all those seedy little doubts to be floated publicly.
Never mind that the indictment information for Blagojevich actually shows that Obama refused to play ball (PDF) with the smarmy politico:
ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it up” for two years and do nothing and give this “motherfucker [the President-elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states that he will put“[Senate Candidate 4]” in the Senate “before I just give fucking [Senate Candidate 1] a fucking Senate seat and I don’t get anything.”
But why let a little thing like facts get in the way of a good GOP blast fax meme, eh, Sprinkles?
The Beltway slap and tickle show has begun. The WaPo jumped on the "it would be irresponsible not to speculate" bandwagon, as did Isikoff. And a slew of others, including this circular logic doozy from the New York Times. The claws are out, kids. . . someone smells ratings, and they don’t give a crap about pesky facts. As Will Bunch says:
. . . this Times story is Day One of what is going to be a brand new silly season in American politics, just when you thought it was safe. No matter how much the next few days demonstrate that Obama didn’t want any part of Blago’s scam, every phone call in which a junior staffer didn’t immediately hang up, or any time that Obama and Blagojevich were in the same room and Obama didn’t slap a pair of cuffs on the governor will be more proof of the "murky" circles that Obama travels in.
Welcome to innuendo central. All a-bored?
Media Matters and digby have more.
PS — Maybe Sidoti should send Blagojevich a dozen of her special sprinkled donuts for his birthday today — something tells me he could use cheering up a bit.
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Jeebus! What a freaking mess! Or did you already know that?? *g*
Somebody tall broke a law in Russia. Obama is also tall. Is there a connection? Will this dog his Administration? Will this make you forget that our economy is in the crapper and we are in two foreign wars because of 8 years of the worst President in our history, a Republican?
The Mighty Wurlitzer has been tuned up and is humming along nicely.
We knew it was coming.
Why yes, this picture did crack me up. Why do you ask? *G*
Happy birthday Governor!
The Issakoff (whatever the sp) dude from Newseek is pouncing also. He was on Young Turks yesterday saying that any any any even sliver-glimmer of slice of dice of shred of hint of shadow of semi-doubt must be beaten to death, probably would require a massive Fizgerald Investigation Special. When the host raised objections, Issa-whatever accused him of being cynical about the noble public interest.
Fournier and Pickler stories hitting the wires in 3, 2, 1…
Isikoff just wants to relive his glory days when he wrote about Clinton’s penis.
There’s a link above to Isikoff on Rachel Maddow’s show yesterday evening doing the same thing.
It would be more responsible if Obama had just decked him each and every time.
btw, the digg is open and ready for digg-y-goodness.
I have lots of disagreements with Obama as anyone here knows but this is just about the MSM wanting to go into another mastubatory frenzy rather than do anything that might seriously smack of journalism.
It’s quite sad how Pavlovian the response is on this sort of thing, isn’t it?
Like going after Corker for committing stock manipulation on behalf of his GOP buddies?
Sooner or later, the lack of evidence linking Obama to this debacle will be attributed in the wingnut “Big Book Of Paranoid Schizophrenia” to a liberal “conspiracy.” Something akin to the Clintons having Vince Foster whacked. This is also a clear indication of exactly how post-partisan the wingers intend to be… as if we didn’t already know.
You know I was just thinking both Isikoff and idiot start with an “i”, connection or coincidence?
Every village needs one…
There’s the matter of the massive land deal with Rezko.
We’ll be hearing more about that.
Now there’s a purty picture…
Is the donut in the picture above making anyone else crave something sugary? Or is it just me…
So does integrity, and I don’t see any of that anywhere near Chicago right now.
A John Cage said
“It is no coincidence that music and mushrooms are side by side in the dictionary”
Massive land deal? What’d he do, buy Paraguay?
Consciousness has that effect on me.
Whose crimes these are I think I know.
High on himself and very slow.
Did not detect Fitz listening there,
To conversations about dough.
etc.
ROFL
Snark tage deleted
The land deal was a side lot for a driveway
Rezko bought it then sold to Obama, a transaction Obama has stated he ‘regrets’
No aspersions of value other than possible time value have been made.
ahh ok, sorry, didn’t detect the snark (but I should have) sorry;)
As the nation teeters at the edge of an economic apocalypse, we can’t take very much of this.
I hope Fitz and company recognize what is at stake here and act accordingly. I know that it is not a prosecutors job to exonerate individuals, but these are extraordinary times and if the facts are such that this can be done with Obama, it should be done as soon and as clearly as possible. The lives of millions may depend on it.
Paraguay is still for sale then? Cool! I’ll build a little house on the shoreline.
wtf???? now poor ole j jackson jr has to ’splain himself…..
Fitz already stood up at yesterday’s press conference and pretty much flat out poo poohed connections to Obama when asked about it by reporters. I’m not certain how much more clear you can get than that in terms of what they know at this point.
The only connection that I can see at all is the fact that it was Obama’s old seat that Blago was trying to sell. But, as we’ve seen from the “he’s not really an American citizen” — the say anything to get attention crowd doesn’t give a shit about facts. Now do they?
Hugh;
It is merely a Jerkal Circus … but if we toss in some ‘bread’, then the hoi polloi will, we may suspect, happily, ‘eat’ it up …
Heaven knows that ‘they’ need some ‘distractions’ now that the glittering Sarah has left the stage … and the nation slouches toward depression …
Besides, how might the media better ‘redeem’ themselves?
Are the media, today, not the ‘Froth’ Estate?
1,852 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Hardin Smith and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
I understand how important it is for everyone with a blog-megaphone to push back against the latest smear campaign against Obama and when all this settles Obama is gunna come out lookin’ a whole lot better’n the fascists who are in the process of killin’ off the auto unions and what’s left of the public treasury. But could we start a campaign to address the need to remove One Hung Harry Reid from Senate leadership by giving it a mention on every post from now until the first caucus in the new term?
It seems to me that the Daffy Duck cartoon that is playin out over the Illinois governor is providing perfect cover for a final and maybe fatal Democratic cave-in over the auto bailout…and,as a result, the trivialization of politics and government that is bein’ coordinated thru the corporate media is gunna succeed in welcoming the dog of depression to our Christmas dinner.
So how about a concerted campaign to get Reid outta the Senate leadership…by January 20th Obama and by extension Durbin will be cleared and the Blago cartoon will be in reruns but if Reid is still in leadership the fascists win and we ken strap it up for at least 10 years of economic depression.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE FUCKIN AMMUNITION, ELECTIONS DON’T MEAN ANYTHING UNLESS YA SEND THE BASTARDS TA JAIL!!
repugs jumping thru hoops to indict OB……. 2 memes running for them – no bailout and tie this to OB….
anybody else think JJJr talking too much?
There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Jackson except the statement by Blagojevich and he is not exactly, shall we say, credible.
Jackson has a good record as a congressman, I hope he is eventually cleared of any suspicion.
Always
I have no will power when presented with a donut…
heh!
standard chicago ward politics….. now this is news? jus sayin….
I quit eating donuts a few years back and lost 100 lbs. Actually, there might have been more to it than giving up donuts.
BTW the world has lost a fifth of its coral reefs in the last 20 years. Good thing there is nothing to all that global warming nonsense.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28156581/
New post
Nothing standard about the governor of the 5th largest state (in population) attempting to auction off a U.S. Senate seat.
Until substance appears, I perfer one with more sprinkles and frosting and less donut. And no flavor, just sugar to the maximum, thank you very much. Thanks for link to Isikoff on Maddow’s show. I will watch it after work.
I’ll be at my computer waiting for the sprinkle suger special! :-)
I applaud what he did yesterday. But, as soon as possible, to the extent the facts allow it, he needs to do more. This thread proves that.
This is an extraordinary time in our history. The stakes are as high as any time since Pearl Harbor. We can’t afford a distracted or seemingly tarnished President. To the extent humanly possible, if the facts warrant it, I call on Fitz to explicitly exonerate Obama as soon as possible.
how many pols been to jail from this state??? hmmmm lots – governors if i’m not mistaken……
Oh, I stay away…but when one shows up on the table, mmmmmm.
Not to put too fine a point on it but your original comment made reference to “Chicago ward politics.” Ryan was not a Chicago pol, nor were most of the other former governors who have found themselves behind bars
Especially when it appears (so far) that during this horrible recession none of the candidates for that seat seem to have been willing or able to raise the money Blag needed. What’s Chicago politics coming to when they can’t even find a couple mil to buy off the gov?
There’s not even enough money to pay the governor’s bail.
What is Sidoti hiding? Why won’t he answer questions about his ties to Blagojevich?