Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested this morning by the FBI on federal corruption charges, apparently caught on tape trying to dangle Obama's vacant Senate seat up as a piece of hot real estate to Obama in exchange for money and/or an appointment to his cabinet. A somewhat less important charge involved Blagojevich allegedly trying to get editorial writers at the Chicago Tribune who have been critical of him fired in exchange for help in selling Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs (if you're from the Chicago area like me, you're likely not surprised by any of this).
It is clear that this is more about Blagojevich than it is about Obama, as it seems that Blagojevich was looking for a way out of an untenable situation as governor of Illinois for he had a mere 13% job approval rating and appeared on the verge of impeachment. However, with that said, it is an insult to the intelligence of every American when Obama claims that he "had no contact with Mr. Blagojevich about his former Senate seat, and wasn't aware that the governor was allegedly trying to sell the position."
Really. So Blagojevich made overtures that he was looking for a position in Obama's cabinet to who exactly? And we're also supposed to believe that who Blagojevich named to fill Obama's Senate seat was important to someone other than Obama? Give me a break. How then do you explain comments by David Axelrod on November 23?
Axelrod said, "I know he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."
As expected, there was later a retraction from David Axelrod about what was and wasn't said.
If you read the transcripts of the affidavit (h/t The Smoking Gun), it is clear that Axelrod's original statement is probably true.
And what about this news story? Were they "mistaken" also?
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