What’s Obama Hiding About Blagojevich?
What is most alarming … well, maybe not-so-much considering the source, is the quick reaction to “lie” Barack Obama has to any given situation. His instinct to cover his ass actually, as Pat and I discussed a couple of JKHs ago, is quite remarkably more chronic and acute than Bill Clinton’s was.
And then you factor in Rahm Emanuel and his incessant need to CYA himself … and you have two quite possibly culpable sources either canceling each other out or making one or the other look all the more guilty.
Probably nothing. But by mishandling the scandal, his team has allowed questions to be raised where there were none.
By Joe Conason
While the Blagojevich scandal so far has exonerated rather than implicated Barack Obama and his staff, the president-elect’s camp has made some unnecessary mistakes in response. Inflated and distorted by hostile critics, those mistakes have risked creating public suspicion where there need be none.
When a scandal breaks in the media, the most important aspect of any political response is clarity. Vagueness provokes distrust, which is only intensified by brusque responses to reporters’ inquiries. Innocent fumbles create an appearance of dishonesty or concealment, even when there is none — and inevitably, political opponents distort that false appearance even further to their own advantage.
The impulse to create distance between Obama and Blagojevich was understandable, given their common political roots in Chicago, but was excessive in its zeal and haste. By seeming to suggest that there had been no contact with the Illinois governor about appointing a new senator to replace him, Obama and his aides set up a scenario that could only be punctured by subsequent facts.
Indeed, Obama had every right and reason to be concerned with who might replace him in the Senate — and there was certainly nothing wrong with him or anyone who works for him engaging in discussions of that matter with Blagojevich. But as the scandal emerged, all such contacts suddenly seemed to carry a taint — an impression that Obama seemed to affirm. Reflexively but wrongly, he behaved as if no such discussions had occurred, without quite saying so.
So when the Chicago Tribune reported that Rahm Emanuel had in fact discussed the Senate appointment with Blagojevich or his aides on nearly two dozen occasions, it meant trouble. There is no indication that the incoming White House chief of staff engaged in any illegal or unethical conduct. There is certainly no indication that those contacts were “inappropriate.” But the revelation encouraged every insinuation that Obama and his staff are somehow obscuring the real nature and extent of their relationship with the disgraced governor.
This political problem arose in part because Obama was so eager to appear purer than any politician can actually be. In his initial statements, he sounded as if he was trying to say that he knew nothing at all about the selection of his successor. “I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening,” he told the press, and refused to elaborate.
That remark clarified nothing; today it seems like obfuscation at best and prevarication at worst. Nobody is likely to believe that Emanuel spoke more than 20 times with Blagojevich or the governor’s aide John Harris without informing Obama about those conversations. To insist that he had “no contact” when his top aide was involved in so many contacts is precisely the kind of parsing that undermines confidence.
Yet there should be no need for parsing, because the facts are entirely on Obama’s side. To date, the evidence confirms Obama’s assurance that he and his staff did nothing “inappropriate.” Indeed, he may be unique among Chicago politicians, in that he has been exonerated of wrongdoing not just by a United States attorney but by the alleged criminal, who curses him roundly on tape for unwillingness to “pay for play.”
Moreover, the repeated complaint by the press and the Republicans that Obama and his aides are unwilling to answer questions or release their internal investigation is simply unfair. As the president-elect and his spokespersons have explained more than once, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has urged them to be circumspect, if not utterly silent, while he continues his investigation. Yet the snarking has continued even after Fitzgerald released his own statement confirming that request.
Still, there are legitimate questions that need to be answered — and it is to be hoped that answers will be forthcoming next week, when the Obama team has promised to release its own report on the Blagojevich matter. Under the direction of incoming White House counsel Greg Craig that report is already complete, and found that neither Obama nor his staff had done anything untoward in dealing with Blagojevich.
Presumably that document will include a timeline and summary of all the contacts between Emanuel (and any other Obama representatives) and Blagojevich (or his office). Beyond that basic information, journalists are certain to ask whether, for instance, the president-elect actually changed his mind about promoting top aide Valerie Jarrett for his former Senate seat, who once led his list of “acceptable” nominees, and why. Did resistance from Blagojevich, who seems cold to “Senate Candidate 1″ in the federal wiretaps, have anything to do with it?
A thorough report and a press conference where Obama answers those questions fully and candidly ought to put the Blagojevich scandal to rest, as far as he is concerned. But as president there will be other scandals (and pseudo-scandals) in his future. He seems much too smart not to learn what this episode’s errors can teach him.
So … Now Rahm has gone from 21 “alleged” conversations with Blago to just one?Interesting …
ABC:
Exclusive: Obama’s Blago Report: Only One Rahm Call to Governor
by George Stephanopoulos
Sources tell me that the Obama team’s review of contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will show that Rahm Emanuel had only one phone conversation with Blagojevich.
The contact, described as a “pro-forma” courtesy call, came as Emanuel was named Chief of Staff for Obama. Most of the discussion concerned Emanuel’s Congressional seat (which had previously been held by Blagojevich), with only a “passing reference” to the Senate vacancy, according to these sources. No deal for the Senate vacancy was discussed.
Senate-for-sale case threatens new chief of staff
CHICAGO (AP) - Gov. Rod Blagojevich is legendary in Illinois political circles for not picking up the phone or returning calls, even from important figures like the state’s senior senator, Dick Durbin.
But there was always one call Blagojevich regularly took, say his aides, and that was from Rahm Emanuel - his congressman, his one-time campaign adviser and, more recently - and troubling for Emanuel - one of his contacts with President-elect Barack Obama’s transition staff.
The friendly rapport Blagojevich and Emanuel shared over the years has suddenly become a troubling liability for Emanuel and the new president he will serve as chief of staff.
Emanuel and Obama have remained silent about what, if anything, Emanuel knew of the governor’s alleged efforts to peddle Obama’s vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder.
Emanuel did contact the governor’s office about the appointment and left Blagojevich with the impression that he was pushing Valerie Jarrett, a close Obama friend, so he wouldn’t have to compete with her in the White House for Obama’s attention, said a person close to Blagojevich. The person was not authorized to talk about the governor’s discussions regarding the vacancy and requested anonymity.
It was not clear whether Blagojevich inferred Emanuel’s motive for advocating Jarrett, or whether Emanuel discussed the appointment with Blagojevich directly or with John Harris, the governor’s then-chief of staff who also is charged in the case, according to the source.
Emanuel’s refusal to discuss the matter publicly, and the few comments offered by Obama to date, have prompted questions about Emanuel’s ties to Blagojevich and what fallout he’ll face as the criminal case unfolds, although sources have said he is not a target of prosecutors. Even so, any hint of scandal for Emanuel threatens to tarnish Obama’s promise of new political leadership free of scandal and corruption.
Obama has said he will release a full accounting of his transition staff’s interaction with Blagojevich and his aides over his Senate replacement once he receives the OK from prosecutors sometime this week. Until then, Obama has said it would be inappropriate for him or his aides to comment further.
Prosecutors refer in the 76-page complaint to the governor’s discussions on FBI tapes about a “president-elect advisor,” believed to be Emanuel, but they do not specifically cite contacts with Emanuel or anyone on Obama’s transition staff.
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