Obama’s Intervention Indirectly Led to Case

[Pirate Smile]

Source: New York Times

In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of Barack Obama’s rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.

Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say.

Tipped off to Mr. Blagojevich’s efforts, federal agents obtained wiretaps for his phones and eventually overheard what they say was scheming by the governor to profit from his appointment of a successor to the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Obama. One official whose name has long been mentioned in Chicago political circles as a potential successor is Mr. Jones, a machine politician who was viewed as a roadblock to ethics reform but is friendly with Mr. Obama.

Beyond the irony of its outcome, Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics. It is a world he has long navigated, to the consternation of his critics, by engaging in a kind of realpolitik, Chicago-style, which allowed him to draw strength from his relationships with important players without becoming compromised by their many weaknesses.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/us/politics/10chicago...

[quidam56]

1. Lie, Fraud, Cheat, Steal,Pilfer, Plunder, Destroy.... It's the American way now

Hope this guy ends up in the same prison the other governors ended up in. Too bad there are other more important issues of the day that got lost under this story. Global Warming should come before some grease ball politician. http://www.wisecountyissues.com Change is coming from the bottom up in Appalachia !

[PM Martin]

2. Obama actually did the right thing and in turn brought down.

the Governor.

[babylonsister]

3. Take THAT, GOP! nt

[Sebass1271]

4. whatever... this is the Bush's DOJ. I DONT' TRUST

any of what these ppl do. Why was the governor being recorded on the first place? why where they looking for? Where they looking for Obama to be involved and bring him down even before he takes office?

[truthisfreedom]

5. You can bet they were trying their hardest.

We'd better hope Obama's kept his nose clean. I'd love to believe he has, but everyone's human.

[elleng]

6. Facts here?

'Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say.

Tipped off to Mr. Blagojevich’s efforts, federal agents obtained wiretaps for his phones and eventually overheard what they say was scheming by the governor to profit from his appointment of a successor to the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Obama.'

[Triana]

7. Obama kept his nose clean by doing the right thing. He ensured that THEIR weaknesses

remained THEIRS and that they did not bring HIM down with them. He acted ethically, upheld his principles and was not drawn in or away from them by darker forces of manipulation and greed.

GOOD for Obama.

[depakid]

8. Obama has an almost preternatural ability to be in the right place and do the right thing

at just the right time.

That, alongside being the luckiest politician I've ever seen.

[Triana]

10. Yep. I'm glad he is / will be President.

He won't be perfect but I'm still glad it's him.

[depakid]

11. Given his skills, his intelligence and his luck- I wouldn't want to be a Republican obstructionist

over the next several years....

[No Elephants]

13. Dummya Bush is the luckiest politician I've ever seen. Without brains or integrity, he became a

two term President. Obama deserves to be President. Dummya did not.

[depakid]

14. Being lucky and having a stacked deck are two different things....

[cstanleytech]

9. Blagojevich only has been arrested, he has not however been convicted in a court of law nor

has he been impeached.
I'd like to hear the full tapes though because from what little I have heard from them so far it could be made out by his defense that he meant he would make it pay as in pay via political clout for him and thats not exactly a crime.

[Hubert Flottz]

12. "When Mr. Blagojevich left Congress in 2002, he talked openly...

about the notion of running for president"

I guess he figured if Bush could win anybody could?

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. So the dummy got careless because a deadline was coming?

Did he really think that it was okay to be corrupt before the legislation took place? Does that mean we need similar ethic codes applied to all 49 states?