WHAT DID YOU KNOW AND WHEN DID YOU KNOW IT?
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 10:32PM 
So, let's just reprise. Obama could not have been more clear on his relationship with indicted Illinois Governor Rudy Blagojevich
"I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so I was not aware of what was happening. And as I said it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that I don't think it's appropriate to comment."
But that's not quite the case...
On Nov. 23 David Axelrod, speaking of Obama, said on Fox Chicago:
"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."
So, Obama may think it is inappropriate to comment but perhaps it is more inconvenient to comment? Chicago politics is a snake-pit and Obama is the only politician who has made it to the top of that pit and remained clean. Right?
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Reader Comments (25)
the Mesiah walked across water, Obama walked through a cess pool but nothing touched him....LOL
Well if fitzgerald waste as much time on this case as he did the Plame one it will definitly be fun to watch
David still can't post unless I'm logged in.
The Troll
"I have a scheme"
I was told that I was smearing Obama earlier on other thread when I pointed this out. The willful blindness of Obama's supporters is so irresponsible.
He's just another politician. From Chicago.
From the sounds of it - CNN and MSNBC in particular is going into overdrive trying to distance Obama.
Probably he didn't have anything to do with selling his senate seat - that would be blindingly stupid, and so unnecessary - but I don't believe that he never spoke to the Governor after his election about his seat. He worked to elect the guy. THey live and breathe politics, and I'm supposed to believe that Obama never called or spoke to him?
I would expect journalists to exercise a similar disbelief - instead of this willful blindness - but then most journalist are still very much in the tank for Obama.
Troll, I was unable to post on ATW a couple of years ago, the problem ended when I changed my internet browser, so that might be worth a try.
This Prosecutor is a well-known tiger and has noted that the President-Elect does not figure in this case. If he did Fitzgerald would be the first to take him down.
Do you know who the real victims in all this are? The various imprisoned governors who were hoping for a presidential pardon in January such as George Ryan and Edwin Edwards, Blagojevitch has completely derailed their hopes.
Never has a politician been less scrutinised than Barack Obama. For fear of being labelled "racist" and for fear of a Republican winning the Predidential election, the US and much of the world's press have been shamelessly cheerleading for Obama. The result is a President who may have many skeletons in his closet but who will not be investigated to anything like the same degree as John McCain or Sarah Palin were. The whole affair stinks to high heaven, but to the media Barack Obama smells of roses.
Well he isn't on tape, he isn't the subject of the investigation, the Federal Prosecutor is quite clear about that. But if it is the election results that really bother you, don't worry, there will be another one in four years.
"This Prosecutor is a well-known tiger and has noted that the President-Elect does not figure in this case. If he did Fitzgerald would be the first to take him down."
yeah this is the man that knew the Plame leak came from Armitage and Powell the second day of his investigation into the plame leak yet continued to go over the VPs office until he confused a man on the stand and got one person on a trumped up charge after years and millions investigating.
He sure instills confidence in me...lol
Mahons: and the bag man, Rezco?
How do you explain away that? (Rezco has close connections with both the Gov. and Obama...Obama worked to reelect the Gov. There are many ties between Obams, Rohm, the Gov., and they are deep)
Don't you think a little "discovery" is in order here before you call me a smear merchant, and urge others just to put their trust in Fitzgerald.
Why so incurious?
I reckon Sarah Palin has something, anything, to do with it. I just can't figure out what. Hopefully, the MSM will put their investigative journos on the case.
What we are witnessing before our eyes is the suspension of all critical faculties and the wilful imposition of 'belief': the MSM's belief in the purity of Obama. In exactly the same way as a religious zealot will impose the belief in a deity/prophet upon himself by himself, the MSM are doing likewise to themselves in the name of Obama. It is both funny and frightening, like some parts of religion. The internet is the heretic.
Troll - he wouldn't back off powerful people which is what a good prosecutor would do. I don't expect you to understand, but most people do.
Patty - there are always ties between the top elected officals in the same party of a particular state, that doesn't make them criminal ties, otherwise Palin would be going to jail with Stevens.
I haven't urged anyone to put ALL their trust anywhere. But I have noted that the prosecutor is an aggressive one (in a good way) and has noted that this doesn't involve the President-elect.
The Prosecutor is not a member of the media.
Oh, Mahons, when you finally open your eyes and lose your naive belief in Obama you are going to need a shoulder to cry on, I'm afraid. :(
Reverend Wright knew Obama for 20 years. Believe Wright when he says that Obama is just a politician.
Remember when Bill Clinton said that Obama had the instincts of a Chicago thug?
Politics in Chicago and Obama's meteroric rise is dirty. He did what he had to achieve his ambitions. But idealistic he is not. Principled he is not.
What we are witnessing before our eyes is the suspension of all critical faculties and the wilful imposition of 'belief'
So what? Its merely a fact of life, and one that existed before Obama. Bush got the same treatment through his campaign of 2000. There was also virtually no media dissent during the run up to the war of 2003.
"Bush got the same treatment through his campaign of 2000."
What? You mean CBS, ABC or NBC?
Daytripper: I'm hoping the media will lose all credibility with the public. Soon. Healthy skepticism towards journalists, and politicians will make for a more proactive and informed public.
patty - I don't have an idealized view of Obama. I've happily pointed out where I disagree with him in the past. But he hasn't been linked to any criminal activity in this matter, as you know and would point out if he was a Republican. His real crime to you is that he is a successful Democrat.
I'm hoping the media will lose all credibility with the public.
What credibility? Its you guys who are lagging behind. Most of us realised this years ago.
Healthy skepticism towards journalists, and politicians will make for a more proactive and informed public.
You only do this when it suits.
Healthy cynicism has always been called for.
Even when journalists play it straight, which most of them I think do, they can be wrong, and are subject to the same trends and peer/"expert" influence and zeitgeist bullshit that we all are.
Read far and wide, and go out of your way to listen to your opponents. That's what we all need to be doing.
And with the accelerating terminal decline of print media, there might not be many real media journalists in ten years. You might not even have a NY Times in recognizable form then. Which would not be good, even to those who thrive on complaining about it.
We'll soon only have a bunch of bloggers bellyaching about this and that making reference to less and less original source material. Something to look forward to.
Mahons: Obama's real crime to me is his instinct for socialism.
Regarding my "partisanship":
McCain has better instincts for national defense than Obama - and for this I supported him.
But except for national defense, McCain would not have been any different than Obama. And I would have hated McCain for this, so in some ways I'm glad he lost.
Regarding Bush - Compassionate Conservative (grimace) - I agreed with Bush on Iraq. And I applaud Bush for sticking to his guns (no pun intended) to see us to victory.
But, I disagree with Bush's Social Conservatism activism, his socialist ideas like the medicare drug program, his push for amnesty while ignoring the southern border, and most recently
his fear-mongering promoting the $700 billion dollar bailout. And now...Bush wants to bail out the auto industry. Ridiculous. This is nationalization. Bush - a so-called Republican should know better.
I also hate Bush for his inability to articulate, and his unwillingness to compensate for this flaw. Bush never defends or explains. I also can't stand Condi Rice, Karen Hughes and Bush's soft silly diplomacy which adds up to a big nothing.
I could go on. Most of the Republicans in Congress are no better. They deserve to lose, spending like drunken sailors.
Phantom,
"We'll soon only have a bunch of bloggers bellyaching about this and that making reference to less and less original source material. Something to look forward to."
True. And since almost everything in the blogosphere can be traced to some MSM source (often the BBC), what will be left?
The place will be full of pictures of cats...either somebody's pet, or LOLcats.
Still it will be a break from the rightwing games of 'six degrees of separation from Barack Obama'.
Troll,
Can you give Ross's suggestion a try to see if that is the issue?