Chicago Tribune: Rahm and Blagojevich Staff Talked

Perhaps it was a question of what she herself (Jarrett) wanted? She does get a vote in this, you know. Perhaps she was weighing whether she wanted to stay in Illinois and be a Senator or follow Obama to DC. It would make sense that, if she wanted to be a Senator, she would be one that Obama would “approve”, n’est-ce pas?

Sometimes I wonder whether journalists ever sit and really ponder the “questions” they ask. This ain’t rocket science.

Let the guy eat his waffles.
First no contact means he shook hands.
Now staff contact “may have had” now is repeated conversations not with staff but his Chief of Staff.
Why couldnt he just have told us all this one day 1?

Maybe Ms. Jarrett wanted to distance herself from Chicago politicians?

All this kerfuffle over the fact that, as even the prosecuter admits and the tapes prove, the Obama people DIDN’T play ball with Blagojevich (and, boy, was he mad about it). I’ve never seen a politican hounded like this for NOT doing something wrong.

You guys just have nothing to write about do you?
Valerie Jarret is obviously a very capable woman who shares and has worked towards common goals with PEBO. But are you suggesting that he shouldn’t have even placed her name on a shortlist for Senator just because he wanted her? Perhaps PEBO just wanted to give her the option to move in the direction that she was most interested in without regard to just his desires? Perhaps she did express interest in a senate run once long ago before Obama won the Presidency? But I don’t know…and neither do you. But like so many in the press you’ll try and spin a story out of nothing while staying silent as Bush & Cheney still mock our Constitution on a daily basis. It’s like you are all trying to write a bad soap opera and by bad I mean bad. So much “mainstream” news would be a ridiculous tragicomedy if it were all not so serious.

The Whopper is always best when served up by a d-crat:
hussein: I did not have verbal relations with that man, Gov. Blagojevich.
Clinton: I did not have se*ual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.
Some things NEVER change.

Jake,
If you could had worked the way you are doing now, before going to Iraq war; you could had saved many lives and multi million of dollars.
Did you learn a lesson of not reporting that time, and now you are reporting accordingly???????

Read all the comments…boy all you libs want this story to blow over so bad don’t you……. BUT scooter libby….you libs would’nt let that die ….no sir ree bub… is your own MSM betraying you all….WHATS UPPPPPP………………………………….

The way that the right is already trying to make this nonsense a major problem for Obama, shows just how they are only interested in regaining power, and not helping heal the divide that was 8 years of the worst administration we’ve ever had.
Let’s hope we can all get past this stupidity, and collectively work towards achieving actual changes to better this country – from energy to eductation to health care to unemployment to the environment, etc.
If the GOP meets the left in the middle, and we work as a team to move forward, then we may still have a chance – if instead, they plan to turn everything into a distraction, and start fighting Obama on all issues moving forward, then we will all lose.

Buh-bye, Rahm. No Hope for you.

You have to talk to the governor of Illinois about who will fill your senate seat. That is common sense. The deal making was all Blagonovichs scheming without Obama’s team knowing about anything being underhanded.

jake,
spin, spin, spin. anything to sell your product. you must be very proud.

Vinnie,
“if instead, they plan to turn everything into a distraction, and start fighting Obama on all issues moving forward, then we will all lose.”
Bingo! That’s why they need to keep ‘em stupid and distracted. They don’t like education, fair labor, fair wages or compassion for others. I don’t know why they consider ‘passion’ important when it is clear they have no compassion for others or our nation as a whole.
Oh, I found the Olbermann website, but I can’t find the blog for it. Anybody? Help me, please!

According to the republicans, ‘take your first shot’ at organized labor that protects Americans against slavery. Wow! The republicans have evolved into a bad, bad thing.
Help me find another blog, please! I’ve found fivethirtyfive, but I’d like a major news source’s blog. The word news is NOT used lightly here.

I have faith in Rahm. Once he got talking to Blago and realized what the game was, he brought it as fast a conclusion as he could politely manage. Then, he called his lawyer and together they ran ran ran as fast as ever they could to the U.S. Attorney to report a probable crime and to file an affidavit. Right? How could Rahm do anything other than the Right Thing? he’s a Congressman, after all.

Hey Liz – The media needs to stop stirring up . . .” I am not picking on you but I’d like to point out I did not hear any complaints when Palin was being accused of going to church, and for wardrobe shopping, and for building a $10 voter approved sports center. Which was more petty? Also, I think McCain and Palin handled the media ghetto-journalism much better than Obama and Emanuel who whine everytime they get asked a question.

They want so badly for Obama to be just like them. Greedy, selfish and morally
bankrupt. But sorry confederates he is
NOT.

Vinnie said “If the GOP meets the left in the middle, and we work as a team to move forward, then we may still have a chance – if instead, they plan to turn everything into a distraction, and start fighting Obama on all issues moving forward, then we will all lose.”
Well, where was this magnanimus attitude during the Bush presidency? Obama should be treated exactly as Bush was. That means everything gets blown out of proportion and is played to gain political advantage. That is the lesson the libs have taught everyone for the last eight years and generally for the the last twenty eight years since Reagan. To now whine that your guy is getting some of the same is pathetic.

Maybe the Chicago Mob bosses figured they should not let this go any further so they did dropped a dime and called Rahm.

>They want so badly for Obama to be just like them.
Obama is either
a) dirty
b) a gutless career climber choosing not to fight against the corruption when he was an IL senator or even a US senator
c) the dumbest president yet.
None of these are appealing

I care about two things right now?
A: What about the economy?
B: What about a constituional amendment that ends quid pro quo politics of any kind?
And just out of human interest, are you squirming about that second question?

The Republican’s idea of smart politics these days is to permanently write off the industrial states by telling the auto industry to drop dead.
And the democratic idea is to have the government that cant balance its own budget wants to take over everything making you have to go to them to ask if you can go to the toilet.
They want you to be totally depedant on them. What you get is what you are given. This is the exact opposite of what the country was founded on and what made it great.

This Blagojevich- Emanuel conversations smell awful. Awful. Awful for Obama´s credibility. If Obama wants to star his presidency with credibility and the favor of people, he needs to get rid of Emanuel right now.

I believe ChicagoBob is on to something. Why did the prosecutor stop the investigation before the idiots that were open to paying a bribe to Blags were caught? Did the prosecutor purposefully stop the investigation to prevent Rahm from trying to make an illegal deal? This is very odd that a prosecutor would just stop an investigation when several people at least showed some interest in breaking the law.
Also, Obama showed industrial strength stupidity in trying to lie about the contact he and his staff had with Blags. If he is making these types of rookie mistakes already his adminstration is doomed to failure.

The media needs to stop trying to smear Obama with this mess.
The media has not even gotten started investigating Obama. They were in love the idea of Obama. Now they are looking at Emil Jones and the Mob run Chicago and going OOOPS maybe he isnt what we thought. Maybe we should have done our jobs earlier instead of fawning all over Obama.

How about she CHANGED HER MIND!!!!
Ms. Jarrett, has every right to do just THAT!!!!
CASE CLOSED!!

Hey Jake,
Fox News called, they think you’re on the ball and would fit in nicely over there. PLEASE TAKE THEM UP ON IT! Whenever I click on a story trying to falsely make Obama look bad, I know I’ll see your smirking face on it.

Rahm as chief of staff would have talked to the gov. He’s from Chicago too. The point is, the only person who expected a deal is Blago. I mean, ABC has a story about teens and a certain type of…hmmm…behavior. Does this mean ABC is a sex site? In this column’s logic, yes it is.

>How about she CHANGED HER MIND!!!!
ROFL.
You dont request to be Senator
lightly. I doubt she changed her mind.
More than likely.
A) She didnt have the cash
or
B) She was tipped off

Vinnie, Best Post Here Todaay!

Obama hid Emanuel the next day.
He has been hiding every since.
Interesting isnt it? He did not go to
press conferences. He did not make
any comments. Its not the norm.
Obamas several years in IL politics and NOT once did he spend time to work against corruption and pay to play.
WOW.. Thats a guy that is not in this as a business. Businesses have no morals only adgendas of profit.
Seems like Obamas only goal was Obama and still is while he calls us to serve?
WHERE was Obama when we needed him to fight against the massive IL corruption.

Does anybody else see all this Blago minutia as an opportunity to end Murdoch’s madness? If Murdoch can bankrupt your retirement accounts by reporting only what will benefit him, doesn’t he deserve to know who REALLY holds the key to growing our nation?
During the presidential campaigns, Murdoch openly stated his expectations that the media would create drama-filled ‘news’ to distract you. Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal, too, thereby offering pseudo business market analysis (cut and paste).
Like Moody’s, Murdoch needs to *get where we’re coming from, yes?
Historically, once the world knows you’re a sham/tabloid, you’re stuck in that horrible abyss forever more.
Respect is easy to lose when you sell out decency. Jake, you paying attention?

Some of you need to read more carefully before your post. Obama said that 1) he did not have any contact with Blago and that 2) he was confident that no one on his staff was involved in any deal making.
Despite the frenzied assumptions that are being made, there’s nothing here to suggest that RE did anything but transmit a list of candidates that Obama found “acceptable.”
BTW – Someone can’t resign from an office he hasn’t assumed. Someone can’t be impeached from an office he hasn’t been sworn into.

Yes Vinnie’s post was positive but this page demonstates yet again that Republicans won’t work with anybody and can’t be trusted to be fair about anything. Our best course of action is to keep voting them out of office till they just haunt the airwaves. Freedom of speach is still one of our principles so they are entitled to that. We must be dedicated to preventing the corporate stooges from turning the government back over to big business (with the results we’ve all clearly seen but Republicans will never admit to) under the platform of Fear and Greed.

Brooklyn Democrat,
“Despite the frenzied assumptions”
They are not frenzied assumptions. They are the makings of Jake’s forward movement to elect himself the next Hannity or Limbaugh. After all, journalistic sell-outs are the ones making the loot!
I hope Obama imposes a tax on all ‘news’ organizations that misreport facts knowingly — no matter their reason for doing so.
Granted, this particular article by Jake on the make is not one that qualifies. UNLESS, you consider that ABC radio reported differently than ABC Jake while both were privy to the same intel. NOW, Jake points out with this article the dates. Dates matter, but he conveniently left them out in prior reporting pieces (See media matters).
Jake, like his ABC-radio comrades knew about the facts, but only one of them reported factually. Notch down on ethical reporting in my opinion.
Gotta eat is no excuse for misleading the public!

It’s not at all unusual for an outgoing CEO to help choose a successor. Assuming, that is, that the CEO is leaving on after a successful stint, and presumably has a great deal of insight and value to contribute to the process. So, in and of itself, I see nothing wrong with Rahm Emanuel consulting on the issue. At the risk of being a bit snarky, I will observe, however, that Obama has done little but run for the presidency since taking office, and so probably has little of actual value to contribute to the process.

Look, Obama’s a product of his environment.
That said, he doesn’t know where he belongs.
In Indonesia at a “madrasa” eh…seminary school.
Or in the Chicago Gutter er…Legislature.
Or the Senate…
Or ….where is my blankee….

Republicans won’t work with anybody and can’t be trusted to be fair about anything.
>>
ROFL.. Thats the funniest thing said yet. Obama surrounds himself with Democratic Bomb throwers like Dachle Rahmbo etc.. Republicans wont work with anybody. The problem with Republicans is they tried to be fair and give a little but democrats look at that as being weak and stab you in the back ASAP.
Lets look at the democratic record.
Completely democraticly run.
1) Chicago Murder capitol
2) Schools in disarray even though thousands are spent per student.
3) Roads a mess even though we spend tons on roads but spend nothing on mass transit to reduce the congestion.
4)The suppression of Free Speech. Who was Blago talking to fire the columnists?
5) Corruption. We have the Mob running the city. You have alderman in jail all the time. Precint captains to keep the population in line.
You have pay to play look like nothing until you realize they wont even pay the bills unless they get kickbacks.
If you as a normal citizen stand up and fight and your garbage doesnt get picked up or they start a water pipe project in front of your house. Maybe even a little tree triming to cut down your tree.
I beg the Invetigative reporters
draw the chart like they do Mob charts. We all know whos on top. Daley is the capo dei capi.

Rahm Emanuel, DID NOT do anthing wrong and should remain President-elect Obama’s Chief of Staff!!!
The problem is Blago and Jackson!!!!
CASE CLOSED!!!

Dems:
I agree!!!
Everybody should be waiting to see what Blago has to say!!!!

“while no one is alleging…”, “this does not mean…”
Exactly what is the point of the artical then? I guess the accepted rules for proper journalism do not apply to articles created for blogs.

we’ve seen sect rice get promoted for covering up for bush right in everyone’s face. why is there so much to do about nothing. if the stupid feds were smart, they would have waited until they had more proof of involment; but they just sounded the alarm; therefore was nothing really done except vulgar language of a gov expressing his opinion out loud. i feel that the feds should have waited until they had more proof; but when they saw obama not biting; they chose to get the gov instead. like prison torture, going after criminals and setting traps for people should be governed by rules and regulations as well. shucks…if they kept tappng my phone or sending people to entice me for a period of time, might come up with some garbage as well. people’s privacy laws need to be protected and if a so called free country, we are afraid to even talk because our privacy laws are being destroyed. I feel the feds, the gov’t and who ever is involved in spying on someone should be thrown in jail. nothing was said about the order given as to what they was supposed to be looking for. even a search warrent has specifics; but not wire tapping or demostic spying. You can’t just spy on someone until you get some juicy stuff on them. What was the feds looking for, should only be admissible in court.

Dems – Yep it does seem to get more interesting by the day. I am not saying that your hero Obama is guilty of anything, and I think he probably isn’t but who knows. I have no love for either party. I am just an observer.

roscoe02,
“Common Sense— sorry to disapoint you”
Er, you didn’t. Food’s on my family’s table with or without Obama’s 1, 2, 3, or 4 days pondering and investigating. Wouldn’t you say that is much better than ‘off the cuff’ remarks like ‘the fundamentals of our economy are sound’ and ‘the workers are the fundamentals of our economy’ (while Southern republicans fight AGAINST the American workers)?

I can’t believe that all you folks are insinuating that “the one” had anything to do with this. He is lily white innocent in all of this. He was part of the Chicago political machine, but he is the ONLY one out of all of them that is truly, genuinely for the people and has integrity. He made his 750million legally for his campaign. Yeah right!!

please!
You want Emanual to go for NOT agreeing to deal with Blago? HE DID THE RIGHT THING.

Why is this article no longer on ABC News’ front page? Not even a related article on an existing article on the front page, not on the Politics page, not on the US page, can’t even find it searching the various sections on their main site. What’s up with that?

T,
Emmanuel should go if he refused to deal AND DID NOT REPORT IT TO THE AUTHORITIES. Although it is not a crime to not report a crime (which is why I stressed ethical not legal dilemma), if he, as a close advisor to the man about to be inaugurated as President simply said “I won’t play” and washed his hands of it, still leaving the door open for Blago to “sell the seat” to someone else is ETHICALLY WRONG and is not the message the Obama administration wants to send to the American public. “I personally won’t do it, but I won’t stop anyone else from doing it” is no way to “change politics” (which is what Obama says he wants to do) and is not the “change” the American public supposedly voted for.

>which is why I stressed ethical not legal dilemma.
I agree the taint they talk about isnt a legal problem but it is an ethical problem. When you lead a country from the bully pulpit you need moral authority. The president doesnt right laws nor does he appropriate money that is to be spent. He has the power of the veto and the bully pulpit.
If you become tainted as Bush did due to his weak and confused second term in office your voice no longer has strong relevance.

There is no need for any conversations between Rahm and Blago to be sinister. It could very well have been a simple expression of Obama’s wishes regarding Jarret to replace him in the Senate. That’s pretty routine in these matters.

I think Obama’s motto of “yes we can” fits perfectly.
Can we buy a house that there is no way we can afford based on our salary – Yes we can! (if your Obama and you live in Chicago)
Can we lie about the contacts between Obama and his staff to Blags? Yes we can!
Can we get the press to buy any lie just because were Democrats? Yes we can!
Can we bring Chicago style corruption and stupidity to Washington? Yes we can!
Can we refuse to answer legitimate questions about this building scandal? Yes we can!
Can we dress up politics as usual and call it change? Yes we can!

James,
Quit listening to Rush and try to have an original thought.

Common Sense — If it takes Odrama this long to figure who on his staff said what to whom—— let’s hope he never get’s a 3am crisis call! Oh, but that’s right, the call won’t come to him, it’ll come to Hillary, and she’ll simply ask Slick Willie what to do since she’s already aware Odrama won’t be able to respond!

It appears to me that the spin-doctors, the media owners, and the others that persecuted Clinton; while granting bush a free pass to comittee any crimes his administration pleased are going to shadow, try to embarasse, and haunt Obama in preperation for the next races. I am sure that soon Obama fatigue will set in. Vush hid most of his dirty deals by leaving the country, acting stupis, and commenting on a a matter after it was public knowledge. The money is on the line; and you can bet that the poor will be abused, conned, badgered, and ridiculed, Trationally, those who rebelled were worse off than before after the rebellion was over.

FACT: This scandal broke Tuesday. It is Saturday night, and Obama has yet to make full disclosure on what his staf did/did not know and/or say with whom.
CONJECTURE: Obama is trying to figure out how to “spin” a bad situation/Obama can’t get a handle on his staff/Obama is taking his time and thoroughly investigating the actions of everyone in his staff so he can make full disclosure.
CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE? Quit trying to put words in his mouth or attribute intent to his actions. We don’t know all of the facts yet. Quit being so quick to rush to judgment (either way).
At best, we could say something along the lines of, “It’s been almost a week since this scandal broke, and Obama still hasn’t made full disclosure on what his staff knew or didn’t know about this, and that concerns me. It makes it seems like he’s trying to hide something.” Or maybe, “I hope that he makes full disclosure soon. I don’t think he or his staff were involved in this, but I’d like to confirm it with the facts.” But I guess that wouldn’t give you the emotional release of anonymously ripping into someone who has a different opinion than you do.

Emanuel and Obama did nothing wrong.they are clean and pure as the whitest snow.

For the record…I did NOT vote for Obama and I totally disagree with most, if not all, of his politics. However, I am not going to vilify him based on pure conjecture and speculation. I would ask all of you if you are so blinded by your politics and opinions to pre-judge someone by assuming all of the facts (I would argue that Bush-haters fall in this category, too, as they seem to always try to pin even the most complex issues that have many facets solely on Bush). Oh, but I digress; I guess I, too, am guilty of getting off topic. I put myself on report :)

Sandy said “Emanuel and Obama did nothing wrong.they are clean and pure as the whitest snow.”
Well maybe as clean and pure as the snow under a huge dog that just lifted it’s leg.

The republicans are very smart in making people keep their minds on 1 thing, while something else is going on. Let’s not forget about Gov Palin who was found G U I L T Y, of abusing her authority. But nah, let’s focus the attention on the Dems, and at the same time cause friction for losing the election. Grow up feds, you should be going after Cox, Paulson, Bush, Cheney, and corporations which are taking away jobs and money from America.

I think that for a candidate who ran on a platform of transparency we are entitled to more then we are getting. I did vote Obama and i feel duped. While I am certain he didnt play ball he should’ve turned him in.
This reminds me of Elliot Spitzer who threw the book at so many yet crumbled under the same standards he set for others.
I guess its much easier to be a critic from the sidelines. But when youre in it, its tough.

Well,
I’m neither democrat nor republican – I believe what I’ve read in the past: Abraham Lincoln (Republican) won the nomination for the presidency through some dirty political “help” when the issue was waving in the wind. John F. Kennedy was said to have received “paid for help” from the State of West Virginia that put him over the top. Both of these men did good things for this country. I think the issue at hand is ourselves. We’re getting about as good as we’ve given. “let him that is without sin cast the first stone.”

A vigorous witch-hunt for shadows and vapors and much ado about nothing…yep typical frivolous right-wing antics, minus the shock and awe. It’s great to be an American.

I hope Obama doesn’t take this long to make up his mind and act if the Russian’s start acting up. Can you imagine Obama managing the Cuban Missile Crisis? No? Neither can I

When will the Radical Right realize that its propaganda machine is need of an overhaul? Casting doubts and dispersions is a one-trick pony. Really. Not that anyone is truly listening…

There is a common saying, ” Bird’s
of the same feather flock’s together.
What can people expect, Chicago has
the history and known for corruption.
Any politician who sleeps with Dogs
will surely gets the Fleas. Someone
revealed about a special Hand-shake in
Chicago. Their hands with palm up,
Meaning ” Where is Mine ” or the Mafia
Motto, I Scratch your back, You
Scratch mine, And, everytime Some
body do you a Favor, There is always a
pay back in the future. I think, the
Chicago Governor was asking the Dues
owes to him. which He believe, he
deserve the compensation. He has
planted some seeds, and it is time to
sow the fruit of his Labor. The chicago
corruption will never stop, as long as
those people will keep on patronizing
and supporting the Mafia operation,
to advance in Political gain or to
enrich themselves. This is a Taint,
that will completely Tarnish the image
of Politicians and Government official.
The peoples Trust, Respect & Loyalty,
will be very hard to earn in the
future election. This is very very sad.
This only shows, People will be feeling
lost, like sheeps, knowing not being
able to trust the person, who will lead
the Flock. I am appalled of what has
happened with a lot of people. They
have lost their decency and have cling
to immorality. They have sold their
soul to Greed and corruption. My wish,
is a 180 degrees turn in peoples
attitude, To start a New Year, a New
beginning, a New life. A sound and
prosperous Economy, Jobs for un-
Employed and Peace for the whole world.

rep or dem, doesn’t matter. They must be held to higher standards. If the average american does something illegal, they deserve punishment. If the foul ball is a result of an elected official, they should be punished far more strictly. No plea bargain and mandatory maximum sentence. Why should it be any other way. I’m so sick of corruption in our government. Let’s clean this stinking place up. Let’s see which politician votes against such “changes” If any politician disagrees, why?

seah 9:25:50 hit the nail on the head. Funny how the fact that Emanuel contacted Harris first seems to be glossed over. Why use a cell phone? I know that it’s illegal to call a legislator’s office for anything having to do with money-or a campaign unless it’s their campaign office. If Emanuel was on the up and up, maybe he should have called the Governor’s office. He did call-after it was bugged. Fitzgerald’s been trying to get Blagojevich since before he was elected the 2nd time-but just recently he starts bugging him?? Isn’t it true that Blagojevich tried to get rid of Fitzgerald several years ago and there was bad blood even before Tony Rezko?
The Obama team’s just saving their rear ends because they approached Blago first. And face it, who are people most likely to believe? PS…Obama’s guy contacted the Governor’s guy before the election for a “favor” and then uninvited him to the election night celebration. Fact.

All politicians make deals when replacing someone. That’s what politicians do. That’s exactly why Obama and his man were talking to the governor. That’s why lobbyists talk to politicians. They make deals for money. That’s why Obama wants Bill Clinton’s donor list. Hillary is the deal for the money. That’s why Obama went for public donations. He made deals for money. Rush to impeach the governor. That’s a political deal because they can’t convict him in a criminal deal.

Everybody knows that Rahm, being a highly ethical man, placed in a postion of immense trust by Barack Obama, would never do anything that even suggested anything but utmost probity. As soon as he realized that Blago, whom he hardly knew (har), was up to a felonious scam, he ran to a U.S. Attorney and filed an affidavit detailing what he knew. Have faith, Democrats. Would Barack Obama have chosen Rahm if he didn’t have absolute faith in his judgement?

The wrong-turn right-wing troops are out in force…shouting unwashed untruths, silly wishful proselytizing, and unbridled loathing…Christmas is back with a vengeance. Amen.

Obama’s team tried to shut down opposing opinions voiced on St. Louis radio….no news coverage.
Obama claimed he did not hear Rev. Wright’s words…MSM accepted that.
Obama said he didn’t have many contacts with ACORN, Ayres, Rezko, ….MSM accepted that.
So why is the MSM reporting these stories of what Obama knew and when?
They are covering their butts, because there absolutely no investigative reporters during the campaign, just reporters with tingles going up their leg!

“Maybe you should spend less time criticising Obama and more thinking about why you haven’t accomplished more with your life”
Just offering some constructive advice for the people writing here.

That last question is just stupid. Valerie Jarrett was on the list because she was both interested in the Senate position and being in Obama’s White House. Thus the Obama team submitted her name.
I don’t think that is a big deal.

“The penalty should be death. This is treason at the very least. Betraying your country for personal gain is treason.”
Even though I am critical of the Republicans — for squashing any controls on the hedge funds and investment banks as they pushed their now toxic “mortgage asset backed securities” and “default credit swaps”, both of which provides a near limitless place to fence low quality mortgages — I think that Infidel goes too far here.

“The press had far more intellectual curiosity about whether Trig was actually Sarah’s baby than they do in something like this.”
Drjohn,
Perhaps some in the press are mindful of the false accusations against Steven Hatfill regarding the anthrax murders.
This is what Hatfield’s lawyer had to say about it, after the Justice department reached a multi-million dollar settlement with the guy:
“Our government failed us, not only by failing to catch the anthrax mailers but by seeking to conceal that failure,” Hatfill’s lawyers said in a statement. “Our government did this by leaking gossip, speculation, and misinformation to a handful of credulous reporters.”
The credulous reporters, in this case, took a fact-free allegations of wrongdoing and published them as if they were proven.
PS. Sarah Palin will always be known as the QUEEN OF PORK.

Folks,
The larger issue here is this:
How many people actually knew what Obama was really all about before voting for him? How many people actually had all the pertinent facts about both candidates and their VP picks? There was more scrutiny about Sarah Palin in one month than there ever was about Obama’s beliefs and his past, and a lot of that scrutiny about Ms. Palin looked pretty biased and downright petty.
Zogby recently polled a sampling those who voted for Obama. The poll found that a majority of them did not know the issues very well. They even thought that the supposed quote from Sarah Palin that she could “see Russia from her house” was true. I do not blame the people who were polled for this; I blame the mainstream media.
The late Peter Jennings once said that it was his job to interpret the news for his audience. How many in our media believe the same thing? That to me is scary.
I am not saying that this is true, but what if it turns out a large part of Obama’s inner circle are a bunch of thugs? How could would that be for our country?
The fault for all the misinformation and all the bias in the past presidential campaign lies with the mainstream media. We are a great country, and we deserve to have unfiltered information on which to base our votes and our decisons as an electorate. What we need to do is demand a responsible, unbiased media, one that is up to the level of the American people, one that we deserve.

“What we need to do is demand a responsible, unbiased media, one that is up to the level of the American people, one that we deserve.”
Thanks to the surveillance state Obama voted FOR, nobody’s in a good position to demand ANYthing, especially “unbiased media”.
Besides, writers are a dime a dozen, with writers who can read AND write worth maybe a nickel more.
A citizenry not in a coma of incomprehension would have rushed out to tear up the freeways and block entry to “public” buildings on the very day The CHANGEling named Biden VP. But better late than never.

“A citizenry not in a coma of incomprehension would have rushed out to tear up the freeways and block entry to “public” buildings on the very day The CHANGEling named Biden VP. But better late than never.”
Now I understand.
Bella Starr == Blind Sour Grapes
Bella, did you vote? You were certainly entitled to do so. But when did you decide that *your* judgement was the only one that matters?
Maybe Hillary should have been the candidate. Or if not that, then maybe Hillary should have been the V.P. But other people had the right to have their vote count too.
So far the only thing this Preident elect has done is put together the best cabinet in living history. And for that you criticize him. What a jerk.

” … blind hate.”
Many who’ve followed the mob-friendly messiah’s decidedly UN-democratic rise to power have their eyes wide open.
Here’s hoping Fitzgerald and friends stay healthy, and manages to run the whole nest — of whom figure-head Obama, with his willingness to sell out the poor and black while touting his own marginal blackness, IS the most repellent — off a cliff.

MSM: Pres Elect Obama, can you tell us about your involvement in the pay to play scandal?
BHO: Well…first let me make this perfectly clear…ah…I…ah only new Rahm Emanual from some…ah …projects we worked on together. He is a guy that just happened to be from the same state and city as me. In fact…ah…he was introduced to me by…ah…Bill Clinton and I am sure Ronald Reagan would have approved of that introduction. What we need to do is to step back and …ah… let the process here…ah…work to make sure we allow…ah transparency and we will find that the Bush administration is…ah and we don’t won’t to… ah start pointing fingers here but if they are involved in this then we need to know.
MSM: Okay thank you Pres Elect Obama.
There you have it folks.

@ 1 Softball: good one! :^)

What Obama said regarding Blagovich:
“Now, I’m also aware of your interest in the matter of the Illinois Senate appointment. Let me say that I was as appalled and disappointed as anybody by the revelations earlier this week.
I have never spoken to the governor on this subject. I’m confident that no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat. I think the materials released by the U.S. attorney reflect that fact.
I’ve asked my team to gather the facts of any contacts with the governor’s office about this vacancy so that we can share them with you over the next few days.
Finally, on this matter, let me say that this Senate seat does not belong to any politician to trade. It belongs to the people of Illinois, and they deserve the best possible representation.
They also deserve to know that any vacancy will be filled in an appropriate way so that whoever is sent to Washington is going to be fighting for the people of Illinois. I hope and expect that the leaders of the legislature will take these steps to ensure that this is so.”
You have never heard such a concise, straight forward, intellegent response from George Bush.
Thank God, a better president will be in the Whitehouse Jan 21st.

an abc poster quotes The CHANGEling:
“[The people of Illinois] also deserve to know that any vacancy will be filled in an appropriate way … ”
Whenever Obama — who managed to buy the Democratic nomination and the presidency that came with it this year, and is now unconvincingly “appalled” at the sale of a single Senate seat — says “appropriate”, which is way too often, it’s apparently supposed to signal a shut-down of the media’s remaining critical faculties.
The harder they come, the harder they fall.

“Just woorrrds just speecchhes” to quote a famous Pres. Elect

“So what happened to Obama’s promises to undo FISA and the Patriot Act?”
To quote poster 1 Softball, “Just woorrrds just speecchhes”.
The surveillance state is just Chicago, writ large. And with their newly-claimed PEBO powers, just IMAGINE what info the tinhorn tyrants of the “Obama” organization are collecting/suppressing at their ever-multiplying “interactive” websites.

Of course they talked. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t know anything about Chicago politics.
Rahm Emanuel took over Blago’s seat when Blago became governor. IT’s the Chicago patronage system.
Obama’s into the system up to his neck too. He won’t talk because he doesn’t want one thing to lead to another. HE’s trying to walk away. However, trying to walk away from teh Chicago patronage system is like trying to walk away from the Mafia. HIs saving grace politically is that these guys all want a crony in the white house, so it’s interesting to see who says what about whom. Very funny.
Get a clue.

What you say about Independents running things is true, Dems. I’m one of those Independents.
With Independents, a little bit of nastiness is de rigeur, not a problem. With Independents, performance is all.
Your man in Washington had better perform the way he said he would or we don’t elect him next time. That’s the bottom line. MOst Independents are not paying any attention to some little old film the Republicans have made–that’s for Republicans.

It is now apparent to me, at least, that PEBO just passed through Illinois on time, had the car window down and they threw the key to his Senate office into the car! Knows nothing, never was really affiliated with his church, the political machine or his neighbors.
He is primarily a citizen of the world.
I am glad that this is finally cleared up – once and for all.

Choice b)
“he darned well knows better, which is almost certainly true and he played a part.”
Is certainly the better of the two for him, and for us as well, even though it’s truthful and might get him into hot water.
Who wants a Manchurian candidate????

midwestlady looks like you have been talking to yourself for a while,
well i have something to say to you.
you talk about obama, and seem to want right to be done. etc,etc.
don’t you think it would be justice for bush to be brought up on war crimes?
that would be justice.
no wmd,no osama, lie, lie, lie,
bush for war crimes.

“I did not speak to the governor about these issues. That I know for certain.”
Isn’t this just the strangest sentence “That I know for certain” to use after a declarative sentence. It is as if he is very concerned about us (or him) believing him. I mean its weird. Who talks like that?
Lets have Blago, Stevens, Franks, Cunningham, and Dodd kllled for treason and be about our business. I am disgusted with politicians. They betray us at every turn.
Obama seems to have quite an interesting cast of characters to associate with. I sure hope he isn’t one of those apples who doesn’t fall far from the tree.
INfidel>
INFIDEL>

Just how much payoff did blago get from the anti-smoking lobby to rush threw the illinois smoking ban……..and destroyed the livelihoods and reduced state revenues by this draconian law based upon fradulent science.READ osha on the second hand smoke issue,they claim it harms nobody…..but yet big pharam and robert wood johnson foundation make money off the state selling cessation drugs. they do it in every state that passes a statewide ban.

Belle Star…Because Obama would not and did not trade anything with Gov. Rod.”
How could Rod knows this if he never had contact with Obama and/or his people?
buh-bye, Rahm………….
And you really believe every word that proceedieth out of his lying mouth. His ah words ah tell ah you ah that he is making it up as he goes for fear he will be found out. You people are so gullible. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Obama is supposedly a lawyer and speaks lawyer lingo. “I never….” Doesn’t mean one of his staff didn’t talk to the governor about the senate seat with Obama’s full knowledge. Anyone who believes these Chicago crooked politicians need to take their head out of the toilet….Chicago politics at its best. corruption after corruption.

The answer to these questions is simple: Baloney. Republicans will manufacture reasons to criticize Obama.

Chicago has a long record of producing sleazebag, corrupt politicians.
Axelrod told the nation a few weeks ago that Obama had, in fact, spoke with Blago. Suddenly, Axelrod does a 180, saying Obama didn’t talk to Blago.
Bottom line? Obama rose to power by playing ball with Chicago politicians. Those who don’t pay in Chicago don’t play in Chicago.
The only CHANGE we’re going to see out of the Obama camp is America more quickly spiraling down the tubes.

Google “Another Chance at Compensation” That is something to talk about!

Who cares? Do republicans really think this is the start of their comeback? Not after the way they treated auto industry working people trying to keep their jobs.What a bunch of bottom feeders.

I told you so months ago but you erased my post.
You really can’t take a punch !!!!

How much are we going to allow to be justified with BS America?
How many more media lies will we believe.
When will the political officials be held accountable for their Lies and be removed by US the voters?
Will “We The People” ever take control of our country back from the corruption that now controls it?
Are we to remain passified for ever?
Obama LIED BEFORE IN
OFFICE
Bush LOST IT
Clinton LIED MULTIPLE TIMES
AND
DESTROYED THE MORALITY AND CREDIBILITY FOR THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
What is next?
By the way you auto works making $75.00/hr
be careful in the re distribution of wealth your jobs do not get move to MS,LA or AK where they can hire 3 people to replace you. This will create jobs, 3 to 1. This will re distribute the wealth, your considered rich by the dem’s you make more then $120,000.00 a year. If your Magic Obama does this you just may have voted yourself out of a job. He will live up to his commtments and look like a Dem hero.