Something stinks about this Blagojevich story. Sorry, but I just don't buy that things are as simple as the federal prosecutor claims they are.
Already the wing-nuts are accusing Obama or his chief aide David Axelrod of lying about whether or not Obama talked with/met with Blagojevich. They see this as an opportunity to taint the upcoming inauguration of the new president. Prior to this arrest, they tried other ways to tarnish his reputation, just as they did Bill Clinton even before Clinton was sworn in. They have used Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, and Tony Rezko to try to diminish his popularity and good reputation. And now that Blagojevich has been accused of trying to sell Obama's senate seat, they are trying to imply that somehow Obama was in on it, or that he is now lying about it. This, even though Blagojevich is allegedly heard on tape calling Obama a crude name because all he would give Blago for appointing Obama's preferred candidate was "appreciation."
Obama is being attacked because maybe he spoke to the governor about the senate seat. Well, I'm sure Hillary Clinton has talked to David Patterson about her senate seat. Or she will in time. And more to the point, a lot of senators talked to Ted Stevens in the days, weeks and months before his corruption conviction. Does that taint them? Talking is not a crime.
So I am simply asking this: why did Patrick Fitzgerald come out with this now, in such a spectacular way, and why read excerpts of the taped conversations? Most high profile people are not woken up by the FBI and handcuffed at their estate. Their lawyers are notified and they turn themselves in. This was intended to get as much media attention as possible. Why?
Why read the tape transcripts at a press conference? Isn't this something you usually present to a jury and not the public so that you don't taint the jury pool?
There is some motive behind this that I don't quite understand. Perhaps the prosecutor is hoping he can put pressure on Blago who will make a deal with him and spare everyone the spectacle of a trial. That's the only good option I can think of. The other options are that Fitzgerald is playing with the Republican play book and trying to taint Obama by having such a high profile arrest of someone tangentially connected to Obama, or just the opposite. Perhaps Fitzgerald was playing with the Dems and doing a favor for Obama by trying to get Blago out of the business of appointing Obama's successor. Any appointment by a governor who was under investigation and soon to be arrested would be tainted in itself, the appointee probably likely to lose the next election. So maybe Obama wanted this to happen to get Blago to resign and let his successor choose Obama's replacement.
Time will tell, but in the meantime, the media and the wing nuts are out in force, milking the story dry. Already I'm sick of it.
