Rod Blagojevich: Criminal

What amazes me out of this whole story, is the near immediate attempt by the right to tie Obama to this. Everything from hints that he's somehow involved in it all, to simply implying he's a child of the same 'Chicago Politics', and will end up doing the same thing.

The disconnect from reality by these people is amazing, so let's look at the facts.

In the Blagojevich incident, he was, as it was aptly put "on a crime spree" it wasn't merely trying to sell Obama's senate seat, but everything from trying to surpress the press, to trying and pull funding from a CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, because they wouldn't give him a $50,000 contribution. So to try and tie it to Obama, you'd need to try and tie it to a children's hospital, and the Tribune as well, otherwise you're just being dishonest.

Secondly, is Obama involved? Yes, but not how they want you to think. There are tapes of '7' senate candidates for his seat - only one of which (number 5) seems to have done anything grossly unethical. Number 1, in fact said all she could offer was "gratitude" in exchange for the seat. Who is number 1? It's now believed to be: Valerie Jarrett.

This is how Obama is involved. Valerie Jarrett is in fact who Obama was backing for the position, and Jarrett and Obama offered, as I said "gratitude" in exchange for the seat, nothing more. Blagojevich's response to that? "Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him." On top of that, it seems a call Obama may have gotten the ball ROLLING on him being investigated.

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...

Mr. Obama used leverage that he had seldom employed — publicly, anyway — and strongly urged Mr. Jones to bypass Mr. Blagojevich and approve the ethics bill, banning the so-called pay-for-play system of influence peddling in Illinois...Mr. Obama’s intervention deepened a rift between him and Mr. Blagojevich that had been growing for some time.

Leading to:

...the government obtained court approval to intercept oral communications in certain locations in the offices of Friends of Blagojevich. In addition, as part of its investigation, the government obtained court approval to intercept wire communications on the home phone of ROD BLAGOJEVICH.

Ta-da.