Later in the conversation, ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat but “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F— them.”

If Obama had absolutely no contact with Blagojevich, as he claims, how did Blagojevich know who Obama wanted in the Senate seat, and how did he know that Obama wasn’t willing to give him anything but appreciation in exchange? He couldn’t know those things without speaking to Obama, or at least an aide. The only question is:

Why is Obama lying about it?

It seems to me that Obama could use this whole situation to his advantage. If Blagojevich contacted him and asked for a payment in return for appointing Obama’s preferred candidate, and Obama offered nothing but “appreciation” in return, it sounds like Obama did the right thing. Why hide that?

Could it be that Obama neglected to report the attempted bribe and is now trying to cover up that he did nothing? We really know too little to speculate at this point, which is why Obama should make a statement today clarifying his position.

Why the cover-up, Obama?

Not only is Obama clearly lying about his contact with Blagojevich, but Hot Air is now reporting that all questions about the situation are being removed from Obama’s new, “Open for Questions” page on his website, a utility that is supposed to contribute to a more open, transparent government. I implore everyone to go on the site and ask at least one of the following questions (via Hot Air):

• Given the current corruption charges involving Blagojevich, will ’serious’ campaign finance reform that takes money completely out of politics through publicly funded elections be a priority in the first term?
• In light of the recent corruption scandals (Blagojevich, Rangel, Jefferson, Stevens, etc) that have dominated the political scene, is there any ethics legislation being crafted to actually curb corruption and prevent another wave of Nixonian cynicism?
• Is Barack Obama aware of any communications in the last six weeks between Rod Blagojevich or anyone representing Rod Blagojevich and any of Obama’s top aides?

See how long it takes before you get your comment taken down.