The Middle is Always Evil

This is breaking news via Gateway Pundit:

Obama is “confident” and Rham Emmanuel is… Under investigation?

Hopefully more will become availible on this as the day progresses…

What was it that Obama said on Tuesday when Blago was dragged out of his house on graft charges?

“I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening.” (Italics mine)

No contact, eh?

Here’s Obama on December 2nd, meeting with Blagojevich (right):

There’s more. According to Blagojevich’s official newsletter dated from November 12th. On the left is a from that publication of the two meeting. Guess what the accompanying story was on? One vacant senate seat.

It reads as follows:

“Last night’s victory was bittersweet for Illinois ‐ as we gain a great President, we lose a great Senator.  And it goes without saying that our next Senator has big shoes to fill. Because it’s important that the best person for Illinois is selected, I want to be clear that the calendar won’t dictate our search. Instead, I want to ensure that Obama’s successor will understand and fight for the needs of average Illinoisans,” Governor Blagojevich said.

Am I saying that Obama and Blagojevich discussed the Senate appointment at either of these two meetings? No, I am not. Am I saying that Obama is involved in corruption, graft, and other wrongdoing? No, I am not.

But, is Obama a liar?

Yes, he is; and for that reason, and that reason alone, every record and file in Obama’s “Office of the President Elect” should be subpoenaed, and scrutinized. This is something that Obama, Mr. Transparency, should willingly offer up– he has nothing to hide, after all. For Christ sakes, we already know that someone in Obama’s team is involved in this– I want to know where it stops, and I want to know before January 20!

Why is Patrick Fitzgerald so quick to say that Obama isn’t involved, anyway? Those were the first words out of his mouth after arresting Blagojevich. Surely, the man should at least be investigated! Blagojevich is friends with him; they endorsed each other; they’ve been politically connected for years. That warrants no investigation of any kind? It just speaks to the political nature of the whole thing. If these were Republicans, there would be an intense media scrutiny the likes of which has never been seen, there’d be calls for Obama to be impeached even before taking office, there’d be special prosecutors, Ethics Committees would be formed. But no! These men are Democrats– they’re the good guys.

It’s going to be a long, long 4 years.

The pieces are still coming together in the Blagojevich case, but one thing has become clear to me: Obama– or at the very least, someone on his team– had contact with Blagojevich about the vacant senate seat; this is a fact that is implicit in the criminal complaint against Blagojevich. From page 66:

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.