Obama's Blagojevich Problem

Yes, I know that the FBI tapes show that Governor Blagojevich (Blago) was not happy with President-elect Obama, and colorfully told his staff what to do with Obama. Blago wanted more than “appreciation”…so the Senate seat went up to the highest bidder.

Yessiree, some days it just plain good to be Republican. Outside of Richard Nixon, Republicans have had some minor scandals, many centered on so called hypocrisy when it comes to sex issues. Senator Larry Craig, for example, was crucified in the press when he walked into a sting operation to catch homosexuals in an airport restroom. All it took was one shoe moving under a stall, and it was off to the races with the press. Every now and then we get an Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, but not often.

The Democrats, on the other hand, never disappoint in the continual parade of rogue politicians who subvert our political system. The sainted Eliot Spitzer with his call girls; Louisiana Congressman Jefferson with his piggy bank in a freezer, trying to retrieve the “cold” cash midst the Katrina fiasco; then there is Bill Clinton…enough said. It is a continuous parade.

Assuming Blago is convicted, he would make the fourth Illinois governor to go to jail. The one he replaced is still in jail. Then there is Dan Rostenkowski; the long time, very powerful, Illinois congressman. Let’s not forget the string of Cook County elected officials who have pranced through the muck into office then into the slammer. Those of us here in Mahoning County are used to it…also Democrats…but the rest of the nation is incensed.

This leads me to Barack Obama, who is the quintessential Cook County politician. Allow me to speculate. Knowing what I know about machine politics, I wrote several months ago that Obama could not have had his meteoric rise to the political top, through the Cook County machine, without assistance. While I understand that the FBI tapes show no connection between Obama and Blago, in fact they show just the opposite, there are plenty of connections between Blago and the rest of the Cook County political machine. This is just the beginning. As the dominoes begin to fall, these folks will be looking to cut deals, and they know where the bodies are buried. The bigger the fish they can deliver, the sweeter the deal. Those dots could connect to Obama on a completely unrelated issue, his fund raising tactics using all those pre-paid credit cards, for example.

If that happens, Obama has a problem. He has not made many friends among his base supporters since the election. His cabinet selections have been center/right on the political spectrum. Outside of his public works proposals (something most of us can agree on and support), it appears that his actual policies will be a nuanced modification of Bush policies. Change we can believe in is turning out not to be much change at all. Obama may prove to be the true compassionate conservative.

The left, already seething, will not provide Obama with political cover as it experiences “Buyer’s Remorse.” Joe Biden would become the best new hope for “true” progressive policies. So long, Barack!! And Pelosi and Reid could influence the selection of an even more liberal VP.

There is a chance, albeit a small one, that Obama may be looking to Republicans to salvage his presidency if there is even a wisp of an impeachable offense in the air.

Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

Picture Courtesy Flickr Creative Commons; Soundfromwayout;
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