
 |
|
May 24, 2013
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Dec. 26, 2008
/ 29 Kislev 5769
Obama Avoids Blagojevich Poison
By
Roger Simon
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
If we learned anything from the recent report on the contacts between Barack Obama and Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich, it is that Obama considered the governor to be pure poison.
Blagojevich was arrested earlier this month on charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes. He is accused by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of conspiring to sell Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. And Fitzgerald says he has tapes of Blagojevich to back up his charges.
After Blagojevich was arrested, the first question immediately became what kind of contact there was between him and Obama.
According to a report released Tuesday by Obama's White House counsel-designate Greg Craig, there was none.
According to the report, "The President-Elect had no contact or communication with Gov. Blagojevich or members of his staff about the Senate seat."
But that is exactly what is so interesting. Why did Obama not speak to the governor about the seat?
After all, it was Obama's seat that needed to be filled, and the governor possessed the sole power to fill it.
Such a conversation would have been normal, natural and completely legal.
But it never took place. Why? Because Obama was far too smart. Many people in Illinois knew that Blagojevich was under investigation, and Obama clearly wanted to keep him at arm's length.
True, Obama's White House Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel did have "one or two" telephone conversations with the governor and had "a brief discussion with the governor about the Senate seat and the merits of various people whom the governor might consider."
But according to the report - and this point is made several times - at no time "did the president-elect hear of a suggestion that the governor expected a personal benefit in return for making this appointment to the Senate."
This is a key point. If Obama or anybody on his staff knew that the governor was trying to shake people down, they had a duty to report it to the proper authorities. This report emphasizes that Obama and his staff did not know of any shakedown attempts.
We do know, however, that the governor grew angry with Obama. According to the federal prosecutor, the governor is captured on tape being furious that Obama's people were not willing to play ball with him.
At one point, the governor says: "They're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. (Bleep) them."
This reflects well on Obama and his staff. But how did the governor know that Obama's people were not willing to give him anything? The Obama people say they were never solicited. The governor's comments seem to indicate that his solicitations failed.
The answer to that and other questions might not be known until Blagojevich goes on trial.
All we know now for sure is that Obama was smart to stay away from him.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on Roger Simon's column by clicking here.
Roger Simon Archives
© 2008, Creators Syndicate
|