Say Anything Blog

Obama continues to maintain that he’s confident that his staff wasn’t deal-making with Blagojevich over his vacated Senate seat.  But today the Chicago Tribune confirms the existence of what was reported here yesterday: Recordings of Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s Chief of Staff, talking with Blago’s people about the appointment.

Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Tribune has learned.

The revelation does not suggest Obama’s new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat? …

One source confirmed that communications between Emanuel and the Blagojevich administration were captured on court-approved wiretaps.

Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor’s administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win.

Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be “acceptable” to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.

Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.

What I don’t understand is why Obama wasn’t forthcoming about this stuff from the get-go.  Obama claims that he himself didn’t meet with Blago about the appointment, but news reports suggest otherwise.  And then it took days for news to surface that Obama’s chief of staff was communicating with Blago about people Obama would like to see appointed, and even then that news had to be disclosed by federal sources and not Obama himself.

Now, unless we’re to believe that Emanuel came up with the list of suggested appointments for Blago with no input from his boss, it’s unfathomable that Obama didn’t know full well that these conversations between Rhambo and Blago were taking place.  And if Obama knew they were taking place, why didn’t he just come out and say it?

Why all the secrecy?

Even if Obama and his people aren’t guilty of any deal-making they don’t get away from this clean.  Blago was an Obama ally.  Obama helped put Blago in office, twice, working directly for his campaigns.  Obama has been less than truthful about both his and his staff’s communications with Blago about this appointment.

None of this is any way to start off an administration that is allegedly about hope ‘n change.