Rod Blagojevich is testifying in his own trial and it is high theater. The man got elected governor because in a one-on-one setting he is a very charming guy. When he was on Celebrity Apprentice, he was our favorite contestant, because he was just plain fun to watch. He was worthless, of course, and I wouldn’t trust him with a two-dollar bill, but he was hysterical to watch.
This is an extremely dangerous case for the Obama administration, and the entire Chicago political machine. The following article from the Washington Examiner explains one problem:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/05/wheres-tony-rezko
But the problem is bigger than this. The problem is that Rod Blagojevich is, well, Rod Blagojevich. This is the guy who, by his own admission, barely graduated from law school and isn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch. The Prosecutor and the main stream media have been trying to paint him as this uniquely evil genius who tried to circumvent justice by selling a U.S. Senate Seat. Everyone else, including Obama, is portrayed as innocent doves caught in the snare of the evil villain.
In some ways it is pretty hard to deny that Blagojevich is guilty since he definitely wanted “something” big in exchange for that highly coveted appointment to the Senate. Who can blame him? An appointment to the United States Senate is a big deal. That is how Lisa Murkowski got in the United States Senate. Her daddy, Governor of Alaska, appointed her. There are other cases where the wife of a deceased Senator was appointed to replace her husband. There are even cases where the Governor appointed himself. Perhaps the most obviously corrupt case was the Ted Kennedy seat in Massachusetts. When Mitt Romney was Governor, Democrats passed a law denying him the ability to appoint a Senator. Instead, they had to wait for a special election. Democrats were terrified at the prospect of Romney replacing a Ted Kennedy or a John Kerry with a Republican. But when Ted Kennedy died, there was a Democratic Governor, Deval Patrick, and Obama desperately needed another vote in the Senate. So the Democrats re-wrote the law to allow Obama’s BFF to immediately appoint Paul Kirk, a dependable Democrat. Kirk then rushed to Washington, DC, to promptly cast the deciding vote for Obama care. Now that is selling a Senate Seat!
In this case, Rod Blagojevich was Governor of Illinois and Barack Obama’s Senate seat was conveniently vacant. That meant Blagojevich got to choose the replacement. The Prosecutor will have us believe that Blagojevich tried to sell this by stopping people on the street and asking them if they wanted to buy a used Senate Seat. (Actually, it was barely used). The opposite is true. The biggest problem for Blagojevich was trying to pare down the long list of people who wanted to buy that seat, one way or another. Rahm Emanuel testified that the Obama administration had no real preference. Really? Blagojevich said Obama wanted Valerie Jarrett. Who’s more credible on that one? Odds are very high that one of the highest priorities given to Rahm Emanuel was to “help” Blagojevich make the right decision regarding this open Senate Seat and that continued right up until someone realized the prosecutors were wire tapping Blagojevich. Then everyone tried to back away and pretend they weren’t really interested. Everyone knows Jesse Jackson, Jr. flat out tried to buy the seat. His testimony to the contrary earlier this week is about as believable as Arnold Schwarzenegger explaining why he was faithful to his wife. I’m surprised anyone could listen to this testimony without snickering.
The problem with this trial is that while Blagojevich is probably as guilty as sin, he was hardly the only fish swimming in this cesspool. In most cases, Prosecutors hold off on the little guys, like Blagojevich, and go after the big guys, like Rahm Emanuel or even Obama. When the Prosecutors focus solely on the minnow in the corner of the fish tank, while ignoring the sharks circling in the middle, odds are more than a Senate seat was for sale.
So, here’s the deal: Blago is blabbing about the Senate Seat grabbing and the media spin is quickly unrav’lin. Enjoy the ride.
TDM