Obama: I never talked to Blagojevich about the Senate seat; Axelrod: Yes, he did; Update: Axelrod misspoke, says Obama camp

jim m on December 9, 2008 at 9:16 PM

Probably but when you have real live corrupt folks in congress, it’s hard to get upset that someone didn’t keep their proper distance. But on the bright side of the experience I think it is safe to say that he made sure that he didn’t put himself in those kind of situations again, if your going to be put through the wringer you might as well learn something.

Cindy Munford on December 9, 2008 at 9:38 PM

The Keating 5 scandal only involved McCain because the democrats did not want it to be seen as a “democratic scandal”.This was admitted by a democrat on the committee:

In fact, it’s likely that McCain was only kept in the case because to have removed him from it would have meant only Democrats would have been involved. That’s not McCain spin, that’s from Bob Bennett, the Senate’s own investigator and noted Democrat.
“It was clear that McCain should not have been at the table nor should Glenn,” Bennett said. “I felt it was unfair for McCain to be included as part of the Keating Five.” Bennett stressed that he was not speaking as part of the campaign, though he noted he also represented McCain in his recent battles with the New York Times.

McCain even went so far as to kick the guy out of his office.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/10/mccain_campaign_on_keating_a_c.asp

Dowd said that when McCain “discovered that Keating was pushing too hard, he kicked him out of his office and cut off relations with him.” Dowd suspects that the committee kept up its investigation for political reasons since McCain was the only Republican senator under investigation, calling it “a classic political smear job on John.” A 1995 New York Times article concurs with that assessment:

During the Keating Five scandal, committee Democrats resisted dropping the case against John McCain, the Arizona Republican, because that would have left only Democrats accused of improper dealings with Charles Keating, the savings and loan executive.

This is kept alive by liberals so that they can throw it out every time they get caught in their corruption and lies.
When a liberal rag like the NY times even admits that McCain was brought into this mess for political cover,it’s time to give McCain his just due,100% not guilty.

Baxter Greene on December 9, 2008 at 10:22 PM

On stories like these,this is about the time the press would go into overdrive and pound President Bush on the front pages,news conferences,talk shows…etc..etc..about the specifics,the what,where’s and when’s.

If the primaries and election are any indication of how they will treat their chosen one,expect to see defense after defensive spin coming from the press like they did with Wright,Ayers,guns,taxes,and his stance against the war.

It will be real interesting to compare this to how they treated Bush over the Plame/Wilson affair when there were no links to Bush what-so-ever and the leaker ended up being Armitage.

Baxter Greene on December 9, 2008 at 6:50 PM

Like many people have already noted,the defensive spin has
already begun.
The Obama camp has already been caught in a lie(Obama:I didn’t talk to him. Axelrod: Obama has talked to him about the candidates)
A man that Obama and Axelrod help get elected and who Obama
worked with for years is not going to be the “Blagojevich
that he knew”.

AP Goes Ahead and Calls Blagojevich a ‘Distraction’ for Obama
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/12/ap_goes_ahead_and_calls_blagoj.asp

No need to wait for Obama to frame the issue when the Associated Press knows his favorite words already. They are great students of his oratory, after all:

Though Barack Obama isn’t accused of anything, the charges against his home-state governor – concerning Obama’s own Senate seat no less – are an unwelcome distraction. And the ultimate fallout is unclear.

As Obama works to set up his new administration and deal with a national economic crisis, suddenly he also is spending time and attention trying to distance himself from Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and charges that the governor was trying to sell the now-vacant Senate post.

And, again, just a few paragraphs later, after a vigorous defense of Obama and a rigorous downplaying of his connections to Blago:

Still, at the very least, the episode amounts to a distraction for Obama at an inopportune time just six weeks before he’s sworn into office. It also raises the specter of notorious Chicago politics, an image Obama has tried to distance himself from during his career.

Could these liberal hacks be anymore corrupt and predictable.

Pravda West in action.

Baxter Greene on December 9, 2008 at 11:13 PM