Mind-numbingly, the incoming Obama administration decided to negotiate with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich over who would succeed Obama as U.S. Senator. Equally puzzling is the pass the media gave him for this dramatic misjudgment.
Way back in 2006, the Chicago Tribune said there was a “five-alarm fire” of corruption” in the governor’s office. In the next two years, the federal noose tightened, as one-by-one, Blagojevich’s top associates were indicted. It was an open secret in Chicago that Blagojevich would be indicted soon. Yet nobody in the media suggested Obama showed bad judgment. Amazing.
Here are some headlines in the weeks before Blagojevich’s arrest Dec. 9. They illustrate the intensity of the federal probe barreling down on Blago:
Governor: I’m Senate Santa – Blagojevich says he’ll deliver seat as Christmas gift
Chicago Tribune (IL) 25 Nov. 2008.‘The King of Clout’ Indicted – Feds charge political power broker William Cellini with conspiring to shake down a Hollywood producer for $1.5 million for a Blagojevich campaign fund and talking about getting U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald fired
Chicago Sun-Times (IL) 31 Oct. 2008.TRIBUNE POLL: BLAGOJEVICH POPULARITY – 13% – The governor’s approval rating among Illinois voters is even lower than Bush’s
Chicago Tribune (IL) 23 Oct. 2008.Blagojevich to Rezko: Just ‘tell the truth’ – Governor says he did nothing wrong
Chicago Tribune (IL) 8 Oct. 2008.Blagojevich says Rezko was ‘sucked’ in
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 20 Sep. 2008.Once again, Blagojevich proves why he can’t be trusted – Nothing Gov. Blagojevich says can be believed.
Chicago Sun-Times (IL) 8 Aug. 2008.Governor challenges reporters – Blagojevich goes on attack when Rezko comes up
Chicago Tribune (IL) 4 Jul. 2008.Gov boils over at corruption talk – Besieged by questions about federal investigations, Blagojevich lashes out at reporters: ‘I know I do things right’
Chicago Sun-Times (IL) 4 Jul. 2008.Blagojevich met with investigators
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 28 Jun. 2008.
Journalists in Chicago will quarrel with the phrase “negotiate.” Yet Obama could have written a public letter stating his preference for his replacement and left it at that. Instead, he picked up the phone and called the Illinois SEIU president and presumably asked him to call Blagojevich, which he did immediately. And he let Rahm Emanuel talk to Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris several times, among the other contacts.
If Obama had written a letter, Blagojevich would have known his preference. Contact beyond that constitutes a dialogue open to negotiation. And the negotiating was being done with a Governor’s office under the most intense federal scrutiny in Illinois history.
If this isn’t an example of bad judgment, there isn’t one.
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