Wingnuts Want Answers! What Did Obama Know and When Did He Know It?!!!!!!!

 by Teh Nutroots | Oh no!  A representative from the Obama administration---Rahm Emanuel, who might someday be Chief of Staff---spoke to Blagojevich about Obama's replacement!  Proving that Obama, who isn't even president yet, LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!!!!!  

The far right blogosphere is confident that, despite the exculpatory evidence, a link WILL eventually appear in the form of straws suitable for manufacturing bricks to hurl at Obama.  Meanwhile, having added up the numbers on their fingers and toes and done their sums, they're sticking the straws in their hair while rising up to chant as one:

It has not been proven impossible that despite all so-called ‘existing’ evidence, Obama might have attempted to, uh, buy his own, uh, I guess Senate seat. (Sadly, No!)

Yeah!  J'accuse....the entire not-yet-existent Obama administration!  On the 11th, Obama said this about that:

In a press conference today, President-elect Barack Obama said that he's "absolutely certain" that no one in his campaign had anything to do with Gov. Blagojevich's pay-for-play system. He reiterated that he had no contacts with Blagojevich, and said that his staff is compiling of its own contacts with the governor and his staff, information that he'll release in the next few days.

"I won't quote back some of the things that were said about me," he joked. "This is a family program." "I can't presume to know what was in the mind of the governor. I can only read what was in the transcripts...and shake my head." (Marc Ambinder; emphasis added)

John Cole says:

We can officially christen it the failed Obama administration, as they are damaged goods before even taking office.. Is it too early to impeach Obama, or do we have to wait until he takes office? Technicalities, I know...

And on what grounds rest today's outburst of high-pitched giggling glee among the pathetically wrong-about-everything-for-the-last-8-years right-eous?

According to The Swamp:

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 Chicago Tribune has learned....

Emanuel, who has long been close to both Blagojevich and Obama, has refused to respond to questions about any involvement he may have had with the Blagojevich camp over the Senate pick. A spokeswoman for Emanuel also declined to comment Friday.

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

Am I crazy, or did Patrick Fitzgerald recently say, in plain and unequivocal language:

"I should make clear, the complaint makes no allegations about the president-elect whatsoever....We make no allegations that he's aware of anything, and that's as simply as I can put it. . . .

"There's no reference in the complaint to any conversations involving the president-elect or indicating that the president-elect was aware of it. And that's all I can say."

Legal experts said it was unusual for a prosecutor to make such a blanket statement while an investigation was continuing.

"That carries a great deal of weight," said Jan Witold Baran, a Washington lawyer who represents politicians on ethical complaints and campaign finance matters. "It is really unusual for a U.S. attorney to say someone is not implicated.

"Could evidence pop up in the future to the contrary? Sure, it's possible. Is it likely? I think that, based on what he said yesterday, the answer is no," Baran added.(NYT; emphasis added)

Yep, the fact that Emanuel knows Blago and gave him a list of names sure spells "presumptive guilt" to me.

Or, as The Poor Man put it:

Obama is doomed.  Fitzgerald’s blunt exculpatory remarks will prove a fatal blow to the now still-born Obama administration.

It’s like the reverse of Bush-induced scandal fatigue whereby an administration can commit outrageous war crimes, shred the Constitution, out covert CIA operatives as political payback, etc. to a stubbornly disinterested media (until Katrina at least), but Obama not having done anything wrong other than be a Democrat from a state in which a Democratic governor is in trouble for trying to sell a senate seat vacated by Obama is damning evidence of serious malfeasance that demands opprobrium/non-stop coverage and faux-linkage.

Will this lead to further revelations showing that Obama is guilty by association with someone (who will be, but is not now, Obama's Chief of Staff) who was KNOWN TO HAVE ASSOCIATED WITH Blago?

James Bone at the Times of London sure thinks so. And Matttbastard at Comments from Left Field responds to ToL as follows:

Y’all are beyond redemption– making shit up is standard operating procedure for many in the UK press, ethics and standards be damned. At least folks in the Mother Country readily acknowledge this fact, making its impact far less potent...

Just keep this in mind: according to CNN, Rahmbo “has been notified that he is not a target of the investigation.” That means that, despite the sordid innuendo of James Bone’s copy, the future CoS wasn’t caught on tape saying things to Gov. Blagojevich (or Blago’s staff) that could “prove an acute embarrassment to the incoming Obama Administration, even if no illegal deals were discussed”–which obviously weren’t, or else Rahmbo would likely be a target of the investigation–”and could even force Mr Emanuel’s resignation”. Yes, and it could also force winged simians to emerge flapping from Mr. Emanuel’s backside.

I would pay to see that and would be glad to see the back of Emanuel on any terms.

Anyway, it's amusing to see desperate wingnuts try to spin it around to make it a blot on Obama's still nonexistent page.

Daniel Larison got it right (paragraph breaks inserted for emphasis):  

[S]ome bloggers on the left have begun noticing that reporting and commentary have tried to make the Blagojevich scandals into a serious problem for Obama, despite the evidence that shows Blagojevich to be deeply hostile to the President-elect and shows the latter to be uninvolved in any of the governor’s (alleged) crimes.

One reason why this is happening is that a lot of journalists and pundits have become bored with the transition...and what better than a scandal involving all of the themes of the “old” politics, complete with bribery and shakedowns? You already have the makings of an overreaching and misleading narrative: “old Illinois politics mars transition period for Obama.”

On top of all of this, there is the problem that most people, especially journalists and pundits and even more particularly pundits on the right, seem to go through extreme mood swings when they talk and think about Obama.

This is the tendency to swing between treating him, in John Kass’ memorable phrase, as the Mr. Tumnus of politics to regarding him as the canny Chicago pol, the Obama David Brooks referred to as “Fast Eddie,” or in other cases going between debating ridiculously whether he is more Maoist than Stalinist and then rejoicing childishly over the “centrism” of his appointments....

Having finally recognized that Obama is a savvy political operator who is interested in effective government to pursue what are still broadly progressive goals, and having started to grasp that Obama is not a neo-McGovernite radical dove but is actually rather hawkish and establishmentarian in his instincts, the next thing for journalists and pundits to fixate on would have to be ethics and the political career in Illinois that virtually everyone ignored while they, again mostly in the mainstream press and on the right, were obsessing over his religious or tangential associations.

Here we see the collective disbelief that a savvy Chicago pol could be at once more or less indifferent to the corruption of the machine politics around him (a guy who “won’t make no waves and won’t back no losers,” as Kass put it over six months ago), while nonetheless being free from any personal involvement in that corruption....

....Just as they misjudged his political know-how because of his high-flown rhetoric, and just as they misjudged his foreign policy because of his opposition to the Iraq war, they are going to misjudge him again and try to tie him to Illinois corruption or claim that this reflects poorly on him or “taints” the incoming administration.

Those who say this will be proven wrong again, and much to the frustration of his critics and enemies Obama will keep evading the categories and labels people try to stick to him and will separate himself from any associate, no matter how close or distant, the moment that associate becomes a liability.  (Eunomia; paragraphs breaks inserted for emphasis)

As I was saying about Rahmbo....eh, I don't care, really.  Show me a tape of Rahm telling Blago, "Obama wants to pay for his own vacated seat" and we'll talk.

Meanwhile, Blago still "feels" that he's "innocent" according to some strange Blago-based definition of the term and doesn't think he should have to step down.

Though Mr. Blagojevich made no public statement, and his lawyer did not return phone calls, one of the ministers who prayed with him at his home said the governor professed his innocence and gave no indication he would step down.

“He feels that he’s innocent and therefore we really should let everything roll out with the process,” said the Rev. Marshall E. Hatch, of New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist church in West Garfield Park.  (NYT)

Memeorandum hath bloggery discourse.

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Comments

[eanmdphd]

Can Bush pro-actively pardon Obama so the country can at least continue?

[Dan]

I find it hard to believe that anyone in the getting news business would not want to keep asking as many questions as possible to keep their job. why not keep asking? It is the American way.

QUESTION ATHORITY. COME ON PEOPLE THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. THIS IS YOUR BREAD AND BUTTER. YOU NEVER STOP PROBING. OH...WAIT....ITS OBAMA...MY BAD.

[Dan]

Obama still has not come clean about many things in his wonderful life leading up to being the savior of the world.

Why is this so okay with you people?

Its really creapy how you can't bring yourself to applying the same scrutiny to this man. I'm a republican leaning person but can understand how a republican needs to be grilled and fried if something goes wrong after all these are imperfect humans held to high standards right? But this guy gets a free ride. Seriously, We should demand he be interigated or we end up with another bush in democratic garb. Do you think he is above this stuff? Are you nuts?
QUESTION ATHORITY!!!!!!!!!!!!! OR YOU ARE THE COWARDS!! AND YOU WILL ANSWER!!!!

[Dan]

you guys are bizarrrrrrrr!!!!

someone gives you an answer and you back off? Since when? You keep presssing to check out the story. Accountability! Don't be affraid to tell what you discover. This is what i suspect is the problem. You don't want to discover what you suspect that will burst your hopes and dreams. You aren't really a current events person or news reporter. you are simply someone with an agenda and a forum to promote it. this is what eveeryone is saying the repubs do. I guess you are all fakes pushing what you want. OBAMA KNOWS THIS AND HAS OWNED THE LOT OF YOU. COWARDS!!!!!!!!!

[Dan]

NOW THAT IS SOME BARE NAKED POLITICS!

YOU AREN'T NAKED YET!

YOUR HIDING BEHIND THE IDEA OF BEING NAKED!

YOU STILL HAVE YOUR PANTIES ON YOU WIMPS!!!!

[Buck Naked Politics]

Ha. Wingnuts. You can make a point, but you can't make them see it.

Capital letters make whatever you say TRUE.