I began with that video to place in context just how close President-Elect Obama is to this situation. The evidence does not seem to implicate him at this time, however we must look at what the "new media" can do with an accusation like this. They say a picture is worth a thousand words:
Need I say more. Perhaps a bit more can't hurt...
The President-Elect is already being very careful in how he handles this situation. The video above makes clear (via the U.S. Attorney General) that Obama had no involvement in this indictment of the governor. Yet still less than 24 hours later without the governor giving a plea, Obama has called on the governor to resign. I know that the evidence points strongly to guilt, but what happened to innocent until proven guilty? What statement is Obama making by asking the governor to resign?
Personally, it seems that the President-Elect is being very careful to cover his bottom. This could quickly snowball into something that could destroy Obama's regime before it even begins and he must manage this situation carefully, as this hits VERY close to home. The blog community can quickly build a narrative around the few facts that exist and that could be very detrimental to Obama.
There is a burning question in my mind. What was the FBI doing tapping the governor's phone line in the first place? Is there more to this story? Time will tell...
8 comments:
Steven, at the least I think I can answer you burning question. The governor was under investigation for other matter, maybe this link will help http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1321654,blagojevich-arrested-phone-wire-tap-120908.article
What other matter? I didn't see it in this link?
You are right...although the reason isn't given in this article (http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LawPolitics/story?id=6435848&page=1) I think that this new one sheds more light on the process and the situation.
I know that the process for wire tapping requires court order, etc. WHY did the judge decide there was probable cause to tap the governor's phone lines.?
Allow a native Chicagoan to clarify. Being the governor of the State of Illinois is probable cause in and of itself for a corruption investigation.
But seriously, he's been under investigation for five years now for corruption. Click on the link in the ABC article for the court documents and look at page 7 of the affidavit.
Wether or not there is a threat from blogging making this a big deal is an interesting question. It is also an interesting opportunity for the now exiled-GOP to show the can do what the Democrats have done the last 8 years.
There's a missed opportunity here, it seems to me -- compare the facts in evidence (i.e., so far no hint on wrongdoing on Obama's part), and the media coverage (the breathless search for scandal). What is there to say about this?
Obama's wrongdoing was that he was caught in a picture with someone accused of a crime and that he was involved in Chicago politics. Politicians just shouldn't take pictures with other politicians due to the risk of being connected to corruption. Since I have fairly decent photoshop skills I think next presidential election I will make a picture of the republican nominee shaking hands with the devil. I can see the bold headlines now Nominee Makes Deal With Lucifer and somewhere deep in the article still investigating the existence of Lucifer. All it takes is a picture to question the character of a politician.
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