CHESSNOID

I am surprised that this politician hasn’t resigned but I have to think he has the dirt on someone.  Of course, that is all just circumstantial.  Obama, Emanuel, and the Blagojevich all do have a connection and I get a feeling that it isn’t just that they are all from the same state.

I don’t believe this is just about money. I think there was some type of political power play behind the scenes.  SFGate:

I think he liked how I raised questions about the timing and manner of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s decision to charge him over what appears to be little more than loose conversations he had with his staff.

He laughed, we talked, and all in all he seemed in pretty good spirits for a guy looking at federal charges.

I wouldn’t bet on him stepping aside anytime soon. If anything, his hand is getting stronger by the day.

I can’t go into details, but my impression is that the whole mess started because the governor had been considering appointing a political rival, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, to the Senate so she wouldn’t be able to run against him when he went up for re-election in 2010.

Apparently, Obama’s people’s weren’t happy about the idea of Madigan coming to Washington, and there were some pretty heated conversations between Blagojevich and Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, which I understand will burn your ears off.

This is a good angle of what could of happened. I don’t trust any politician and if this is true, it wouldn’t surprise me. I never liked Obama appointing Emanuel to his cabinet because of his connections to Freddie Mac. Now, this pick seems to be coming back to bite him. ABC News:

The friendly rapport Blagojevich and Emanuel shared over the years has suddenly become a troubling liability for Emanuel and the new president he will serve as chief of staff.

Emanuel and Obama have remained silent about what, if anything, Emanuel knew of the governor’s alleged efforts to peddle Obama’s vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Emanuel did contact the governor’s office about the appointment and left Blagojevich with the impression that he was pushing Valerie Jarrett, a close Obama friend, so he wouldn’t have to compete with her in the White House for Obama’s attention, said a person close to Blagojevich. The person was not authorized to talk about the governor’s discussions regarding the vacancy and requested anonymity.

It was not clear whether Blagojevich inferred Emanuel’s motive for advocating Jarrett, or whether Emanuel discussed the appointment with Blagojevich directly or with John Harris, the governor’s then-chief of staff who also is charged in the case, according to the source.

Emanuel’s refusal to discuss the matter publicly, and the few comments offered by Obama to date, have prompted questions about Emanuel’s ties to Blagojevich and what fallout he’ll face as the criminal case unfolds, although sources have said he is not a target of prosecutors. Even so, any hint of scandal for Emanuel threatens to tarnish Obama’s promise of new political leadership free of scandal and corruption.

Is it weird that Obama’s history of personal relationships keeps coming back to haunt him? I personally think these people did favors for him and he made promises to pay them back. Why is it that Blagojevich isn’t going away like all the other scandals? My guess is he has leverage against someone important.