Obama: Staff Not Involved In Ill. Scandal
President-Elect Says He Was As "Appalled And Disappointed As Anyone" About Charges Against Gov. Blagojevich
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Obama: Resign Blagojevich
President-elect Barack Obama, and 49 Senators are calling for Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich's resignation. As Dean Reynolds reports, Blagojevich is not stepping down.
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Profile: Gov. Rod Blagojevich
With an approval rating of just 4 percent, Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces mounting criticism over the alleged "pay-for-play" scandal. Katie Couric chronicles the career of this politician.
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Illinois Politics In Turmoil
As Gov. Rod Blagojevich's fate remains undecided after allegedly trying to sell a U.S. senate seat, Cynthia Bowers reports that many in the state are frustrated with political corruption.
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President-elect Barack Obama listens to a question during a news conference in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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President-elect Barack Obama made comments about the scandal involving Illinois Gov. Rod. Blagojevich at a news conference where he announced former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle as his choice for secretary of health and human services. (CBS)
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President-elect Barack Obama introduces former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, Thursday, Dec. 11,2008, during a news conference in Chicago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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Political Scandals
Politics can be a strange and dirty business. Check out some of the biggest missteps and mishaps in recent history.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges that he put Obama's seat up for bidding. The governor has ignored calls for his resignation and retains the power to appoint Mr. Obama's replacement.
Mr. Obama also said once again that he had no discussions about the seat he is vacating with the Democratic governor.
"I have never spoken to the governor on this subject," he said. He bluntly called for the Illinois Democrat to resign.
"I was as appalled and disappointed as anyone," Mr. Obama added at a news conference called to announce a series of new appointments to the administration he is setting up.
He also for the first time addressed the issue of whether his transition staff had any contacts.
"I am confident that no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat," Mr. Obama said. "I think the materials released by the U.S. attorney reflect that fact." As to whether any aides were involved in Blagojevich's alleged dealmaking schemes, he said he was "absolutely certain" they were not.
Mr. Obama did say: "I've asked my team to gather the facts of any contacts with the governor's office about this vacancy so that we can share them with you over the next few days."
Of interest will be the activities of soon-to-be White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a veteran of Chicago politics and past associate of Blagojevich, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds. Emanuel was not standing in his customary spot at Mr. Obama's press conference today.
Also of interest is Valerie Jarrett, a confidante of Mr. Obama's now destined for the White House staff. She is mentioned on page 60 of the criminal complaint as "Senatorial Candidate Number 1" in a conversation that has Blagojevich allegedly plotting to win a Cabinet post for himself by naming her to the Senate, reports Reynolds.
Mr. Obama said "I think the public trust has been violated" and said he did not think that the governor "at this point can effectively serve" Illinois.
He also said he wants to make sure the selection of a new senator isn't tainted.
Mr. Obama said neither he nor his staff had been contacted by federal officials in connection with the probe.
Also at the news conference, he introduced former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as his choice to be secretary of health and human services and said he favored congressional passage of short-term loans to rescue the U.S. auto industry.
"The President-elect is quickly discovering how a political scandal like this can impair his ability to deliver a message," said CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs. "In a press conference called to announce his choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services, three of the four questions asked were instead focused solely on the Illinois governor. Even while there is no evidence that he or members of his team are involved in any impropriety, the fact that Obama said his staff is still gathering facts about what contacts might have been made means this story will continue to touch his transition as he prepares to take office."
Mr. Obama said he worries about the public perception of political leaders as a result of scandals such as the one now surrounding Blagojevich.
He said scandals like the one in his state does a disservice to "many of us on both sides of the aisle who have upheld the highest standards."
Asked if he or anyone on his transition staff has been contacted by federal authorities in connection with the case, Mr. Obama replied: "I have not been contacted by any federal officials and we have not been interviewed by them, as is reflected in the U.S. attorneys report."
He said the public deserves to know that "any vacancy will be filled in an appropriate way."
"Let me say that this Senate seat does not belong to any politician to trade. It belongs to the people of Illinois, and they deserve the best possible representation," Mr. Obama said.
©MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.




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See all 486 CommentsObama worked with Bill Ayers on government-funded projects but says he barely knows him.
Obama and Rezko bought adjacent real estate lots on the same day which ended up as a financial advantage to Obama, but Obama says he didn''''t know much about him. ..and on and on.
Obama worked on Blagojevich''''s first governor election campaign as an advisor...and now he is distancing himself from that relationship with Blagojevich.
I am ashamed to admit that Obama will be our president.
How many people can he run from?
What next?
Posted by Joe10005
________
Still pouting from McCain''s stinging defeat, huh, Joe?
Posted by Dave_P5
So we just take him at his word and just move on like we would any politician?
Posted by endurorob
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No, but until there''s any information that would suggest otherwise, those who voted for Obama will believe him and those who didn''t will immediately believe in a cover-up.
What else is new in America?
What else is new in America?
Posted by shoebox119
It just shows the trust our leaders have instilled in us.
He really believed it just like Obama believes he''''s done nothing wrong. Its called Patholigical Liberalism.
Posted by hillaryin016
_________
Well, what do you know? From your moniker, one can only guess there''s still a Hillary nut hanging from the tree.
I''m surprised you didn''t compare Obama to Richard Nixon, but then, you might be accused of being fair and balanced in your insightful comment.
Get your shovels out people. We have a lot of George Bush BS to shovel back to Texas.
Last month, Axelrod unambiguously described a conversation between Obama and Blagojevich about filling the seat.
%u201CI know he''s talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them," Axelrod told an interviewer from Chicago%u2019s Fox affiliate.
But then, Axelrod retracted the comment - after the president-elect asserted Tuesday that he hadn%u2019t spoken to Blagojevich. Axelrod issued a statement saying he "was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then, or at any time, discuss the subject."
Posted by Dave_P5
So we just take him at his word and just move on like we would any politician?" - endurorob
The FBI is all over this, they''ve been recording Blagojevich''s calls for a while. I think we''d know by now if Obama was involved.
Posted by shoebox119
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HA HA HA. You''re an A*S*S! Dead wrong. We''re waiting for the other shoe to drop. We''re waiting to say, "We told you so!" It''s just a matter of time.
Get your shovels out people. We have a lot of George Bush BS to shovel back to Texas.
Posted by jxknowles
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Just make sure the BS gets to the right place... you know the one. It''s that posh neighborhood in Dallas where homes run $2 million or more. Imagine, while the economy continues to tank and millions of Americans lose their jobs and their homes, the one very ignorant man responsible for most of it will be sitting back in his rocker and patting himself on the back for a "job well done."
Posted by Joe10005
That''s ok, you can sit and be ashamed, while 79% of the country is very happy with him so far.
Posted by shoebox119
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HA HA HA. You''''re an A*S*S! Dead wrong. We''''re waiting for the other shoe to drop. We''''re waiting to say, "We told you so!" It''''s just a matter of time.
Posted by unmunificent
_______
I stand corrected... make that TWO pouters who still can''t get over the stinging defeat of their candidate and his sidekick, "you betcha."
Posted by nanc12 at 12:14 PM : Dec 11, 2008
Happy with what. He hasn''t done anything but appoint some retreads and open a transition office and tell one of his people to say he mispoke so Obama wouldn''t look bad.
Posted by ConDumbistan at 12:22 PM : Dec 11, 2008
Nixon said he was innocent too.
Recycled politics, recycled appointments, recycled lies.
Posted by CPelzar
98% of the prisoners in our prison system are innocent.
Posted by ConDumbistan
Is everybody that doesn''t agree with you white trash?
Posted by ConDumbistan at 12:28 PM : Dec 11, 2008
As well as the Democratic Leadership in Congress that approved everything. Did you really think that people that make what Federal Employees make could out maneuver Billionaires. What a joke.
That is why the Auto Bailout is going down faster than Monica.
Posted by CPelzar
98% of the prisoners in our prison system are innocent.
Posted by endurorob at 12:29 PM : Dec 11, 2008
I love it great post. Blago says he''s innocent as well.
over and over on this and other web sites the bad language, fact starved hate filled speech makes it pretty scary to think about half the people around here having the power and authority to rule over others
it would be helpful if people would argue facts, provide links to support and keep it polit
can you give us a link to a news story 9not a bloggers opinion piece) that reports obama brokered for his replacement on Nov 5th
back up your allegation please
Posted by tj217 at 12:36 PM : Dec 11, 2008
Obama is always unaware of things around him, Reverend Wright, Bill Ayres, Tony Rezko and now Blago.
He seems pretty stupid doesn''t he?
Posted by RowdynTex
Yeah, every news outlet that isn''t your favorite, Faux News is commie, right, McCarthy?
''Americans approve of Barack Obama in greater numbers than they did George W. Bush and Bill Clinton during similar periods, a CNN poll indicates.
''Nearly eight in 10 Americans polled in the CNN-Opinion Research Corp. survey released Tuesday indicated they thought the president-elect was doing well during the transition, CNN said. The 79 percent approval rating is 14 points higher than the approval rating for Bush before he took office in 2001 and 17 points higher than Clinton''s rating in 1992 during his transition.
Only 18 percent of those polled indicated they disapprove of Obama''s performance, pollsters said.''
Posted by tj217 at 12:39 PM : Dec 11, 2008
Uhh Nancy did go on TV and chastised the Republicans for not passing the bill the first time around.
PRICELESS!" - RowdynTex
Ohhhhhh, you are just DESPARATE to see Obama go down, aren''t you? The FBI is all over this, they''ve been taping Blagojevich''s calls. I think we''d know by now if Obama was involved.
Step away from the computer and wait for further instructions.
can you give us a link to a news story (not a bloggers opinion piece) that reports obama brokered for his replacement on Nov 5th
this is the second time ive asked
back up your allegation please
Wingnuts,
There is no evidence whatsoever that Obama was in any way involved in this.
Try being an American for once in your miserable life, instead of a petty, hate-filled, partisan boob.
rowdyntex wrote
Too funny! The main stream news media is pulling copies of its articles off their websites, and threatening blogspots to pull copies and links with claims of copywrite infringement...any articles that show Obiwanana''''s support for Blagojevich!!!!
---
can you back that up with one single example?
or do you just make this stuff up?
can you give us a link to a news story (not a bloggers opinion piece) that reports obama brokered for his replacement on Nov 5th
this is the third time ive asked
if you dont back up your baseless allegation you will have to change your handle cause everyone here will know you just make stuff up
and i for one will just skip over your posts
you claimed (posted below) that news outlets are pulling stories about obama and Rago off their web sites
can you provide a link or cite a specific example or do you just make stuff like this up
Wingnuts,
You are clearly seething with hate and contempt for all things Democratic.
You are just aching for a chance to tear Obama down even though there is absolutely no evidence of him being involved in this.
In your blinding hate you fail to see that, at this critical point in OUR nations history, if Obama fails, we all fail.
Try being an American for once in your miserable life, instead of a petty, hate-filled, partisan boob.
We''re all in this sinking ship together. We''re all Americans.
So stop ********* and start bailing!
it would cost you less words to just re post your link rather than all the blather about how you did already and you dont care if i saw it
i think you dont have any evidence that news web sites are pulling stories and i think you have no evidence that obama brokered a deal on nov 5 with gov blago
i will believe you make stuff up until you post a link to a reputable news outlet like AP, reuters, any major city newspaper or big four fox, cbs, msnbc, etc documenting you allegation
i suspect you are faking, but im willing to be proven wrong...show us we are waiting
Apparently when Obama engaged in "personal corruption" in his special real estate deal with convicted felon Rekzo for his mansion the real estate agent for that corrupt deal was Blago''''s wife............oh my God!
If the Governor and his wife decide to sing for Fitzpatrick Obama could be finally included in this web of corruption......
Of course the Liberal Fascists in our MSM wolfpack press can''t report this FACT.
So I will.................
Corrupt liberal press if you can''t report the news/facts then get the hell out of the way...............
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