Dave Burris commented:
The only thing that bothers me about this is Obama’s statement that he hadn’t talked to Blago. There’s no freakin’ way he gives up his Senate seat and doesn’t weigh in.
I’m not accusing him of wrongdoing, but that statement just doesn’t sit with me.
From The Chicago Tribune article regarding Blagojevich:
“I have not discussed the Senate seat with the governor at any time,” he said. “My strong belief is that it needed to be filled by somebody who is going to represent the people of Illinois and fight for them. And beyond that, I was focused on the transition.”
Speaking at his private office within his transition headquarters in downtown Chicago, Obama declined to answer a question on whether any of his top aides had spoken about the Senate seat with Blagojevich or John Harris, the governor’s chief of staff.
“Let me stop you there because, as I said out there, it’s an ongoing investigation,” he said. “I think it would be inappropriate for me to, you know, remark on the situation beyond the facts that I know. And that’s the fact that I didn’t discuss this issue with the governor at all.”
Okay, my interpretation is this. Obama never spoke to Blagojevich regarding his Senate seat. Obama must have known that Blogojevich was terminal; however, members of his staff talking to the Governor’s office — this I can believe, especially with the meme that it was Rahm Emanuel who forced Fitzgerald’s hand.