A Scandal Before Obama Even Gets Sworn In

Unbelievable! There's already a scandal regarding Barack Obama's recently abandoned Senate seat before Obama has made the transition over to becoming president.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/politics/10Illinois.html?_r=2&hp

CHICAGO — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama’s seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.

Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat, called his sole authority to name Mr. Obama’s successor “golden,” and he sought to parlay it into a job as an ambassador or secretary of health and human services, or a high-paying position at a nonprofit or an organization connected to labor unions, prosecutors said in a 76-page affidavit by the United States Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Illinois.

He also suggested, the affidavit said, that in exchange for the Senate appointment, his wife could be placed on corporate boards where she might earn as much as $150,000 a year, and he tried to gain promises of money for his campaign fund.

If Mr. Blagojevich could not secure a deal to his liking, prosecutors said, he was willing to appoint himself.

“If I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself,” the governor said in recorded conversation, prosecutors said.

Federal authorities recorded Mr. Blagojevich speaking with advisers, fundraisers, a spokesman and a deputy governor, using listening devices placed in his office, home telephone, and a conference room at the offices of a friend, the affidavit said. In its detail, it paints a vivid picture of influence peddling and bare-knuckle politics inside the Blagojevich administration, evoking the heyday of Chicago’s political machine.

At an appearance to address climate change, Mr. Obama said he had not had any contact with Mr. Blagojevich (pronounced bluh-GOY-uh-vich) or his office, and did not know about any machinations involving the Senate seat. He said it was a “sad day” for Illinois, but declined to comment further.

The charges against Mr. Blagojevich are part of a five-year investigation into public corruption and allegations of “pay to play” deals in the clubby world of Illinois politics. In addition to the charges related to Mr. Obama’s Senate seat, they include accusations that the governor worked to gain benefits for himself, his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions.

God I only hope this doesn't result in a repeat of the Clinton Administration where certain right-wing Republicans did whatever they could to take down President Clinton--starting with the suicide of White House aide Vincent Foster, which the right-wingers kept on claiming that he was actually murdered and continued with investigations concerning Whitewater (a real estate venture that the Clintons lost money on). In the end they were only able to get him for receiving a blow job from Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office but even they failed to remove him from office over it.

The Best Reason for Hillary Clinton as the Next Secretary of State

I know some people in the media have some reservations about Barack Obama's pick of Hillary Clinton as the next Secretary of State. But there is a silver lining to this. It'll inspire Saturday Night Live to continue on its latest hot streak on political humor long after the 2008 elections.

Remembering the 2008 Elections

Best Parodies (Saturday Night Live Edition)

Saturday Night Live hit its stride this election season with frequent skewering of the politicians. Its new creative peak started off during the primary campaign season when the Obama Girl parlayed her Internet fame into an appearance on Saturday Night Live.

Then Amy Poehler as HIllary Clinton appears alongside the real Hillary Clinton.

When Sarah Palin first came on the national scene, many people felt that she resembled Tina Fey, who had recently left the cast of Saturday Night Live. Well, in a genius stroke of casting, Tina Fey was allowed to return to the show playing only one character: Sarah Palin. Thanks to her, the writers, and the election itself (which provided plenty of fodder for satire) the show had its best ratings in years.

Tina Fey's first appearance as Palin came when she appeared alongside Amy Pohler as Hillary Clinton in this hilarious sketch.

The following week Fey and Pohler teamed up again to provide this scathing parody of Sarah Palin's disasterous interview with CBS' Katie Couric. Ironically, Tina Fey basically recited word-by-word Palin's actual words in that interview while doing the occasional over-the-top comic punctuation.

Queen Latifah makes a special guest appearance as moderator Gwen Ifill in this parody of the vice president debate.

President Bush endorses John McCain and Sarah Palin.

The real Sarah Palin meets her doppelganger...

...then makes an appearance on "Weekend Update".

The real John McCain also makes an appearance on the show with Tina Fey portraying his running mate.

Like his running mate before him, John McCain also makes an appearance on "Weekend Update".

The real Sarah Palin makes a return appearance on Saturday Night Live where she talks about what she will do to NBC when she gets sworn in as Vice President.

John McCain also makes a return appearance.

Not to be overlooked, Barack Obama also makes an appearance on the show as he attends the Clintons' Halloween party.

Then there is the scathing parody of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann (played by Ben Affleck) who starts off by trying to portray George W. Bush as a Nazi and ends the sketch by making a special comment against the New York co-op who denied his application on the basis of his cat, Miss Precious Perfect.

Remembering the 2008 Elections

Worst Consumer Product Spin-Off Based on the Spouse of a Politician Running in a Presidential Campaign

The BIll Clinton corkscrew. Need I say more?

Worst Consumer Product Spin-Off (Primary Elections Category)

The Hillary Clinton nutcracker. Yes, you actually place the nut between her legs. All you need is the Bill Clinton corkscrew and you'll have the complete tacky set.

Worst Consumer Product Spin-Off (General Elections Category)

The Barack Obama Monkey Doll. This tradition of portraying African-Americans as monkeys should have died out with Jim Crow.