# Who's going down with Blago? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 12, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875 "2008-12-12T14:03:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/21 "2008-12-13T19:16:08Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Which means nothing. It would be more meaningful to hear the denial from RE than from DtC. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/22 "2008-12-13T19:32:31Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > It would be more meaningful to hear the denial from RE than from DtC. Why should he deny something he’s not accused of? My guess is that he’s under instructions not to say anything publicly. Anything he said would only fuel more baseless speculation. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/23 "2008-12-13T20:00:49Z")
When Obama got elected it was obvious that Blago had the power to name the next Illinois senator. So Obamas team would certainly have had to talk to him. What is illegal about that? Is someone is ready to say Rahm was in negotiations to buy the seat for someone, you need more proof .I will wait for more to come out. I will not get it from Fox. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/24 "2008-12-13T20:49:23Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] When Obama got elected it was obvious that Blago had the power to name the next Illinois senator. So Obamas team would certainly have had to talk to him. What is illegal about that? Is someone is ready to say Rahm was in negotiations to buy the seat for someone, you need more proof .I will wait for more to come out. I will not get it from Fox. [/QUOTE] Nothing’s illegal about it, which is why Obama never should have denied that they talked about it. The Chicago Tribune today says that it has been confirmed the Rahm Emmanuel talked to the Blagojevich camp about the Senate Seat. [Here](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rahm-obama13dec13,0,3359611.story) is a link to the story. In it, it says: [QUOTE=Chicago Tribune] One source confirmed that communications between Emanuel and the Blagojevich administration were captured on court-approved wiretaps. Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor’s administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win. Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be “acceptable” to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats. Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said. [/QUOTE] Personally, I am pretty well convinced that Obama would not and did not get involved in actually trying to strike some kind of deal for that seat. However, it was stupid of him to make the statement that he was confident that no one on his team had a conversation with Blago on this subject. As I said before, I think it would be weird for them NOT to have a conversation about it, so he should have told the truth…that someone probably DID talk to him about who they were going to select, but that it _didn’t involve making any deals_. The other question that comes to my mind is, if Blago tried to make a deal, and the Obama camp wouldn’t play along (as indicated on the tapes), why didn’t the Obama camp report that exchange to the FBI? They must have known Blago was under investigation. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/25 "2008-12-13T21:36:05Z")
No one had a converstaion with Blago about a _deal_, so that’s all that matters. Good to know that Rahm is fully vindicated now. He gave a list. So what? The Feds are also comfirming that Emanuel is not a target in the investigation, so that basically proves there’s nothing incriminating on the tapes. > [@Sarahfeena](#): > > The other question that comes to my mind is, if Blago tried to make a deal, and the Obama camp wouldn’t play along (as indicated on the tapes), why didn’t the Obama camp report that exchange to the FBI? They must have known Blago was under investigation. There is no indication on the tapes that Blago tried to make a deal with the Obama camp. He only says that Obama isn’t willing to give him anything. He never says that he actually ASKED for anything. If There was any request for a deal, then the Feds would not be saying that Emanual is not a target. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/26 "2008-12-13T21:37:29Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No one had a converstaion with Blago about a _deal_, so that’s all that matters. Good to know that Rahm is fully vindicated now. He gave a list. So what? The Feds are also comfirming that Emanuel is not a target in the investigation, so that basically proves there’s nothing incriminating on the tapes. > > There is no indication on the tapes that Blago tried to make a deal with the Obama camp. He only says that Obama isn’t willing to give him anything. He never says that he actually ASKED for anything. > > If There was any request for a deal, then the Feds would not be saying that Emanual is not a target. How would Blago know that Obama wasn’t willing to give him anything if he never asked? ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/27 "2008-12-13T21:39:10Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > The other question that comes to my mind is, if Blago tried to make a deal, and the Obama camp wouldn’t play along (as indicated on the tapes), why didn’t the Obama camp report that exchange to the FBI? They must have known Blago was under investigation. I don’t necessarily know that they _didn’t_ report it. The rumors about RE being the whistleblower are still out there. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/28 "2008-12-13T21:44:07Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > How would Blago know that Obama wasn’t willing to give him anything if he never asked? The “M_therf_cker” comment alone makes me think something was floated and swatted down. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/29 "2008-12-13T22:14:42Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > How would Blago know that Obama wasn’t willing to give him anything if he never asked? You don’t have to ask for anything to not be OFFERED it. He was probably expecting an offer that never came. Either that or Rahm dimed him out like the rumors suggest. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/30 "2008-12-13T22:30:49Z")
You’re all aware, I suppose, that Blago’s a former prosecutor. Which when you consider the breathtakingly stupid way he has handled the entire situation, almost convinces me that he’ll plead mental impairment (or however the insanity plea is stated in IL), because that seems to be his only way out. All things considered, it might work. > **[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News](https://www.huffpost.com/?err_code=404&err_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2008%2F12%2F09%2Fillinois-governor-blagoje_n_149546.html)** > > Read the latest headlines, news stories, and opinion from Politics, Entertainment, Life, Perspectives, and more. “Blagojevich was charged with two counts: conspiracy to commit fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and solicitation to commit bribery, which is punishable by up 10 years. He was released on his own recognizance.” “Blagojevich, a former congressman, state lawmaker and prosecutor, also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune, in an attempt to strong-arm the newspaper into firing editorial writers who had criticized him.” “In addition, the governor was accused of engaging in pay-to-play politics \_ that is, doling out jobs, contracts and appointments in return for campaign contributions.” ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/31 "2008-12-13T22:49:53Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > … He gave a list. So what? The Feds are also comfirming that Emanuel is not a target in the investigation, so that basically proves there’s nothing incriminating on the tapes… **Dio** you see here you overstep just as much as those making accusations do. It proves that there is nothing incriminating of _illegal_ activity; that is different than saying that there is nothing incriminating. Undisclosed high level contact would be embarrassing. For Obama to “not know” that Emanuel turned info over to the Feds would be hard to believe and if true would be a sign of cluelessness; for him to have played dumb on it would show disingenuousness. OTOH if a solicitation was made and no information passed on would be incriminating as well. None of those would be illegal; none of those would make Emanuel a target. But they’d be incriminating nevertheless. And before you go off again - yeah, I know there is no reason to believe that any of them are true - but nothing released so far “proves” that they are not true either. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/32 "2008-12-13T22:54:51Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > The “M_therf_cker” comment alone makes me think something was floated and swatted down. Yes, that’s what it sounds like to me, too. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/33 "2008-12-14T02:56:17Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > The other question that comes to my mind is, if Blago tried to make a deal, and the Obama camp wouldn’t play along (as indicated on the tapes), why didn’t the Obama camp report that exchange to the FBI? They must have known Blago was under investigation. Exactly. Why bother alerting the FBI? They knew Blago was under investigation. Every pol in Illinois knew. **Blago** knew, the venal dumbass just couldn’t stop himself. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/34 "2008-12-14T02:58:45Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Exactly. Why bother alerting the FBI? They knew Blago was under investigation. Every pol in Illinois knew. **Blago** knew, the venal dumbass just couldn’t stop himself. I would bother because I wouldn’t think it was a good idea for them to hear me (or someone from my team) on the tape without my letting them know that they were going to. In fact, I would have gotten a lawyer to advise me what to do, and I’m guessing they would advise me to let the feds know how the conversation went down. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/35 "2008-12-14T04:01:34Z")
BTW, did anyone else misread the preposition in the thread title as “on”? Me neither. Just occurred to me, in fact. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put that image in everybody’s heads. 'Night, all! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/36 "2008-12-14T15:38:51Z")
Does anyone think that the Obama gang can wait until late Friday to dump the promised list of contacts with Blago? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/37 "2008-12-14T16:09:15Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Does anyone think that the Obama gang can wait until late Friday to dump the promised list of contacts with Blago? Well so far Team Obama’s handling of it is going over [acceptably well.](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/12/obama-approval-ratings-not-dented-by.html) > [@](#): > > With Rod Blagojevich facing the triple threats of impeachment, court-ordered removal from office, and a federal indictment, the tribulations of the Illinois Governor may yet prove to have an effect on Barack Obama’s approval ratings – but the early signs are that Blago will have no tangible impact on the public’s perception of the President-elect. … Obama’s approval ratings remain pristine. Gallup shows that 72 percent of the public has a favorable view of Obama, and 18 percent an unfavorable view. The 72 percent favorability rating matches the 72 percent score that Obama achieved on November 7th-9th for the highest since the election, whereas the 18 percent disapproval rating is Obama’s lowest yet. Three days ago, before Blagojevich’s arrest, those ratings were 70 percent and 21 percent, respectively. > > Rasmussen, likewise, sees no change to Obama’s approval ratings. 67 percent of their voters now approve of Obama’s performance, and 31 percent disapprove, exactly matching Obama’s ratings from three days prior, and within a percentage point of his peak totals. I think the public is entertained somewhat by Governor Goniffevich but only as mindless chaff while waiting anxiously for Team Obama to be get fully in control of the reins of governance. The serious issues that face us all across the country and the world are their real concerns. The Far Right’s attempts to spin this as a means to discredit Team Obama so far are not getting any traction other in those already inclined to believe anything negative about him they hear. And maybe even not too many of them. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/38 "2008-12-14T17:19:59Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Does anyone think that the Obama gang can wait until late Friday to dump the promised list of contacts with Blago? So far it sounds like it’s a list of one – Rahm Emanuel – who did nothing but give the Governor’s office a list of names. You really shouldn’t get your hopes up so high. This isn’t going to touch your President-elect. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/39 "2008-12-14T18:01:49Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > So far it sounds like it’s a list of one – Rahm Emanuel – who did nothing but give the Governor’s office a list of names. > > You really shouldn’t get your hopes up so high. This isn’t going to touch your President-elect. No high hopes here…I’ve been literally praying that Obama comes out clean on this. I think it would be very bad for the country if he doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875/40 "2008-12-14T18:27:16Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > No high hopes here…I’ve been literally praying that Obama comes out clean on this. I think it would be very bad for the country if he doesn’t. I read that as being directed at **What Exit…!!!** , who seems inordinately eager to see Obama exposed as Blago’s evil twin in disguise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-going-down-with-blago/476875.md?page=3)