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Chicago Machine Politics at Its Finest

Submitted by Eric Ames on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 12:46
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About 11 weeks ago, I reported from my independent research a case of potential corruption involving Barack Obama and patronage of the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Now, after he has been elected, we find that not only has Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich tried to sell a senate seat, but has tried to play dishonest political games with numerous organizations, including the Children’s Memorial Hospital.

I’m not going to say “I told you so” but it does look as though this hospital may be part of a serious political patronage machine.  This should perhaps not go ignored, and while it is presumptuous and hasty to say that Obama was involved in this scandal, it is hardly a good start for an administration dedicatede to eradicating the "same old politics as usual."

UPDATE:

ABC News reports some rather unflattering remarks from the Governor about the President elect.  The only thing this changes in my mind is that Blagojevich has gone from unprincipled to thoroughly unprincipled.  This definitely shows he really has no warm feelings for Obama, so we can probably assume that Obama wasn't involved.

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Comments

Obama's clean.

Submitted by RisingTide on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 13:00.

Blaj can go rot in federal prison. IF he is convicted (and if not, let the man resign anyhow. this is bigger, and stupider than anything Rangel has done -- and he deserves some moderate amount of consequences too).

 

Pot calliing kettle black

Submitted by GWMustGo on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 13:46.

Tell you what - if you find that Obama as President pollutes the Justice Department by only hiring folks who will sign a personal loyalty oath to Obama (not the US or the Constitution), thereby destroying an otherwise worthy organization, then you can gripe.

Until then, clean your own damn house and shut the hell up.

And thank Rahm for being an HONEST sob.

Submitted by RisingTide on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 13:56.

(they're saying that Obama and Rahm turned Blag in, on the local Chicago news).

This has to be smart politics -- nobody in Illinois likes Blag, he has no power base, and it leaves Madigan and Daley to have a fight over who's really in control of Illinois. Plus, he gets mondo cred for putting down a known-to-be-corrupt Democratic guy (thus setting the stage for any prosecution of folks in WV or Alaska, among other corrupt states).

Obama is the emperor of Chicago

Submitted by johnson springs on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 14:00.

Obama is the emperor of Chicago, so I suppose everything that happens in Illinois is his responsibility.

Now, I do think that you will see Obama employ some Chicago home cooking when it comes to using the government to advance his agenda and isolate (some of) his opponents. For example, his stated intention to keep Bush's faith-based initiative (which statements have not been well-received by many of his supporters) is in my view rooted in his desire to peel off some evangelicals by granting their leaders, etc.

As I've said for some time, I don't worry that Obama is inexperienced. Rather that he is gifted politician with some old-school skills. Time will tell.

he's more idealistic than most I've seen.

Submitted by RisingTide on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 14:08.

and he does know how to listen.

But he appointed Rahm Emanuel -- this is a man who gets things done, come hell or high water.

Which makes me a little bit happier. Idealism is good, but in small doses.

And the faith based initiatives play better to minorities, in particular Blacks and Hispanics, than you might think. These are people who think of the church as a part of their societal structure. And they're much more on the fence than MOST evangelicals.

Not to say that Obama didn't pick up more evangelicals than Kerry -- just that the swing on Hispanics (and white northern catholics) was much bigger. (Pastordan covers this in a lot of detail on StreetProphets)