Those of us who supported and voted for Barack Obama have been riding pretty high lately. It's tough not to be happy - giddy, even - when you've worked or hoped for his victory and seen it come to pass. And to observe the groundswell of approval he has received from the American public during this transition, it has truly felt as if we, as a nation, had made a major shift into a more positive zone after 8 long, horrible years.
Of course, the cynic in me has had to take a back seat to my optimistic side for several weeks now. But my cynicism wasn't dead, only dormant. This week, it was roused back into life by the senational, sad and utterly shocking stories regarding Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.
Of course, the first thing we Obama-heads wanted to know was, "Did Obama have anything to do with this?" So far, the prosecutor involved in this case, U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, has stressed that the president-elect is not under investigation, nor is he accused or suspected of any wrongdoing at this time. If anything, much of the information that has appeared in the media indicates that Blagojevich actively dislikes Obama, and has been especially blunt in his criticism and complaints regarding Obama and his transition team. All of this ought to comfort the faithful, and assure us that our next president hasn't let us down by rooting around in the mud with this guy.
And yet...I am getting a bad feeling about this. I know it may be bad form on my part, but I can't help thinking that there may be more to this than Obama's letting on. I don't necessarily believe that there will be any solid links to the pay-for-play political maneuvering that Blagojevich was practicing. But there have just been a few things that smell kinda funny in the wake of these revelations.
First of these has been the statement made by David Axelrod, last month, indicating that the president-elect had spoken to Blagojevich about possible candidates to fill his Senate seat. This statement was reported in the press when it was made in November, yet after the charges against Blagojevich were made public this week, Axelrod retracted it. He said he had been "mistaken" in saying that the men had discussed the Senate seat. Now, Obama is supposedly running a pretty tight ship, and any off-message comments made by his aides and advisers are dealt with swiftly and surely. Yet Axelrod's comment had stood, uncorrected, until this scandal reared its head. It begs the question: Why would this piece of misinformation be allowed to remain floating around for a month?
Another worrying item is the fact that Obama did not immediately respond in a clear, strong way to the news of Blagojevich's transgressions. Condemnation of the highest order was called for, but all Obama told the press was that he was "saddened" and "sobered" by the news. While others were already calling for Blagojevich to resign, Obama failed to do so until today.
Finally, there's just the simple issue of proximity. Obama has served the state of Illinois for years, and has never had a clue of this governor's behavior or temperament? It sounds as though Blagojevich has been quite vocal and not even slightly concerned about hiding his agenda from the crowd around him. Maybe I don't understand the nature of that state's political structure, but it just seems as if people throughout the state knew that this man was up to something, and I am hard pressed to believe that neither Obama nor the main players on his team knew anything about it before this week.
Well, I know this will be on the front pages for a while yet, and there will be much more information to follow. I will not pass judgement now, but I will wait with a guarded optimism to find out what exactly happened, and who played a part in allowing this despicable man to do what he was doing. Obama has a press conference tomorrow, and I hope some solid answers will be forthcoming. He is being tested before he even takes office, and for all our sakes, I hope he passes.
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