Blago Remains an Issue for Obama
12 December 2008 9:35 am by Taylor Marsh
BY TAYLOR MARSH
Yesterday I wrote a post criticizing Obama’s response on Blago, mainly based on his delivery. Let’s just say it’s not popular to dare to say Obama hasn’t handled this well. Obviously, I could care less about the criticism, because the obvious is just that, especially when you’ve got a huge story and you’re in charge of how long that story lasts. We’re now on day four, with questions still going unanswered. The case for Obama going after Blago in no uncertain terms instead of his current response is made even clearer when reading a Washington Post story today about Obama distancing himself early from Blagojevich:
Even though they often occupied the same political space — two young lawyers in Chicago, two power brokers in Springfield, two ambitious men who coveted the presidency — Obama and Blagojevich never warmed to each other, Illinois politicians said. They sometimes used each other to propel their own careers but privately acted like rivals. Blagojevich considered Obama naive and pretentious and dismissed his success as “good luck.” Obama disparaged Blagojevich for what he viewed as his combativeness, his disorganization and his habit of arriving at official events half an hour late.
One of Obama’s biggest boosters during the primary, Eugene Robinson has an op-ed today saying the same thing as I did yesterday. No doubt it’s going to be met with the same criticism.
In handling questions about the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich — for allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s former Senate seat to the highest bidder — Obama has gone strictly by the book. His statements have been cautious and precise, careful not to get ahead of the facts or make declarations that might later have to be retracted. For most politicians, that would be good enough. For Obama, who inspired the nation with a promise of “change we can believe in,” it’s not. [...]
Obviously, others in the press are having a field day. Ed Rendell called Politico out on their story about him today, which came with a screaming headline: “Rendell: Obama bungles Blago response.” Eric Boehlert calls the New York Times out.
To say Obama’s not had much criticism coming from the press is an understatement. It’s showing, because he and his team are too slow in getting this story behind them. They need to do better.
