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Obama Had A Lot of Buffers

By Philip Klein on 12.11.08 @ 10:24AM

The NY Times reports today (toward the end of a story that appeared on page A40) that if Barack Obama did not talk to Gov. Blagojevich himself, that there were likely intermediaries between him and the governor, perhaps even Rahm Emanuel:

Mr. Emanuel was among the few people in Mr. Obama’s circle who occasionally spoke to Mr. Blagojevich. He declined to answer questions on Wednesday, waving off a reporter who approached him as he walked across Capitol Hill.

A Democrat familiar with Illinois politics and the Obama transition, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there probably were calls between the Blagojevich and Obama camps about the Senate seat. It was not clear if any calls were recorded by federal agents, who had tapped the governor’s phones.

The public has a right know what was discussed in these conversations and how much knowledge Obama himself had about them. Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has already made clear that the indictment does not make any allegations about Obama, and as has been noted, Blago was angry that Obama apparently didn't want to play the game. Obama has promised to run the most transparent White House in history and yet in his first real test, all we're getting is the standard line of not wanting to talk about an "ongoing investigation." This isn't change, it's the typical Washington bunker mentality whenever scandal is in the air, and it's normally that very mentality that gets presidents in the most trouble.