This is staggering news for Obama and company. Obama made it all the way to this moment essentially untagged with the “he’s just another Chicago pol” label (meaning he’s a crook, allegations unspecified — although his property transaction for his house didn’t help him). Anyone who has spent a lick of time in politics knows that a governor and his chief of staff are de facto the leaders of a state party. Which in turn means a myriad of connections to other party leaders, in this case the two senators from Illinois, Obama and Durbin. At a minimum there had to be some awareness on the part of these two that their leader was…ahhh…somewhat over ripe. The obvious question is the old Howard Baker line from Watergate: What did the President (elect) and the Senate Majority Whip know — and when did they know it?  

The troubling part of this is that the country has deeply serious problems obvious to all. Is this the tip of an iceberg that is about to unleash the hounds to such an extent that it adds unimagined turmoil to a situation chaotic enough as is? Impeach Obama — already? Or have we elected the Virgin King? Is Joe Biden already remembering Vice President Jerry Ford’s words to wife Betty as she went on and on about the decorations of the newly acquired VP’s residence where the Fords were scheduled to move from their longtime home in Alexandria? “Honey, we’re never going to move in.”

Buckle in!