Dec 13 2008
The Obama Administration Is Now Damaged Goods, Obama Lied To America
Update: A consensus is brewing about Obama’s pending troubles – see here, here, here and here.
Major Update Below!
The big dominos seem to be falling already, less than a week from the news breaking.  I simply cannot fathom the damage Barack Obama and Rahm Emmanuel have done to their incoming administration, a month before it takes office. But I do know they dealt hit a critical blow this week.  Barack Obama has just been exposed as a liar to the American people. He lied to us in a manner that puts him in the same league as Bill Clinton, Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Robert Torricelli, Rep Randy “Duke” Cunningham and Rep William Jefferson. We have yet to know what, if any, crimes Obama has committed. But the fact is this week he went out and lied straight to the American people. He tried to cover his tracks.
Here is the lie, which caught my eye because of the phrasing Obama was using during his press conference on Daschle’s appointment:
“I had no contact with the governor’s office. I did not speak to the governor about these issues. That I know for certain.â€
It is a lie because now we know Obama’s Chief of Staff provided Blagojevich Obama’s list of candidates he thought should fill his seat. The news broke last night:
Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor’s administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win.
Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be “acceptable” to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.
…
Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.
Emphasis mine. Does Senator Obama really think the American people care about the parsing of ‘talked’ verses ‘sent my list of candidates through my Chief of Staff’? Come on! Who gave the list to Emmanuel? Obama of course! It was Obama’s list of candidates Blagojevich was working with. OMG – are these people morons?
Barack Obama, the next President of the United States, just wagged his finger into the camera and said “I had no conversations with that Governor, Blagojevich, on the candidates for my senate seat’. Of course sending the list of candidates through Emmanual doesn’t somehow count as ‘conversation’.Â
Obama won the election by gaining the trust of the majority of the voters. He was preparing to take office with the added trust of many like me who were willing to give him a chance to prove us wrong. There are no perfect politicians. I was more than willing to give Obama a shot. But his followers were living a dream come true – or so they thought.
I will not be lied to and right now my view of Obama is totally shattered. But my blowback on Obama is going to be mild compared to all those true believers who voted for ‘change we can believe in’. The entire Obama administration is now in a shambles because it’s load bearing characteristic has failed in a devastating manner. Obama is not only just like all other pols, he is inexperienced klutz as well. Â
Obama could not trust the American people to simply tell them he exchanged information with Blagojevich on the matter of the vacant senate seat. All of us would have been shocked at his ineptitude if he hadn’t been pre-planning his transition. But Obama failed America by failing to trust us with obvious details. So he lied and tried sell the idea his ‘office’ had nothing to do with ‘the issue’ (his office of course being his senate office, not his transition team).
And it may get worse. As I noted previously, when reviewing the infamous November 10, 2008 conference call, there were some counter offers from team Obama to team Blagojevich to try and tone down the quid pro quo, to make it less apparent to the public. The first one listed in the criminal complaint covers a two year ‘quiet period’ so that the connection of the quid pro quo to the senate seat would not be so damn obvious. The Team Obama proposal got a big response out of Blagojevich:
[statement 6] ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it up†for two years and do nothing and give this “motherfucker [the President-elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.â€
Note he is not saying ‘get nothing’ forever, he is complaining about getting nothing for two years. This delaying tactic comes up later in the conference call as well, when discussing what seems to be the final solution, a three-way deal with the SEIU and a golden parachute job for Blagojevich and/or his wife:
[statement 8] HARRIS re-stated ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s thoughts that they should ask the President-elect for something for ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s financial security as well as maintain his political viability. HARRIS said they could work out a three-way deal with SEIU and the President-elect where SEIU could help the President-elect with ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s appointment of Senate Candidate 1 to the vacant Senate seat, ROD BLAGOJEVICH would obtain a position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign, and SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the future.
…[Gap 5]…
[statement 9] One of ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s advisors said he likes the idea, it sounds like a good idea, but advised ROD BLAGOJEVICH to be leery of promises for something two years from now.
…[Gap 6]…
[statement 10] ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife said they would take the job now.
…[Gap 7]…
[statement 11] Thereafter, ROD BLAGOJEVICH and others on the phone call discussed various ways ROD BLAGOJEVICH can “monetize†the relationships he is making as Governor to make money after ROD BLAGOJEVICH is no longer Governor.
If Team Obama proposed a delaying tactic to make any payback more stealthy, they are in trouble. If, as the last statement appears to indicate, they agreed on an even more stealthy plan using the SEIU it would be worse. We don’t know how deep Team Obama got into the muck, but we do know they were in it. And for Obama to claim the opposite was probably the biggest crime of all.Â
He had America’s trust, but could not trust America to deal with the obvious aspects of government. He tried to spin a fantasy picture and he is going to be exposed as a charlatan. And when he tries to spin his facade as The One, with answers of hope and change for America, it will all now be seen by many as a lame joke.
This is what many of us feared from the neophyte, from the Junior Senator from Illinois. The man is inept. Â I, like many, are going to be going out and get those ‘don’t blame me, I voted McCain-Palin’ stickers. Obama has completely and utterly bungled this matter. His credibility is now shot. He has bungled so many things (Iraq to name an obvious one), but this one is probably the worst because he made fools of his most ardent followers. They can no longer claim he is The One, that he will fix politics, that he is different. It really is a stunning fall.
BTW – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has just lost all standing in this matter. Now that we know Obama provided her name to Blagojevich via Emmanual she cannot be calling for anything related to this case. She really needs to sit down and be quiet and make sure her name gets cleared. I am not saying she did anything wrong, but for her to put pressure on any of the key players in this could be seen as self serving.
This is such a mess.
Major Update: The yacking pols in Illinois are digging the hole deeper. Just about anyone would agree that controlling who is an allowable candidate for selection to fill Obama’s seat is absolute control over who gets selected. The same story from above notes that Blagojevich could only work from an approved list from Obama, according to one of the candidates and her discussions with Rahm Emmanuel:
Schakowsky also spoke of a conversation she had with Emanuel shortly after he was named chief of staff. She said she called Emanuel “to get some intelligence” on whether Obama might approve of her selection as senator.
“He indicated that the president-elect would be fine with certain people and I was one of them,” Schakowsky said, adding that he did not share the identities of others on the list.
Clearly this indicates Obama had veto power on who could be considered. And since we now know Obama provided Blagojevich the allowable list of candidates it is clear Obama WAS heavily involved in who was selected. No wonder Blagojevich was threatening to seat Jesse Jackson, Jr – he was not on Obama’s list!Â
Yeah Barack, you had nothing but ‘interest’ in who was selected to fill your seat. You were dictating terms and Blagojevich was dictating terms. That is what we call a ‘negotiation’.
IT REALLY AMAZE ME THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ON THIS SITE ARE ***bleep*** AND DO NOT KNOW A DAM THING ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON, I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU ALL, BUT EVERY ***bleep*** HAS HIS OPINION.
FROM WHERE I STAND IN THE WORLD AMERICA IS COLLAPSING AND WILL SOON BE A 4TH WORLD COUNTRY IF WE ALL DO NOT GET OFF OUR ASS AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. YOU PEOPLE HAVE NO TIME TO SIT AROUND AND TALK BULLSHIT, GET RIDDLE OF BLOGOJEVICH´S ASS AND LETS GET ON WITH AMERICA´S BUSINESS. THE PEOPLE WHO PUT THIS JERK IN OFFICE SHOULD BE THE FIRST ONES ARRESTED. TIME WE GET A FRESH START AND MOVE ON. GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD AND WE LET G.BUSH AND FRIENDS PUT US IN A BLACK HOLE. UP TO US NOW TO PULL OURSELFS OUT OF THIS MESS. PEACE, LOVE YOU ALL AT HOME.
WE ALL WORKED TO HARD FOR OUR GREAT COUNTRY TO BE IN THIS CONDITION.
WE ALL WORKED TO HARD FOR OUR GREAT COUNTRY TO BE IN THIS CONDITION.
Facts are facts and the facts are this:
1.CRA
2.Fannie Mae Freddie Mac/clinton administration
3.Sarbanes Oxley bill
4.Unions
5.Bernard Madoff, Invetor(huge democrat contributor)
6.Housing price boom caused by #2’s “guarantees” then bust
7.Congress
8.Congress
9.Congress
Not a one of these has anything to do with George W. Bush.
What DOES have to do with President Bush is record unemployement and growth (EVEN after the attack on the World Financial Markets in ’01)
until ’08 and the “coming home to roost” of liberal policies
Socialism does not work. Never has. Never will. Ask the Europeans who are now moving away from it.
America is the the greatest country on the face of the earth, not because we try to be, but because we live it: hard work, drive, ingenuity, freedom to be, generosity, FUN AND JOY. You miserable folks will NEVER has us in your company. Look elsewhere.
As to obama, it isn’t that he talked directly with bloggie, it’s that he expected to do busines that way, imho.
Lets see a show of hands, Ok,,, democrates, Mmmm,,, republicans, Huh uh,,,, well its obvious I am outnumbered here!
Let Me get this outta the way,, I am neither! I Am an American by birth, and a Texan by the grace of God! Nor did I vote, being aware that Any president, high yellow male or If female, They’re gonna be “somebodys’ puppet”!!!!
I am submitting this blog after reading “crosspatchs” blog @ 4:30pm, 12/13/08. What We as Americans Should be concerned With, instead of what race/color/gender the oval office puppet Is,,, Is the state of affairs said puppets Have gotten Us into during the past 50 yrs!
We are currently in a recession, We are currently killing and being killed in a war that We should have never allowed,, We are currently dispised/unappreciated in most of the free and surpressed world abroad,, We are currently fighting on 3 diff. fronts for Other countries(killing and being killed, again),, We are Etc… on and on, But you democrates And republicans wanna piss an moan about Is what a lie the current puppet uttered, and what politician is spewin BS,, Duh Those are givens!
Anyways, I’m done! Take the time to read and reflect!!!!!
crosspatch & kitty……….that really is the question. Who is running Obama? I have been asking from 2005. The only answer I get is Soros. Never bought it.
The big money was being spent from 2004 on this person that came out of nowhere. He is Chicago. He was placed into each step up. Someone arranged all this or some COUNTRY arranged all this. I still think it’s one of the scariest things I have ever witnessed. He had zero record, zero that could be pinned on him. Clean. Too clean. Much too clean to be surrounded by the worst Chicago has to offer. So who runs him? I could even give Obama himself a pass because I think he is only the stooge in this play. Hell, he could be as scared over it as me. He sure looked sick when this one hit. And Rbo hid.
crosspatch, kitty, and owl: Tom Daschle handed Obama his Senate staff and, along with Durbin, convinced Obama to run for president. I assume Daschle (and Durbin) wanted to stop Hillary.
Whether Soros pulls everyone’s strings is not for me to speculate, but Saturday Night Live did run that sketch that labelled Soros, ‘owner, Democratic Party’.
However, I do think it’s Daschle since 2004.
Obama always needs a father figure – Marshall, Wright, Ayers, Emil Jones – until 2004, when it suddenly becomes Daschle.
Lehman Bros. bankruptcy on 9/15 was the big domino with unintended consequences – and I am looking forward to Tim Geithner’s confirmation hearing because I am sure Sen. Shelby at least will be asking about Geithner and Lehman Bros. Geithner spent five years overseeing the NY financial institutions, and this is what we get?
You guys should read the NYT series “The Reckoning” The business writers seem to live in the koolaid-free zone. Today, they nailed Senator Chuck Schumer, who made the Democratic Party the party of Wall Street since 1999. And made sure to remind everyone of Robert Rubin’s failure, again – as if the article on Citigroup and the article on refusing to regulate derivatives in 1997 were not enough…
Don’t you think Schumer isn’t telling Gov. Paterson who to appoint to Hillary’s Senate seat?
Just thought you might consider the need for a father figure and aversion to risk that characterizes Obama. He wants to be liked far more than he wants to be Stalin.
well, back to my new hobby – saving Saab from the idiocy of GM.
The comments on this board are of great concern to me. I have noticed a pattern of hostility for some time within our country. It appears to me that many are seeing the opposing political party as a greater threat than our enemies’ abroad. This cannot have anything but a divisive effect, as is being see here. If this internal hostility continues, it will become increasingly difficult to wage the war effectively.
“I have noticed a pattern of hostility for some time within our country”
Yeah, but mostly from the Left. Have you seen the way “gay rights” activists treated the Mormons? Biden’s church didn’t get burned down, it was Palin’s. And the list goes on.
Democrats are some of the least tolerant, most violent, narrow-minded crazies I have seen in some time. Ever hear of a Republican attacking an Obama supporter? The corruption gets worse, the violence gets worse, and our media just doesn’t seem to care. Actually, they do care, they are complicit. They enable the behavior. Failing to report it for what it is amounts to agreement with it.
The new bumper stickers are here! (funny!)
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/12/new-bumper-stickers-are-here-new-bumper.html
Seems AJ hit a nerve on this post. It also appears that those with Bush Derangement Syndrome have morphed into Obama Messiah Syndrome (the King can do no wrong).
AJ pointed out that Obama lied. It’s bizzarre that Obama lied, also, because as many of you recognize — it would be expected that he WOULD have contact with the Gov about his replacement. So, why lie about it? There are several troubling things in the indictment…..and, some indicate a spokesperson for Obama talking about deals. No one knows if Obama, Rahm Emmanuel, etc have committed any crimes. The investigation hasn’t been made public yet. But, it is clear that Obama lied. So, the real question is…..why? And, yes, it does great damage to his Administration before he even takes office.
Will Holder have to recuse himself from Chicago probe?
December 14, 2008
Clarice Feldman
AP’s Pete Yost reports that legal experts tell him that if Eric Holder is confirmed as attorney general, he may have to recuse himself from overseeing the Illinois courruption probe that has ensnared Governor Blagojevich and struck fear in the hearts of other Illinois pols. This is another good reason why Holder’s name should be taken out of the hat for Attorney General
Holder , as you recall, was an Obama advisor during the presidential campaign and there’s a possibility that he might know something relevant to the probe and be called as a witness.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/12/will_holder_have_to_recuse_him.html
The Real Story Behind the Rushed Blagojevich Bust: How the Feds Are Frustrated by Losing (Maybe) Half of Their Case
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/12/14/the-real-story-behind-the-rushed-blagojevich-bust-how-the-feds-are-frustrated-by-losing-maybe-half-of-their-case/
[…] More Bad News For the Hope and Changers– Barack Obama and his team issued categorical denials that Obama and/or his staff had contacted Blagojevich or his staff about the succession. Of course, it is apparent now that this was a lie. […]
Let us just hope that SCOTUS does the right thing today
and gives Cort Wrotnoswki permission to be heard.
I doubt Obama’s true followers will rebel against this.
Obama is of the Morlocks and the followers are Eloi.
They will march to hell if Obama asks, and well he may.
I didn’t realize we were so close to calling a Constitution Convention.
A bill was defeated in Ohio. Apparently 32 other states have
passed such bills. Only 34 states are needed. Anyone want to
guess what Obama’s new constitution would be?
No big surprise. SCOTUS denies Wrotnowski.
What happens next?
This: http://www.newswithviews.com/Vieira/edwin186.htm
In the meantime, the Eloi celebrate their victory.
Plus, Bloomberg now reports that there may be another shoe dropping: There is some apparent pay-for-play in New Mexico involving a company that got some fees after donating to Richardson’s PACs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aL0GGUluJeT8&refer=worldwide
dave m,
The birth certificate thing is a non-issue. The sooner people drop it the better. Better to use energy and resources on an angle that actually has some merit.
I think Obama will be in shreds as a corrupt political hack along with a good portion of his cabinet being exposed as the same before he even takes office. The “culture of corruption” of the Democratic party might finally be on the way to being revealed.
Maybe, just maybe, some of these companies will start to sing about the fleecing they have had to take from these politicians. As money gets tight and boards of directors start looking into expenditures and hiring practices, a lot more might come to the surface.
How many of these “do nothing” political jobs given to friends of politicians will survive the current economic turmoil is an interesting question. Might some of these “jobmail” positions, positions given to political friends in exchange for government contracts, be exposed?
I would expect so.