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Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright December 9, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style6">C</span>aught red-handed in an FBI sting operation, 52-year-old Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief-of-staff John Harris were taken into custody at 6:15 a.m. for trying to sell President-elect Barack Obma s senate seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Like governors of other states, Blagojevich was responsible for replacing Obama s empty senate seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>FBI agents recorded Blagojevich driving a hard bargain for the seat he believed commanded a hefty price on the open market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Blagojevich wanted a <i>quid pro quo</i> for the privilege of getting Barack s empty seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Outlining his case, U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald, the tenacious prosecutor responsible for convicting Vice President Dick Cheney s soon-to-be-pardoned chief of staff I. Lewis  Scooter Libby, called Blagojevich s actions  staggering corruption, something denied by the governor s attorney, telling the press his client had no intention of stepping down.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <![endif]>Blagojevich s attorney Sheldon Sorosky insisted the U.S. attorney was playing politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> He didn t do anything wrong, Sorosky told reporters after Blaglojevich s arraignment in federal court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> A lot of this is just politics, implying his client was framed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>But, like O.J. Simpson who was just sent to Nevada state prison Dec. 5 for kidnapping and armed robbery, Blagojevich was tape-recorded, giving Fitzgerald an open-and-shut case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> No, the Illinois governor did  nothing wrong other than trying sell Obama s senate seat to the highest bidder, shunned and rebuffed by Barack s transition team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When asked about the sting, Barack said he was  saddened and sobered, by the allegations, putting his once good friend in hot water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack said he had  no contact with the governor or his office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>And so I was unaware what was happening, denying any involvement.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>On Nov. 23 his chief strategist David Axelrod told Chris Wallace on FOXNews that Barack talked to Blagojevich about his senate replacement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack s close friend and advisor Chicago lawyer and businesswoman Valerie Jarrett was rumored to be on the short-list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Jarrett reportedly took herself out of the running Nov. 12, e-mailing her intent to the Chicago Tribune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Questioned about the inconsistency, Axelord reneged, saying he misspoke when he told Wallace Barack had talked to the governor. Speaking Nov. 9, Axelrod said he was  mistaken, clarifying that that Barack  did not then or any anytime discus the subject. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike the former Weather Underground radical and now University of Illinois Education professor William  Bill Ayres, Barack actually had a close relationship with Blagojevich, helping him get elected in 2003.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Blagojevich supported Barack s run for U.S. senate in 2004.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>FBI tape recording reveal a Mafia-like Blagojevich, expressing expletives about the president-elect, apparently shunning overtures of pay-to-play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>In one taped conversation with an FBI agent, Blagojevich said he knew Barack wanted his old friend Valerie Jarrett on top of the list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> They re not willing to give me anything except appreciation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> F them, said the governor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Saying he didn t want give  [this] mother F -er [Obama] his senator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> F him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>For nothing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> F him, said Blagojevich in a 76-page affidavit, displaying the most vile, filthy, out-of-control outbursts, all because he didn t get what he wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When asked whether Blagojevich planned to resign, Sorosky said,  not that I know of, no. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said there was no way the governor could fulfill his constitutional duty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama agreed, calling for Blagojevich s immediate resignation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Whether it s today or tomorrow, Blagojevich will be forced out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His conduct is far more egregious than New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, forced to resign his office March 12 for paying for a high-priced call girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Blagojevich wanted to sell Barack s seat to the highest bidder, arrange a lucrative corporate board job for his wife Patti and blackmail the Chicago Tribune to fire editorial board members critical of his policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The breath of the corruption laid our in these charges is staggering, U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Before the latest revelations about Obama s senate seat, Fitzgerald was investigating Blagojevich for pay-to-play with state contractors contributing to his re-election campaign, including a state-contracted concrete operator agreeing to raise $500,000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> If they don t perform,  F-em,  said Blagojevich, in Fitzgerald s shocking complaint.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>When the FBI arrested Blagojevich at 6:15 a.m. at his Chicago home, he asked whether it was a  joke. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He became so out-of-touch with reality, he couldn t separate fact from fantasy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> They allege that Blagojevich put a  for sale sign on the naming of a United States senator, involved himself in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of s salesman meeting his annual sales target, and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism, said Fitzgerald, expressing the outrage over the governor s Mafia-like behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whatever Chicago s history of organized crime, Blagojevich must stand accountable for betraying his office, subverting Illinois state laws and trashing the U.S. Constitution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> He didn t do anything wrong, said Blagojevich s attorney, believing it s OK to act like Al Capone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Apart from acting criminal, he s quite obviously insane.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <bAbout the Author</u><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <i><a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> </i>and <i><a href="books.html"> Operation Charisma</a></i>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style5"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td height="1" class="style5"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>