Reacting to extortion

Doyle McManus:

Barack Obama may soon face a defining dilemma in the wake of Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich's alleged attempt to sell the president-elect's Senate seat: What standard of conduct should Obama impose on aides acting on his behalf?

Here's what we know:

It's increasingly clear that someone on Obama's staff talked with Blagojevich or his aides last month about the now-empty Senate seat. According to the criminal complaint filed by U.S. Atty. Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Blagojevich believed that Obama wanted his longtime aide, Valerie Jarrett, to get the seat, and the governor sought to find out what he could obtain from the president-elect in return. But after several days of discussion, Blagojevich concluded with disgust that Obama wanted to be given "his senator ... for nothing." "[Bleep] him," the governor added.

There's nothing unusual about a senator or his staff talking with a governor about who will get a vacant Senate seat. That's normal politics, even outside Chicago. So far, it seems that Obama's team did the right thing. The question is, when the tapes and transcripts of their conversations are released, will there be something that makes us cringe?

Obama's staff includes several people who know Blagojevich well. The president-elect's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, once bragged that he was one of the governor's most important advisors. Obama's top political strategist, David Axelrod, worked for Blagojevich in the 1990s, although they eventually parted ways.

Axelrod said Thursday that the last time he spoke with the governor was "thankfully, a long time ago." The normally voluble Emanuel, famous for deploying expletives as frequently as Blagojevich, hasn't talked about the matter. Obama said that he had no personal contact with the governor's staff and has asked his team "to gather the facts ... so we can share them with you over the next few days." That's the kind of thing politicians say when they know they have a problem but they aren't sure how bad it is.

By now, three days after the prosecutor blew the whistle, Obama should know what most of the facts are. When the governor's side said they wanted something in return for putting Jarrett in the Senate, how did Obama's aide react? By rebuffing the idea and calling the police? (That would have been the most prudent response.) Or in some less stiff-necked way that in the cold light of a transcript will look less high-minded?

In short, when Obama's team talked with the governor, were they operating under Obama's rules -- or Chicago rules? More important: How will Obama react if someone on his team made a misstep?

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The answer to that question seems pretty clear. They will be thrown under the bus. I think it is one reason he did not deal directly with Blagojevich.

Later McManus says "the controversy is an unwelcome distraction." Obama uses that term so regularly that it would not surprise me for him to describe a nuclear attack by Iran against Israel as a distraction from the Middle East peace process. Come on. This is a serious issue about a governor using his office for extortion and solicitation of a bribe. Corruption is not a distraction, it is a serious issue.