How to get a government job in Obama administration

David Hirsayni:

Political payoffs are so commonplace in Washington that I was initially unable to muster an appropriate level of outrage at hearing that Rep. Joe Sestak had accused the Obama administration of offering him a job in exchange for his withdrawal from the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.

Until, that is, I heard President Barack Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, explain to CNN's John King that though there was "no evidence" (hey, if the administration's senior adviser claims there is no evidence, we should move along), if such an offer were made it would constitute "a serious breach of the law."

If the Democratic Party's choice for the Senate in Pennsylvania is a fabulist — as Axelrod is effectively saying — why does Sestak's story sound so familiar to one in the Democratic Senate primary in Colorado?

In September 2009, an article headlined "D.C. job alleged as attempt to deter Romanoff" by the Denver Post's Michael Riley reported that Andrew Romanoff, former speaker of the Colorado House who was then still contemplating a run again against the governor-installed, administration-sanctioned foot soldier Michael Bennet, received an "unexpected communication" from a renowned kingmaker in Washington.

"Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff and a storied fixer in the White House political shop," wrote Riley at the time, "suggested a place for Romanoff might be found in the administration and offered specific suggestions, according to several sources who described the communication to The Denver Post."

Apparently if you're running against the establishment's preference, a communication from Messina should not be entirely unexpected.

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Does it matter? The entire statute can be found online by searching for "US Code — Section 600: Promise of employment or other benefit for political activity." After reading the law, it is clear that any offer of a job "directly or indirectly . . . to any person as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity . . . in connection with any general or special election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election" is an illegal act. (The liberal use of italics is mine.)

Conceivably, the U.S. Agency for International Development was frantically hunting for someone with Romanoff's unique work and life experiences exactly at the time everyone in Colorado knew he was contemplating a challenge against the largely unknown Bennet. Or, perhaps, Romanoff, once a moderate liberal and now running populist left, was exactly the kind of recognized contender who could cause trouble for an untested candidate.

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My money would be on the latter. I wonder if Messina had any communications with Sestek. I think we will probably find out about 5 p.m. today on the Friday before Memorial day. Making reporters work on a holiday weekend seems to be the politics of hoping for second string coverage.