The Chicago Way

I don't really have anything specific to say regarding the scandal erupting within the Illinois governor's office. It is what it is and quite frankly it just sounds like politics as normal to me, just with a slightly illegal twist.

Some people scattered around the Internet seem to think that this will bring Mr. Obama down in a Nixonian fashion. This is a complete load. Mr. Obama and his staff did nothing wrong. In fact the timeline that has been put forth so far suggests that the Obama staff started distancing themselves away from Mr. Blagojevich as early as a week after the election when things started developing. I've even heard a suggestion that a member of the Obama staff may have tipped off the Justice Department of what was going on to allow them to expand the focus of their probe.

The only thing that is likely to affect Mr. Obama in the near future his past involvement in Chicago politics. Mr. Rezko is singing like a canary and some of his testimony will likely be used both against Mr. Blagojevich and to attack Mr. Obama. I doubt there will ever be anything to be more than a significant distraction to Mr. Obama, but this does have the air of the Paula Jones lawsuit that Mr. Clinton was swatting at when he took office. It never destroyed him, but it ultimately put a handicap on his presidency. We shall see if this ends up hitting Mr. Obama in the same way.