President-elect Obama thinks Illinois Governor Blagojevich should quit
To distance himself further from Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, President-elect Oabama used his press secretary to send the governor a public message: quit.
When news broke on Tuesday that the governor allegedly had tried to sell the US Senate seat Obama vacated, the president-elect was very terse in his comments. 鈥淟ike the rest of the people of Illinois, I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office today,鈥� Obama said. But he did not comment on Blagojevich鈥檚 situation.
Inserting greater distance
On Wednesday, Robert Gibbs, who has been named Obama鈥檚 White House press secretary, moved to insert even greater distance between the new president and the man who, in normal circumstances, would appoint his replacement in the Senate.
鈥淭he president-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. (Pat) Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois,鈥� Gibbs said in response to questions from the Associated Press.
Gibbs was asked if the president-elect supports a move by Illinois lawmakers to convene a special session that would call a special election to fill Obama鈥檚 senate seat. Gibbs told the AP that Obama believes the Legislature should consider a special election and 鈥減ut in place a process to select a new senator that will have the trust and confidence of the people of Illinois.鈥�
Comments grow bolder
That went beyond what Obama told reporters from the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times in an interview on Monday. When asked about the appointment of a successor by Blagojevich, Obama said, 鈥淚 think what the people of Illinois deserve is somebody they can trust, somebody that's going to fight for them and, you know, I think we've got to make sure that whatever process emerges gives them that assurance. I haven't examined all the options that are out there at this point.鈥�
In Monday鈥檚 interview with the Tribune Company owned newspapers, Obama refused to discuss whether Blagojevich had talked with any of his top aides including White House Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel.
鈥淟et me stop you there because . . . it's an ongoing investigation. I think it would be inappropriate for me to, you know, remark on the situation beyond the facts that I know. And that's the fact that I didn't discuss this issue with the governor at all,鈥� Obama said.
Nothing but thanks
Excerpts from the wiretaps that federal authorities placed on the governor鈥檚 phones showed him angry with the president-elect. At one point Blagojevich complained that in return for appointing a Senate candidate Obama wanted 鈥渢hey鈥檙e not willing to give me anything except appreciation.鈥�
