With unanswered questions fueling speculation about the extent of President-elect Obama's transition team's contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich regarding his vacant Senate seat, new details emerged about the controversy. The Wall Street Journal reports that Obama "had begun thinking about his Senate successor even before the presidential election, and dispatched Rahm Emanuel days after the vote to contact" Bagojevich aides "to begin talking up Mr. Obama's preferred candidates, associates of Mr. Emanuel said this weekend." Emanuel "didn't talk to Mr. Blagojevich directly about the matter, by phone or in person, according to people familiar with the matter. He spoke by phone with aides to the governor, those people say."
In a radio interview with Chicago's WGN-AM, incoming White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about the allegations that Emanuel is "actually on some of these secretly recorded tapes talking about the vacant Obama seat to Blagojevich officials." Gibbs replied, "I think I'll wait until we have a full picture and we can tell everybody what any staff investigation has found out and do it in a timely and thorough way as the President-Elect expects us to do."
ABC World News said "prominent Democrats, including Pennsylvania's governor, have criticized the President-elect for not saying more sooner" about the scandal. Gov. Ed Rendell: "The rule of thumb is, whatever you did, say it. And get it over with. Make it a one-day story."
Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, "Last week's revelation that...Blagojevich was secretly recorded in his campaign office and on his home phone has prompted more than a dozen potential witnesses in recent days to come forward. They've been calling investigators and defense lawyers to talk about deals or discussions they've had with Blagojevich."
McCain Critical Of GOP For Linking Obama To Scandal Sen. John McCain is again bucking his own party, criticizing Republican efforts to link President-elect Obama to the Illinois scandal. NBC Nightly News Obama's "opponents tried to use the scandal against him. This Republican National Committee video features State Senator Obama in 2002." Obama: "Right now, my main focus is to make sure that we elect Rod Blagojevich as governor."
The AP reports McCain yesterday "rejected Republican attempts to link Obama to the scandal" and notes that Mike Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee, "has accused Obama of not fully addressing contacts with Blagojevich concerning the Senate seat vacated by Obama." On ABC News' This Week, McCain said, "You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee...we should try to be working constructively together. ... I don't know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama's campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois, but I have some confidence that all the information will come out." The Politico calls McCain's comments a "surprising rebuke to the warriors who fought for him through tough times."
Calls mounted yesterday for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to resign. USA Today reports state Attorney General Lisa Madigan said on CBS' Face the Nation that she "asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to declare Blagojevich incapable of serving and remove him from office," and "said she hopes the court will respond 'in a few days.'"
On its front page, the New York Times reports that "many who know the governor well say that as Mr. Blagojevich's famed fund-raising capability seemed to have shrunk in recent months and as his legal bills mounted after years of federal investigation, he appeared to have evolved from...callous into something closer to panicked or delusional."
Under the headline "Blagojevich Says He Has No Plans To Resign," the New York Times says "Madigan is a longtime rival of Mr. Blagojevich who has expressed interest in the past of one day being governor herself." The AP notes Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn also "criticized the governor anew" on NBC's "Meet the Press."
NBC Nightly News reported "the governor's spokesman insists he will not resign Monday. In fact, Blagojevich has been meeting with a high-profile attorney with a reputation for fighting through trial." The AP says the attorney in question is "Ed Genson, who has defended media mogul Conrad Black and R&B singer R. Kelly."
Chicago's WMAQ-TV reported, "Word tonight" is that Blagojevich may "step aside before he's pushed out." While a "spokesperson for the governor says he has no plans to resign...there is a possibility that tomorrow Blagojevich may announce he is voluntarily removing himself from office temporarily." But WBBM-TV, also in Chicago, said that "those who have spoken with him say [Blagojevich] truly believes he will be exonerated" and "at this point anyway is not inclined to either resign or step aside temporarily."
Staff May Be Planning Mass Resignations Chicago's WLS-TV focused on a "possible revolt among Blagojevich's top staffers. ... The top aides to the Governor are weighing their options and among those options resigning in mass." Although the staff reportedly wants to send a "protest message," several aides who had already written their resignation letters decided to shelve them for the moment since "a mass exodus at this point might...paralyze a state already in crisis."
Selection Of Obama's Replacement Chaotic The Chicago Tribune reports Illinois lawmakers "return to the Capitol on Monday with plans to disarm and dislodge" Blagojevich," but "with Republicans looking to turn the tables on Democrats who control the Statehouse, and disagreement among leaders over whether to proceed with impeachment and how to handle the Senate dilemma, the only certainty on the agenda is chaos."
State GOP Unveils Anti-Blagojevich Campaign The Politico reports the Illinois Republican Party "launched a new Web site that it says will link 12 different state Democrats to...Blagojevich. The site, Friendsofblago.com, is the latest incarnation of the state party's hopes of turning President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat over to the GOP." The Hill, meanwhile, reports the Illinois GOP is also "launching a statewide campaign to pressure state legislators to call a special election."
President Bush made unannounced visits to Iraq and Afghanistan yesterday and this morning. In Baghdad, Bush met with Iraq leaders and touted the recently reached security deal, but much of the media coverage was dominated by a bizarre incident that occurred when an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at the President -- an insult in Arab culture -- during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Malaki. NBC Nightly News said "what everyone seems to be talking about tonight is" the "bizarre and potentially dangerous incident." McClatchy recounts that the attacker, a local journalist, said as he threw the shoe, "This is a goodbye kiss, you dog." The Los Angeles Times recounts that "seconds later, the journalist hurled his other shoe with similar precision as another Iraqi journalist reached over in an attempt to stop him." NBC Nightly News reported that while Prime Minister al-Maliki "was clearly embarrassed by it," Bush "did, however, win over the room. He ended up looking pretty good." As USA Today reports, Bush "ducked to avoid being hit" and then joked about the incident. 'All I can report is it is a size 10,' he quipped and calmly took questions."
Many media accounts are reading a deep significance in the attack. For example, though it notes that "other Iraqi journalists in the front row apologized to Mr. Bush, who was uninjured," the New York Times says "the trip will...likely be remembered for the unscripted moment." The Politico reports "Bush was cool under fire," but "the embarrassing incident marred a visit meant to show off the improved conditions." ABC World News said "the trip will almost surely be remembered for these pictures of an Iraqi reporter throwing his shoes at the President," and the Wall Street Journal calls the show-throwing -- "a gesture of contempt in Iraqi culture" -- a "sign of the hostility that the US presence continues to generate among many in Iraq." The AP and Washington Post run similar assessments.
Beyond the shoe episode during the press conference, media analysts are reaching contrasting assessments of the significance of Bush's Iraq trip. NBC Nightly News reported that "in a sign of improved security, there was an outdoor welcoming ceremony beyond the secure Green Zone, in broad daylight." USA Today also says it "demonstrated the success of last year's military buildup in quelling violence," but the AP says the country "is far from safe by any normal standard," describing Iraq as "a country of daily bombings, kidnappings and ambushes." Additional coverage was reported by the AP, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and on ABC World News.
Bush Touts "Progress" In Afghanistan The AP reports "Bush got a firsthand look Monday at the deteriorating situation in the seven-year-old Afghanistan war." But the AP quotes Bush as saying, "Afghanistan is a dramatically different country than it was eight years ago. ... We are making hopeful gains." AFP reports Bush was to meet "President Hamid Karzai and dispel any fears of flagging support when he leaves office." The New York Times reports security has "worsened in Afghanistan, something that Mr. Bush attributed to 'a quiet surge' of American and NATO forces over the last year that had resulted in greater contact with Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters."
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McClatchy reports Sen. John McCain "pointedly refused" yesterday to say that he would back Gov. Sarah Palin for the GOP nod in 2012, "saying there are plenty of other good people in the Republican Party to consider." In a story headlined "McCain in no rush to back Palin in 2012," The Politico reports McCain said on ABC's This Week yesterday, "I can't say something like that. We've got some great other young governors. I think you're going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party." The Hill adds, "However, McCain also lauded his running mate. 'I have the greatest appreciation for Gov. Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them,' he stated. 'She invigorated our campaign.'"
The New York Daily News reports the "backlash" against Caroline Kennedy replacing Sen. Hillary Clinton "was in full gear this past week, much of it coming from key supporters of Clinton herself." The Daily News adds that "in recent days," Clinton advisor Robert Zimmerman and Stuart Applebaum, "a former Clinton delegate...ripped Kennedy's qualifications." And Reps. Anthony Weiner (D) and Gary Ackerman (D), "both of whom are loyal to Clinton, have also harped on Kennedy's lack of political experience. Ackerman compared Kennedy's name recognition with that of Jennifer Lopez, saying popularity doesn't make someone qualified to be a U.S. senator."
The AP reports, "The two campaigns in Minnesota's Senate race have vowed to withdraw even more of the ballots they're challenging in the state recount." Al Franken's campaign "announced Sunday that it expects the number of Franken-challenged ballots to drop below 500 by Tuesday. And Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's campaign announced later Sunday that it would ask the state Canvassing Board to review fewer than 1,000 ballots." Coleman leads the contest by about 200 votes, but the fate of the contest now rests on a state canvassing board review of the challenged ballots.
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Jay Leno: "Early this morning, embattled" Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich "invited several ministers into his home." First, "he prayed with them. And then, you know, out of force of habit, he tried to take up a collection."
David Letterman: "You know today, actually, five years ago tomorrow, I believe," they "captured Saddam Hussein. ... You know who gets a really big kick out of that" is "bin Laden. He just thinks that's the funniest thing."
Conan O'Brien: "Bad news for the auto industry. ... Yesterday, the bailout for US automakers fell apart in Congress. Yeah. Yeah, apparently the bailout fell apart because it was designed by the same people who make the Chevy Malibu."
Conan O'Brien: "According to an article that just came out in a fitness magazine," President Bush "often rides a stationary bike onboard Air Force One. That's true. Advisors say, 'He pedals really hard because he thinks he's powering the plane.'"
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