The indictment of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was featured on by all three networks last night, and this morning is being reported on major newspapers across the country. NBC Nightly News reported that "charges include racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, and making false statements. Five co-defendants...were also charged. The indictment accuses Blagojevich of using his office to enrich himself and others in exchange for official actions, including trying to sell President Obama's former Senate seat." The Chicago Daily Herald reports that "also charged are lobbyist Lon Monk, Republican insider William Cellini, former chief of staff John Harris, former top fundraiser Chris Kelly and Blagojevich's brother, Rob, who was most recently in charge of the ex-governor's campaign fund." Harris "is now cooperating with federal agents," as is "ex-insider and convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko."
The New York Times, meanwhile, notes that Blagojevich allegedly "sought a return on deals to grant money to a hospital, to approve legislation helpful to racetrack owners, to pick a particular candidate to fill the Senate seat and, according to the indictment, from a United States representative who was pressing for a $2 million grant for a publicly supported school." The indictment "describes the member of Congress as United States Congressman A, one of a series of unidentified public officials throughout the document. Officials at the White House confirmed" that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel "was Congressman A." The Times adds that "in 2006, when Congressman A was making inquiries about the status of state grant money intended for the school, Mr. Blagojevich sent a message, the indictment says, that the brother of the representative (apparently, officials said, Ari Emanuel, an agent in Hollywood) needed to have a fund-raiser for Mr. Blagojevich. The fund-raiser never occurred, the indictment says." Reporting on the "Congressman A" story, the Chicago Tribune describes Emanuel as "a confidant to both Blagojevich and...Obama." In his blog in The Politico, Ben Smith also writes that Emanuel "appears to have been a victim of one of the extortion attempts with which...Blagojevich was charged."
Burris Aide Blasts "Democratic Leadership" Under the headline "Burris Camp Releases Statement On Blagojevich Indictment," the Chicago Sun-Times reports a statement from the office of Sen. Roland Burris, "appointed by...Blagojevich to fill the US Senate seat the former governor is accused of trying to sell." The statement says, "To Blagojevich's credit, he decided as a final act it was important to appoint someone with an exceptional reputation of integrity and superior public service to the US Senate seat. ... 'Please don't let the allegations against me taint this good and honest man,' Blagojevich said at the time. To the extent those goals have not been met, the Democratic leadership can blame its own tainted motivations," as "instead of joining forces with Burris to work to get beyond this sad chapter, they decided to extend the 'Blagojevich burlesque' for their own political motivations." The Politico says the "sharply worded statement" came from "Delmarie Cobb, Burris' media and political consultant."
Coverage of the G20 summit in London, which led all three network newscasts last night, tends to cast the gathering as a triumph for President Obama, whose performance is being described in often glowing terms. NBC Nightly News, for example, reported, "The reviews are already in, rave reviews, partly because Europe was braced to blame America for the world's economic woes. Then...Obama comes and he's humble. He says he's coming to listen, not to lecture." Obama, added NBC, "is blessed by the comparison with his predecessor." On MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews commented, "What a difference a President makes. No more towel snapping. No more French fry smashing. No more 'my way or the highway.' If there was any doubt that Barack H. Obama is not George W. Bush, it was dashed in London this Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday." The Politico, under the headline "Obama's Star Shines Bright In London," says "maybe it should have been called the O-20," as the President "commanded center stage at this high-wattage gathering of the world's industrialized nations, vacuuming up attention both inside the summit and throughout a sophisticated city not easily star-struck."
Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post that it was, "all in all, a pretty successful opening-night performance for ...Obama on the international economic stage. He achieved most of what he wanted while allowing others to claim victory and allowing the United States to shed its Bush-era reputation for inflexibility and heavy-handedness. And by the standards of past summits, this one was full of accomplishment." The AP (4/3, Loven) similarly says Obama "emerged with much of what he wanted from allies on the flailing global economy." On MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, former Defense Secretary William Cohen said of Obama, "I think you have to say it's been an unqualified success in terms of how he has presented himself, the way in which he has carried the burdens of the office knowing that this is a much different world than we have seen since perhaps World War II. ... I think it was a major triumph for him on his first venture abroad."
Noting the President's role in mediating a dispute on tax havens between the leaders of China and France, David Schuster said on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, "As if being the American President were not tough enough these days with trying to fix the economy, fighting wars on two fronts and restoring America's image abroad, as if...Obama did not have enough to juggle at the G20 summit...in his spare time today the American President kept other world leaders from fighting with each other."
On its front page, the New York Times remarks on Obama's "high-profile debut on the world stage," where he "projected contrition about America's role in starting the meltdown" and "extolled global resolve to find a way to end the downturn." Also on its front page, however, the New York Times runs an analysis piece titled "Obama's Star Turn At Summit Gets Mixed Results," in which it says Obama "emerged Thursday from his first summit meeting with a handful of modest concrete commitments." The Times adds Obama's performance "has already been scrutinized for every blemish, Mr. Obama has, thus far, gotten some not-so-good reviews -- several European news outlets complained that he seemed aloof -- and some raves."
During a news conference yesterday, Obama sounded a hopeful note about the effect of the G20 agreement. The CBS Evening News reported, "The G-20 leaders...closed their summit by pledging to lend more than one trillion dollars to struggling nations and to tighten regulations on the financial markets." The President "didn't get everything he wanted, either but it appears he's leaving pretty satisfied." CBS says that "satisfied is an understatement."
The House and Senate on Thursday passed budget resolutions without a single Republican vote. The AP reports the "Democratic-controlled Senate has passed a budget drafted to President Barack Obama's specifications, voting a few hours after the House approved a similar plan." The plan "calls for spending of $3.5 trillion for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 and has a deficit projected at $1.2 trillion." The Senate vote "was 55-43, along party lines. Earlier in the day, the vote in the House was 233-196." The New York Times highlights the lack of GOP support, "a sign of deep partisan tensions likely to color Congressional efforts to enact the major policy initiatives sought by...Obama." Democrats said the House and Senate budgets, "which will have to be reconciled after a two-week Congressional recess, cleared the way for health care, energy and education overhauls pushed by the new president." House Democrats "easily defeated Republican alternatives and won backing for their budget from all segments of their party, from conservative Blue Dogs to urban liberals."
The Wall Street Journal says House Democrats "made some changes in Mr. Obama's $3.6 trillion budget, but like the Senate, which also moved to approve the budget Thursday night, the House kept intact Mr. Obama's plans for major spending on health care, energy and education." The House vote "was 233-196, with 20 Democrats dissenting. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) made a point of announcing the vote total herself. As with the economic stimulus package, no House Republican voted for the Democratic plan." The New York Times notes in an analysis piece that Democrats "say their budget would provide a tax cut for 95 percent of Americans. Republicans say the Democrats' budget "spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.""
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Roll Call reported on its website that Assemblyman James Tedisco (R) "has taken a 12-vote lead in" the "still-too-close-to-call" NY20 Congressional District special "election, as county elections officials continue to recanvass Tuesday's ballots." Businessman Scott Murphy (D) "held a 59-vote lead after ballots were first tallied Tuesday night, then saw that margin whittled to 25 Wednesday after one county reported that some of the votes had been miscounted." Currently, Tedisco has 77,236 votes, while Murphy has 77,224 votes.
The Politico reports, "Democrats in Connecticut and Washington closed ranks Thursday behind embattled" Sen. Christopher Dodd "after the release of a stunning poll that showed the one-time presidential candidate has cratered in the wake of the AIG-bonus controversy. The Quinnipiac poll showed Dodd trailing" ex-Congressman Rob Simmons (R) "by 16 points in a very blue state, and Democrats are growing increasingly nervous about the senator's chances. With this poll, and the swirl of controversy surrounding Dodd and his ties to Wall Street, he has emerged as the most vulnerable Democratic senator in 2010."
In a blog posting, The Politico reported that the Quinnipiac University survey shows Simmons leading Dodd 50%-34%. The poll also shows Dodd trailing "little-known" state Sen. Sam Caligiuri (R) 41%-37%. Caliguri has said that he will challenge Simmons for the GOP nomination to challenge Dodd. According to the survey, 58% "of Connecticut voters" disapprove of Dodd's "job performance and only" 33% view "him favorably."
The Politico reported that PA12 Rep. John Murtha (D) "can be found during House votes...laughing and joking with his fellow lawmakers or talking strategy about upcoming legislation. One thing you won't hear" Murtha "talk about, however, is the PMA Group or Paul Magliocchetti, the once high-flying lobbyist who is now under investigation by the Justice Department." Democratic insiders "and Murtha confidants say Murtha has essentially cut them off from discussing the PMA controversy, and he won't discuss how he should respond to the situation. Even lawmakers close to Murtha...say he is not interested in talking about the issue."
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The Washington Times reports that Club for Growth President Pat Toomey (R) "is expected to step down as president of his anti-tax group Monday to launch a primary challenge against embattled Pennsylvania" Sen. Arlen Specter (R) "in 2010, according to a campaign operative close to the challenger."
The Hill, meanwhile, reports, "Specter's campaign announced Thursday that it has launched a cable ad buy across Pennsylvania hitting" Toomey "for supporting deregulation and wanting to privatize Social Security. The ads will begin running more than a year before the primary."
Roll Call reported on its website that Specter "is up with his first television advertisement of his 2010 re-election bid making him the first incumbent Senator this cycle to hit the airwaves. In the spot, an announcer" says, "Pat Toomey, as a Wall Street trader he sold risky derivatives called 'credit default swaps' the same swaps that have plunged us into this financial mess."
McClatchy reports that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) on Thursday "joined" state GOP Chairman Randy Ruedrich "in calling on" Alaska Sen. Mark Begich (D) "to resign" his seat "so the state's voters could elect a U.S. senator out of the shadow of the botched" U.S. Department of Justice prosecution of ex- Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R). The Politico reports, "In an email" to Politico, Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton "confirmed the governor's position. 'She absolutely agrees that there should be a special election,' Stapleton wrote."
The New York Times reports, "Outrage among Republicans is building in Alaska over the" DOJ's "apparent mishandling of its prosecution of" Stevens, "prompting calls for a new election to give him a chance to win back his seat without a legal cloud hanging over him." The AP notes that Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski "did not call on Begich to resign. 'In light of the good news yesterday, I am sure many of us wish we could turn the clock back to last November,' Murkowski said. 'Unfortunately, that is not an option.'"
The Politico reports that ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich "is warning fellow Republicans that conservatives may leave the GOP for a third party in 2012." Gingrich said, "If the Republicans can't break out of being the right wing party of big government, then I think you would see a third party movement in 2012." During a speech at the College of the Ozarks in Missouri, Gingrich "thrashed Republicans for allowing increased spending during the Bush administration and for not doing enough to block President Barack Obama's early initiatives."
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Jay Leno: The Obamas "gave the Queen an iPod. I remember...when" British Prime Minister Gordon Brown "was here," the Obamas gave him "a DVD box set. So, it looks like they're saving the big gift, the Nintendo, for the Pope."
Jay Leno: "How's this for hypocrisy? While Congress has been chastising companies for giving out bonuses," last year, "members of Congress gave out over $9 million in bonuses," paid "for by...the taxpayer," to "their staff." But Congress "is saying they're not hypocrites because this extra money they give their staff really isn't bonus money. ... It's hush money. They just call it bonus money for legal reasons."
Jay Leno: "Months after Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was convicted for taking illegal gifts and lost" his "re-election, the Justice Department now wants all charges dropped. Apparently, there was such misconduct by the prosecution that he's going to be a free man and he gets to keep all the gifts. When he heard that, Rod Blagojevich announced he is moving to Alaska."
David Letterman: "The 'Guiding Light,' a soap opera" that has "been on television and radio" for "a combination of 72 years," has been "cancelled." This "is bad news for Mitt Romney," because "for years," he played "millionaire Carter St. James."
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