Political Punch

Did Obama speak with Blagojevich about Valerie Jarrett being his successor in the Senate and Blago getting something n return?: "Asked what contact he'd had with the governor's office about his replacement in the Senate, President-elect Obama today said 'I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening.'

But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.

While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a 'kingmaker,' Axelrod said, 'I know he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them.'"
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The fact is that Blagojevich knew Obama wanted Valerie Jarrett to be his successor, but it seems that he didn't want to give Blagojevich anything in return. That led Blagojevich to his expletive-laden tirades against Obama.

It is interesting that Obama says he had no contact with Blagojevich on this. First, Axelrod said he did, and second, it is inconceivable that Obama didn't make his preferences clear. He had a perfect right to do that. From the complaint there is no evidence that Obama did anything wrong. I suppose time will tell. Blagojevich, though, would seem to be headed to federal prison at some point in the future.