Barack The Untouchable

The most corrupt situation we have lived in the past years is Bush's lie about a war that killed thousands of Americans. After that, nothing that anyone can do can be called corrupt enough.

I should think we are a very long way from comparing Obama to Truman. Only time will tell.

The only people who think Obama is even remotely tied to this scandal are Republicans who hate him for spanking them in the election, and will say anything to sabotage him. And of course their are always a few self righteous media hypocrites who will get mad at Obama no matter what he says, and claim that he is not saying enough (IE. Richard Wolfe). Thankfully the rest of America is smarter and more decent then these others, and will continue to support Barack Obama.

"One of the more telling excerpts from Blagojevich's wiretapped conversations indicates the governor was "bleeping" upset that the Obama team was "not willing to give him anything but appreciation" in exchange for appointing the president-elect's preferred candidate, Valerie Jarrett. There's a pattern here. From all the available evidence we can gather from his time in Illinois politics, Barack Obama is a major goody-two-shoes."

And yet, Obama in his infinite wisdom decided to lie about having talked to Blagojevich. Without being involved in the scandal, he thought it would make him appear the most clean if he just told an outright lie, forgetting that of course his staff would also be questioned and he hadn't told them that he planned to tell an outright lie to the people about having spoken with the guilty. For being innocent in the matter, he really made a fool of himself and went out of his way to make himself appear questionable. It only makes sense that he should have been speaking with the man, what with this being about Obama's old position being filled at all, so he really acted like a complete fool to lie to the population when it would have taken nothing to explain why he had been talking to Blagejovich, and easily establish his innocense. I can only hope that this, and the few other times he's already put his foot in his mouth since between 52 and 53 percent of the population voted for him , won't represent the attitude he'll display when actually in office. To be innocent but so worried about people thinking him guilty that he'll lie until people do start to question him, he needs to step back and start thinking with some intelligence.

Please stick with some facts. "most" of the indicted politicians have been Republicans in Illinois. I live in Chicago. Futhermore "you're either corrupt or an angel" oh come off it! How can you even write like this? Is this idea backed up by anything other than noise? It has all the marks of "you're either with us or against us". When the premise is false to start with how can the rest that supports it be worth reading? Did you ever stop to think that this is not some experiment in digital binary code? There are many non-corrupt people in office in Illinois and Illinois certainly doesn't hold the record for political corruption in the first place. Start by writing about "The Iran Contra Affair" in which most were from California. Write about "The Keating Five" "Arizona" Neil Bush's savings and loan scandle "Colorado" The "Arms Gate" "California. "Troopergate" Alaska. Hookergate New York Hmmmm do some research!

Obama is gonna be clean. He HAS to be. But if, through some incredible anomaly of what is true in existence, Obama is dirty at any time for anything... If he breaks our heart.... God help him... but he knows that, and I'm not worried.

When are journalists going to report facts not just opinions that mean absolutely nothing? "Yellow Journalism" like this is a desperate attempt to lay guilt by association with nothing substantial to even prove his point. "Truman loved Bourbon and Poker", yeah that is just horrible for one's reputation. We just had one of those "cleaned" up Presidents and he might go down in history as the worst President ever. This is the state of journalism these days? Wehn in the election did you associate Palin with Stevens or McCain with Meachum? This is nothing more than something you'd read in the tabloids with a cover of some kind of ethical magazine once based on facts and good reporting. Find a true connection or leave this country because this is exactly what the right wing call un-patriotic!

I sincerely hope that Obama used the system in Chicago to get ahead, and really intends to govern honorably. I will give him every chance to prove himself, but the whole world is watching.

This is the second portion of my comment:

??? How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.??? No, in this instance the quotation should be, ???How do I blame thee? Let me count the ways.??? First off the block are all eligible voters who for their many reasons do not go to the polls to vote. Shame, shame. You have only yourselves to blame. Next come the voters who are blind. They place their ???X??? behind the name of the party they favor and don???t even look to see the many different people they are voting for. Those who do vote other than on the party line may not be voting for the best candidate for a given office. Indeed they may be voting against someone because the name suggests the candidate is Mexican or Jewish or Muslim or Catholic or feminine or homosexual or perhaps because the surname is spelled the same way as someone they dislike. No, the only voters of the electorate who do not share in this blame are those who did what they could to learn about the character and intelligence of those for whom they were casting their vote.

Perhaps our President-elect will turn out to be corrupt. In my heart I find this difficult to believe and you would find it hard to imagine how dearly I hope this is not so. However let us not judge this man???s integrity until we have evidence that perhaps the electorate was mistaken in their choice.

Ken Erd

Guilt by Association with no evidence? Absolute "Yellow Journalism" and pure hogwash. Get a life and write about those who actually have commited a crime. Yeah "Bourbon and Poker" are just horrible things that truman had done! When are journalists going to learn that we want reporting on FACTS not speculation and their opinion means nothing!

The realities of real life often escape us. Those who believe that politicians should exhibit their absolute integrity by castigating any and every fellow politician who commits the least unethical transgression totally lack an understanding of the real world. The parallel Mr. Hirsh was alluding to by comparing Barack Obama to Harry Truman is quite apt in illuminating this point. Harry Truman did not publically decry the corruption of Tom Pendergast. Rather he rose above it and refused to be party to the corruption which ultimately earned him the begrudging respect of Mr. Pendergast himself. It is doubtful that Governor Blagojevich will in some manner acknowledge his respect for the Honorable Mr. Obama but surely in some recess of his otherwise corrupt brain there must be recognition as to what he is and as to what he would much rather be. But it is also certain that if Mr. Obama had made loud pronouncements about every infraction of ethical behavior of which he was aware he would not now be our President-elect. Those who prefer not to believe this - - well those people are to say the least somewhat immature.

No reasonable person believes the members of the 118-member Illinois General Assembly or the 59-members of the Illinois State Senate are blissfully unaware of the history of corruption of Illinois politics or equally unaware of present day corruption in the state. Also I do not believe that any reasonably educated person is unaware that corruption exists in the other state governments or within local governing bodies within each and every one of the fifty states. The unfortunate truth is that corruption exists in governing bodies around the world. If blame is to be assigned for the presence of this corruption then the primary recipient of that blame is you; you the electorate who fail time after time to perform your duty.

I have written more but perhaps I exceeded the 3000 character limiit. I will post the remainder of this comment as a second installment.

Ken Erd

Put the Illinois gov. in jail, strip him of everything he has stolen

It's crazy to think that a senator can come from a state with such a corrupt govenor and with the Rezko ties between obama and the govenor as well....I think this journalist has it wrong. Turning a blind eye or not being assertive about corruption is as bad as doing it yourself.