45% Suspect Obama Team Involved in Blagojevich Scandal

[Gold Metal Flake]

Via Rasmussen:

Monday, December 15, 2008
Forty five percent (45%) of U.S. voters say it is likely President-elect Obama or one of his top campaign aides was involved in the unfolding Blagojevich scandal in Illinois, including 23% who say it is Very Likely.

Just 11% say it is not at all likely, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Thursday and Friday nights.

Voters nationally are more skeptical than those in Illinois. Thirty-two percent (32%) of Illinois voters said in a survey late last week that there is no way Obama was involved in the Blagojevich case, while only 13% said it is Very Likely that the president-elect was involved, with another 13% saying it is Somewhat Likely.

Comments from Matthew Yglasius:

his morning on MSNBC there was a lengthy discussion of Obama's involvement in Blagojevich's corruption. Of course, there was no evidence of any involvement on Obama's part. Nor, despite this being a news channel, was there any original reporting of any kind whatsoever. There was, however, a ton of time spent criticizing the Obama campaign's PR strategy with regard to this issue -- the suggestion being that had Obama adopted a better PR strategy, then people wouldn't be on television making evidence-free guilt-by-association accusations against him.


This {struck} me as odd. The people making the accusations kept acknowledging that they had no evidence. One might think that communicating to television personalities the fact that there was no evidence of wrongdoing on Obama's part would constitute a good PR strategy. Given that they knew there was no evidence of wrongdoing, they should have ceased implying that there was wrongdoing. But they didn't do that at all. Not, I would submit, because of any failings on Obama's part, but because Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, John Heileman, Mark Halperin, and Pat Buchanan don't care at all about the accuracy of the impression their coverage gives.

The Corporate Media Is Our Greatest Enemy!

[bluestateguy]

1. The data in the poll is inaccurate

and has likely been fabricated.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Here's the washingtonpost/ABC News poll....which shows different results....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7982005

[opihimoimoi]

23. MSNBC??? Fuck those dudes and fuck Joe Intern

[tritsofme]

22. Yes, because if you don't like a poll's results.

Its probably fabricated.

That's the lesson I've learned from 2008 at least.

[FrenchieCat]

2. The fact that there is polling on this matter shows that Rasmussen

is as involved in attempting to control the nation's public opinion as the corporate media is. In fact Rasmussen is part of the Corporate cabal.

The sicken me!

I wrote this in reference to your overall point ---> http://www.opednews.com/articles/What-part-of--Motherf-cke-by-FrenchieCat-081213-581.html

[Gold Metal Flake]

11. Nice! What I found interesting...

...about the Rasmussen piece, is this:
"The Chicago Tribune on Saturday reported that Obama’s White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had conversations with Blagojevich’s staff about candidates who were acceptable to the president-elect to fill his vacant Senate seat. Obama resigned from the Senate following his election as president."

Where's the "there"? Would Obama have a list of preferred Senatorial candidates? Duh. Would a (sane) Democratic Governor be interested in knowing what candidates the head of his party might consider to be the best of the crop of potential candidates? I would expect so. Would this consideration of a list be prudent? Yup. Normal? Yup. Is there some kind of double-blind taste-test involved? I doubt it.

Now, Mr. Sane B. Guvnor would still make the final decision based on all the info he/she has and the input from trusted advisers and party leaders. He could also have a different idea and appoint someone off of the list. Sometimes folks get ornery. I'm sure there is history. But Bloggo wanted to SELL the seat. Kind of a, you know, crime.

Ras and others want to take the facts of the normal approach of Obama and the avaricious criminality of the not exactly sane Bloggo and do to the facts what the lenders did with all of the bad mortgages. The media takes the facts, chops them up into little pieces, blends them in different proportions and pours out spoonfuls atop a steaming pile of pundit-sourced bullshit.

The discussion of "the discussions" is gonna get us all killed.

[madokie]

4. The Corporate Media Is Our Greatest Enemy! We have to fix this

If we even want any semblance of a democracy again.

[Xipe Totec]

5. In other news, 95% of Americans believe Joe Scarborough or Charles Manson are guilty of murder

It remains to be determined whether it is Joe Scarborough, or Charles Manson, that people believe to be guilty of murder.

[Andy823]

6. It's obvious that

The media is keeping this thing going. The elections are over, and they need to do whatever they can to not only prop up the ratings, but start making Obama and the democrats into the party that is corrupt, and who "caused" the entire mess that Bush is going to leave Obama!

In my opinion the media is useless! The owners of the media are right wing, and will do everything in their power to make sure Obama does not get elected for a second term. No matter what side they took during the election, it's now time to get down to smearing Obama.

[woodsprite]

7. I see Rasmussen is licking those hallucinogenic toads again. n/t

[KamaAina]

17. DUzy!!!

:rofl:

[Hawkowl]

8. We knew it was coming

A lot, if not most of us knew that the corporate media would start its relentless campaign against Obama just like they did against Clinton. That the MSM will try and cripple the president because he will work for the people and not for the corporations. I have to admit that even I am surprised at how early the attack is beginning. Obama hasn't even taken office yet! This means that the corporate owned, traitorous MSM is worried. They are looking to cripple the new president with a first strike and hope he can't or won't retaliate, and are hoping he ends up as impotent as President Clinton.

I think the MSM is mistaken. If a lot of us foresaw these attacks by the MSM on Obama, I am absolutely sure that Obama knew this was coming and that he WILL take action. I've been extremely impressed with his actions so far, and again, he hasn't even taken office! He is essentially controlling policy in Iraq and Afghanistan as evidenced by Gates actually stating Obama's rather than Shrub's policy! It is stunning. His continual and measured press conferences reassuring the country about the economic crisis are also while Shrub dodges shoes is, well, stunning. People forget that Obama has no official power yet, and he is still having at least as large an impact as the sitting president! This is entirely unprecedented!!

So, once he takes office, I think the MSM corporate owned, traitorous whores are going to get taken to the woodshed. I am unsure what Obama will do to them in the woodshed, or whether the MSM will ever come out of the woodshed, but I have no doubt they are in for a world of pain. At the very least a few more networks could find themselves in Fox's place at press conferences. No questions allowed, no access to administration officials etc. However, I feel in my gut, that Obama has something more planned for slanderous, traitorous MSM networks. No doubt it will be subtle, firm, devastating and done with Obama's invincible charm and style.

[deaniac21]

9. I can't imagine why anyone would think that.

[Subdivisions]

10. MSNBC just announced that an Obama spokesperson says

that the investigation is complete and that NO ONE from the Obama team spoke with Blago about who should have is senate seat. Fitz has asked that no official word be released until Dec 22.

Then MSNBC immediately said "Until we know who in Obama's office spoke with Blagojevich and when, this WILL NOT be over anytime soon."

The media are our enemy.

[Gold Metal Flake]

12. Yup. As Frenchiecat wrote...

What part of "F*ck him" does the Media NOT Understand?

[Subdivisions]

13. The problem with that and with what Blago said on the tapes is that

it implies that someone from Obama's team actually DID speak with Blago about it. Therein lies the confusion and fuel for the fire.

[Gold Metal Flake]

21. Well, new info here.

New as in posted to Kos around lunchtime:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/15/14536/475/899/673366

Dan Pfeiffer, Obama Transition Communications Director, released the following statement moments ago regarding contact between Governor Blagojevich and the Obama transition team:

At the direction of the President-elect, a review of Transition staff contacts with Governor Blagojevich and his office has been conducted and completed and is ready for release. That review affirmed the public statements of the President-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the President-elect's staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as US Senator.

Also at the President-elect's direction, Gregory Graig, counsel to the Transition, has kept the US Attorney's office informed of this fact-gathering process in order to ensure our full cooperation with the investigation.

In the course of those discussions, the US Attorney's office requested the public release of the Transition review be deferred until the week of December 22, in order not to impede their investigation of the governor. The Transition has agreed to this revised timetable for release.

Dear lying media bastards. There Is No There There.

[JaneQPublic]

14. As Ceci Connolly explained (whined) on the Chris Matthews Show...

Despite the evidence that Obama wouldn't give Blago anything but appreciation, Ceci insisted that the question of Obama's involvement IS an important issue for the news media to pursue.

Why? Because all but one of the reporters' questions at Obama's latest press conference was about Blago!

In other words, reporters have determined that Obama's involvement is an important question that needs to be answered because... reporters are asking a lot of questions about it!!!

How's that for circular reasoning?

[gravity]

15. No shit they were involved

by denying Blagojevich's request

[alfredo]

16. 45% is close to what McCain polled on Nov 4

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. Too bad... he's still gonna be president. GOP smear can't work now.

[RiverStone]

19. If Blago himself had enough guts to admit he fucked up...

Quit being a selfish prick Blago, resign and own up to your mistake!

That more than anything could help with this crazy Obama gossip.

Of course, Blago would have to put the party's interest over his personal interests, which seems unlikely. :(

[I814U]

20. Welcome to your stolen election

You guys didn't think they were going to pull the ol' Diebold trick yet again did you? Despite the soon-to-vacate vacuous face of their party these people are not stupid. They got us to look right and they ducked left.

They held onto to this scandal for over 3 years for just such a moment. Everybody knew Obama was going to be president in 2004 when he keynoted the DNC. You knew it, I knew it...THEY knew it. They could have pulled the plug on Blago years ago but they saved him for when they could do the most harm to Obama: before he is inaugurated and while the repugs still held a majority.

If--and this is a mighty big IF--we are lucky he isn't being blackmailed. Why do you think he's moved to the right so much? He's no righty they're telling him how he's going to run things for their agenda.

[SoCalDem]

24. Rassmussen polls the 28% who claim to be republicans/"independents"

and 45% of them say "Obama is the devil-incarnate, and HAS to be "involved"..."

move along..nothing to see here:)

[spanone]

25. whipped up by the media frenzy.....they can't get to blagojevich so they after obama

[TheKentuckian]

26. The media sucks. How are you going to regularly say Obama clearly is NOT guilty of wrongdoing

BUT

In the next breath that he needs to set the record straight on all the particulars or this story is going nowhere but front and center.

How does that not sound stupid?

Fuck 'em I sez. Let them spin their wheels on this nonsense while we start undoing Reagan. Unfortunately, they'll get tired of this bullshit by Jan. 20th and can focus on derailing change we need.

[I814U]

27. That's simple my friend...

...they'll say they know he didn't do anything PERSONALLY but you'll hear lots of, "What did he know and when did he know it" accompanied by, "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up."

Tried-and-true formula.