Presidential Training Wheels - plus more headlines 12/17/08

[Caro]

Politics and Media Headlines 12/17/08

Cold Comfort Dept.: Bush Prepares Crisis Briefings to Aid Obama (New York Times)
The White House has prepared more than a dozen contingency plans to help guide President-elect Barack Obama if an international crisis erupts in the opening days of his administration, part of an elaborate operation devised to smooth the first transition of power since Sept. 11, 2001.

The Real Barack Obama

Blagojevich Reportedly Denied Jackson Jr.’s Wife a Job (AP)
Shortly after his 2002 election, Gov. Rod Blagojevich told Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. he didn’t appoint the congressman’s wife as lottery director because he had refused him a $25,000 campaign donation, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. ”Blagojevich went out of his way to say, ‘You know I was considering your wife for the lottery job and the $25,000 you didn’t give me? That’s why she’s not getting the job,’” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing federal investigation.

Jackson, Jr. an informant to Blago investigations (Political Ticker, CNN)
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. — who was cited in a criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich — has been an informant for at least a decade with the U.S. Attorney’s office, and has informed on the embattled governor of Illinois, though not in the case currently under investigation, Jackson spokesman Kenneth Edmonds told CNN Tuesday.
Jackson’s SPOKESMAN said.—Caro

Rahm’s calls on tape (by Michael Sneed, Chicago Sun-Times, thanks to J-SOM at Liberal Rapture)
Sneed hears rumbles President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is reportedly on 21 different taped conversations by the feds — dealing with his boss’ vacant Senate seat! A lot of chit-chat? Hot air? Or trouble? To date: Rahm’s been mum. Stay tuned.

Was Rasmussen trying to be disingenuous? (County Fair, Media Matters for America)
Rasmussen was out of the gate early in terms of national polling numbers regarding the unfolding Blago story… “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.”… What does it mean to suggest Obama or one of his top campaign aides “was involved” in the Blago story?…

(R)eporting the results, Rasmussen assumed the worst and suggested everyone who answered yes that Obama or his aides might be “involved” in the scandal meant they did something wrong. But that’s not what Rasmussen asked. Rasmussen asked a pointless question about who might have been ”involved.”… (P)rosecutors have been quite clear that neither Obama nor his top aide are even being investigated for wrongdoing, so why on earth is Rasmussen daydreaming about finding them guilty?
Rahm Emanuel isn’t a “target” of the investigation, ACCORDING TO SOMEONE CLOSE TO EMANUEL. And has that even been said about Obama? Fitzgerald’s wording about these things is quite precise. He only talks about not having evidence against someone, not that that person is absolved of all wrongdoing. I’m thinking that we should be as precise in our language about these things as Fitzgerald is, and as we demand of others.—Caro

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

1. I can envision those briefings now...

Obama: George, these are crayon pictures of a giant you terrorizing Tehran.
Bush: Laura says I'm real creative.
Obama: ... I think we're done here.

[Orsino]

2. Obama probably looks at his watch a lot.

* can't possibly have anything useful to say. I mean, he could, but he's not likely to confess to Obama.