Obama's First Scandal? Not!!!!

The recent indictment of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been touted as the first scandal of the Obama Administration. Much effort has been made of the fact that Obama and Gov. Blagojevich knew each other. They did. The purpose of this effort by is to embarrass President-elect through guilt by association. There is also considerable glee, that the Democratic Party, which imagined itself the party of both change and of good government, has one instance of a politician who was caught soliciting bribes.

Guilt by association didn’t work during the election campaign, and I don’t think this effort will work either. The whole affair is disappointing for two reasons.

First reason form dismay is thtat the indictment of Gov. Blagojevich shows a high government official whose ambition and greed were totally out of control. As U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in his news conference, when a public official is indicted for corruption, it diminishes respect for all public officials. Blagojevich has been a successful politician mainly due to his father-in-law’s political connections. His record shows that he has tried to enact legislation that benefit the common people as opposed to being a shill for major corporations. Not all of the time, but some of time. He has also been an unpopular Governor and his approval ratings in Illinois are apparently lower than President Bush’s approval ratings. What good he has done as a politician, has been ruined by his stupidity and greed. He’s a fool and if the Government’s allegations are proved in court, Blagojevich could spend the next few years in a federal prison reflecting on is folly.

The second reason for disappointment is that Blagojevich’s arrest embarrasses both President-elect Obama and the Democratic Party prior to the start of Obama's administration. I think Obama will weather this controversy. He has the poise to rise above those who are trying to diminish him through his tangential association with the soon to be former Illinois governor. But have elected officials and leaders in the Democratic Party learned their lesson?

I hope they have. We need to spend the next several years making profound and important changes to our government. The task is daunting according to David M. Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States and now President of the Peter G Peterson Foundation. In an Oct. 27, 2008, speech to the American Council on Technology Walker said,

“It’s time to move past pandering and political rhetoric. It’s time to start telling the truth, and to position ourselves to begin to deliver some real results. It’s no wonder that the American people have had such a low opinion of their elected officials, on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue because people often don’t say what they mean, and they don’t do what they say.”

Walker went on to say,

“we are at a critical crossroads, and we need to start making some tough choices. And the sooner the better. We must rise to meet this challenge. We can make sure that our future is better than our past if the first 3 words in the Constitution come alive: “We the People.” We the People are responsible and accountable for what does or doesn’t happen in Washington and the other capitals around this country. The time for dramatic policy, operational, political and other reforms is now.”

So Gov. Rod Blagojevich has violated his public trust, destroyed his political career. The scandal has distracted President-elect Obama during his presidential transition. The scandal has reminded the American people that corrupt and incompetent politicians infect both the Democratic and Republicans parties. It will be these politicians who may delay or thwart the dramatic reforms needed to assure the Republic’s continued survival. It is up to us, the "We" in "We the People" to make sure that political hacks like Gov. Rod Blagojevich do not impede the progress of needed political reform.

Capitano Tedeschi

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