Did Rahm blow the whistle? Did Blago break the law?

Here’s my problem with the political horsetrading, even before it shades into corrupt and illegal practices: it presupposes that either everyone is qualified for the job, that qualifications (and I don’t mean particular credentials, but more like ability, expertise, prior effectiveness, etc.) don’t matter, performing the job effectively doesn’t matter, or the job itself doesn’t matter; because if performing the job well does matter, then we need to worry about the basis for selection; and if that basis is ability to play the political game, then what we’re going to get are people skilled in that and maybe not skilled in actually fulfilling the office. If all the potential candidates really are at least minimally qualified for the job and not just adept at a certain kind of social interaction, then I’m less concerned that we’ll end up with inadequate people in office. But looking at how things are going in local, state, and federal governments, I’m concerned that the system is skewing towards people who can play the game but not do the job.

Fitzgerald pretty clearly says that he believes Blago’s manner of solicitation of quid pro quo for the valuable senate seat is illegal.That does not mean that this occurred with Rahm or that Rahm dropped the dime. That is pure speculation. Fitz had been wiretapping Blago for a while. The criminal complaint lists a half dozen criminal acts. Fitz came to a decision point, to stop the crime in the middle of the crime spree, rather than allow it to continue. He mentioned laying awake at night worrying about whether Trubune op-ed writers would loose their jobs. Just as likely, Fitz pulled the trigger before Blago named a Senate replacement because there is no clear course of remedy to withdraw that appointment… the fruit of an illegal process. Neither Obama, nor Rahm nor Axelrod knew Blago was being wiretapped under Federal investigation. The president-elect’s interest in the govenor’s choice is a reasonable matter. It was his former seat, he affects his majority in the Seante, and there is nothing illegal about discussing it with the govenor. From the tape quoted by Fitzgerald, we can infer Obama’s team was prepared to offer nothing more than appreciation of choosing Obama’s recommendation Valarie Jarrett. All the Bill Baar’s who have been pointing fingers at Obama and his team and crying foul should STFU until that have more than speculation to besmirch the president-elect. It wasn’t so long ago that George W Bush was president. Perhaps these gum flappers have transferred their Bush derangement syndrome to Barack Obama in advance of his inauguration.