Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is often mentioned as a potential cabinet appointment. Until today, presumably:
"They have never been in an executive position before,” Rendell said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.” “The rule of thumb is whatever you did, say it and get it over with and make it a one-day story as opposed to a three-day story. Politicians are always misjudging the intelligence of the American people.”
Known for his blunt critiques of fellow Democrats, Rendell did not hold back during the interview.
The public, said Rendell, understands Obama and his aides would have an interest in who fills the Senate seat and some contact with the governor's office — and that Obama should have said as much at the outset.
"Did Rahm Emanuel, who took Rod Blagojevich's seat in Congress, have contact with Rod Blagojevich? Of course he did," Rendell said. "They may have thought he was the craziest S.O.B. in the world. But you still have to have contact with him."
Which is not to say Rendell's criticism is incorrect; the Obama team's handling of the issue has been almost as bad as the media's reporting on it. (Those failures were best expressed here: "So, the US Attorney who is going after Blagojevich says there is absolutely no evidence Barack Obama has done anything wrong. This, naturally, is bad news for Barack Obama.")
--Tim Fernholz
