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- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested today for corruption involving (among other things) an attempt to auction president-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder to enrich himself. Adam breaks down the cryptically numbered Senate candidates referred to in the wiretap, and Sam looks at how the seat will get filled in these special circumstances. The Durbin-backed special election idea seems the most "purifying" approach to the matter, as does impeaching the governor if he doesn't read the writing on the wall and resign.
- Barack Obama and his transition team appear to have committed no crime regarding l'affair Blagojevich -- indeed, Rahm Emanuel appears to have tipped off the feds [Late Edit: this account has been contested by a source close to Emanuel. --MD] and the wiretap transcripts clearly show that the Obama team wasn't willing to play ball with Blagojevich. Obama briefly remarked today that "I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so I was not aware of what was happening. And as I said it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that I don't think it's appropriate to comment."
- Other Blagojevich miscellanea: Jonathan Stein notes that three of the last five Illinois governors have been charged with some kind of criminal activity, Blagojevich felt "stuck" as governor and, pending an escape from impeachment, planned to "remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016," and Obama's Senate seat is now available on eBay (of course) for almost $100 million. Adam is right that this K-lo item tells you "everything you need to know about the right and ethics scandals," but I find this Victor Davis Hanson bit even more indicative of the shallowness of the right-wing mind: "With the indictment of the Democratic Governor and his purported interest in Mr. Rezko, I think Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is just about on the verge of losing his near mythic status among the Washington-New York media." Huh?
- Ted Kennedy may deny it, but if she didn't share the family name, is there any reason to believe Caroline Kennedy would be seriously considered for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat? Meanwhile, a Marist poll finds Kennedy tied with NY AG Andrew Cuomo amongst New York voters. With Fran Drescher in the mix, this is starting to look like the 2003 California recall election.
- Politico has the goods on what former president Bill Clinton can or cannot do per his arrangement with the Obama administration to ensure his wife goes to State.
- The Hill wins today's dog-bites-man award for most obvious headline: "Gun groups don’t trust president-elect."
- Speaking of Republican rehab, Rep. Mike Pence and Gov. Tim Pawlenty have each made their contribution towards the great conservative revitalization, arguing for out of the box solutions like "push for the enactment of an amendment to the United States Constitution requiring a balanced federal budget" and to "give Americans more access to American oil, to preserve secret-ballot elections in the workplace, to defeat Fairness Doctrine."
--Mori Dinauer
