The One Who Denied It Supplied It

Among little boys obsessed with flatulence there is an old saying, “the one who denied it supplied it” meaning that the first one who said he didn’t just drop a stink-bomb is indeed the one who did the deed. (There is a corollary that goes “the one who smelt [sic] it dealt it” but I digress.)

A month ago, Obama adviser David Axelrod said that the President-elect had been in touch with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to discuss who might fill his Senate seat. There was also some scuttlebutt that Valerie Jarrett, a key Obama adviser, was being promoted by Obama for the Senate seat.

Since then, Jarrett has been given a role in the Obama administration and Blagojevich has been caught with his pants down big time. Apparently Rod was in the process of “selling” the Senate seat to the highest bidder. In an article in Politico, Jarrett is identified as a “candidate” for consideration provided certain favors were granted to Blagojevich. When the quid-pro-quo was not granted, Jarrett was rejected.

What bothers me right now is Obama’s assertion that he has had no contact with the Governor. I’m sorry folks, I love Obama but I just don’t believe this. I watched a clip of Axelrod from a month ago, and his statement was “I know [Barack has] talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them.” Now Axelrod says he was mistaken when he made the earlier claim. I find this very hard to swallow. Axelrod is one of the most disciplined political players in recent history. When he says “I know…” I take him at his word that he knows.

I’m not suggesting that President-elect Obama is in any way connected to this Senate seat for sale scandal which is why I am all the more frustrated that he now claims never to have talked to Blagojevich. Obama could just as easily say that there were high level discussions of appropriate candidates and that was the end of it. Instead he makes a claim that based on prior testimony and common sense, does not stand up well to scrutiny.

Obama’s denial of any interaction with Blagojevich only serves to cast more attention on him instead of less. Obviously Barack did not remember the lesson from his junior high school days. Most people think that the one who denied it supplied it.

Respectfully,
Rutherford

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