Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122964897338520479.html?mod=djemEditorialPage" target="_blank">http://online.wsj.com/article/...rialPage</a> >>A note to all those visitors who will soon flood Washington for the inauguration: Be careful of the "swamp." That would be the swamp Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to drain when she led her party to victory in 2006. The GOP had been rocked by scandal, and Mrs. Pelosi and Democrats won, in part, by promising to clean up the "culture of corruption" that pervaded Washington. Instead, Democrats now have an image problem. The real issue isn't so much Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Senate-seat auction, as it is the focus that his scandal has directed toward a wider assortment of Democratic troubles. This isn't great timing for Barack Obama, who campaigned on cleaner government. The Blagojevich drama is titillating enough, and local Democrats' dithering over how to fill Mr. Obama's seat guarantees it will remain a storyline longer than is comfortable. But the Illinois drama has also thrust new light on the ongoing ethical controversies of House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel. At the rate the House Ethics Committee is receiving complaints -- over Mr. Rangel's real-estate problems, tax problems, his privately sponsored trips to the Caribbean, and donations to his center in New York -- this too will make headlines for a while. Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune published a new story about Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who racked up $420,000 through a series of suspicious real-estate deals. Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, came under scrutiny this fall for questionable earmarking. West Virginia Rep. Alan Mollohan has been under investigation for a separate earmarking mess. And then there's Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, who has yet to answer questions about the sweetheart mortgage deal he received from Countrywide. One unfortunate side effect of Mr. Obama's long coattails was that they helped the party's more ethically challenged members get re-elected. Pennsylvania's Paul Kanjorski and John Murtha, who both struggled to keep their seats because of earmarking travails, will continue to answer questions about their actions. Mrs. Pelosi lost a problem when Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson -- with his $90,000 in freezer cash -- lost in November. Yet she has potentially gained a new headache with Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who may have wanted that Obama seat a little too much. There are more. Shockingly, this has happened despite all those campaign-finance laws, and Congress's legislation to ban lobbyist lunches. The members took credit for those publicity stunts, and went right back to their "culture" of earmarking. The speaker's reluctance to tackle these problems is odd considering she is a seasoned pol who surely knows nothing sucks the life out of a party more quickly than a good round of tittle-tattle. The Republican crew of Jack Abramoff, Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney sank the GOP easily enough, quite aside from its other problems. Mrs. Pelosi must also know Republicans are belatedly getting their own house in order, at least in terms of optics. The GOP is lucky that most of its worst offenders, such as Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, have now been dealt with by federal prosecutors or voters. To further inoculate his side, House Minority Leader John Boehner also recently moved to strip Alaska Rep. Don Young -- allegedly under federal investigation -- of his top slot at the resources committee. He intends to turn Democratic infractions into a political story. He knows how easy it is to do. Mrs. Pelosi's problem is politics. Her refusal to temporarily remove Mr. Rangel from Ways and Means is in part a reticence to further anger the Congressional Black Caucus, which remains steamed that she worked for Mr. Jefferson's ouster from his seat on Ways and Means. Worse, next in line for Mr. Rangel's slot is Rep. Pete Stark, an off-the-charts liberal who Mrs. Pelosi would struggle to leash. Is Mr. Obama taking notes? The president-elect is discovering the limits of his campaign strategy of ignoring inconvenient questions. One of his great achievements this year was to convince voters that his meteoric rise was unconnected to the Chicago political machine. His silence in the Blagojevich scandal has mainly served to make people wonder if that was true. His Clinton-era appointments threaten to unleash their own round of stories, from a rehash of Eric Holder's role in the Marc Rich pardon, to Bill Clinton's foundation donors. And Mrs. Pelosi's congressional problems threaten to become his own. Mr. Rangel, Mr. Reyes and Mr. Murtha -- to name but a few -- all head bodies that will be central to Mr. Obama's agenda. One of President Bush's mistakes was his refusal to police the spending and earmarks that led his party to temptation, or to push his party to quarantine its liabilities. If the president-elect wants to avoid the same error, he might consider what his promises of good government mean in practice, especially as regards his own party.<<
Originally Posted By vbdad55 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I have been telling people here about Illinois politics for years - and got somewhat pish posh,they're allbad response. I view Illinois politics as an albatross that is getting larger by the day to the Dem party. Trust me- there is a lot more to come out of this - Gov Rod nowhere near the main player in how this state rolls. Now that being said - it happens to be the Democrats...but it could have been the GOP or any other party once they are handed over complete - unchallenged rule for so longa period of time.The Daley family has run Chicago ( and most will tell you Illinois) for almost 50 years of thelast 60. No GOP mayor in Chicago since Capone was around. They control both houses and enough votes in Cook County to decide anythingfor the state - and this is what happens. They fight more amongst each other - and more nastily than cross party politics because it's all about power and money here. Obama knows this all too well - he operated here and saw first hand who controls what and the depth of corruption in this state. I am sure he will do what he can to try and keep a lid on it- but the goofs that run this state can't help themselves - their level of arrogance really knows no bounds.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains You know if McCain had won and others were coming out with stuff like this they too would be called sore losers and be told it's time to accept the changes and become united again. The truth is Obama won fair and square (unlike other elections in the past). While we may not like who he is appointing is there really anything we can do to change that? Hopefully his choices will work out best for our country - if not hopefully Obama will have the smarts to change it quickly. I really don't think Obama is running around picking people just to pick them - I think he is a smart man and is putting thought into his appointments. While I think Obama and McCain were both a fair choice for President I do think it was time for a change and I do hope that with a fresh face and new ideas in the White House our country can try and recover from the state we are in. I do not believe Obama to be a miracle worker and I do think it will take time for the US to see any improvements - I do think there will be missteps just as there has been with every other new President. Maybe these appointents are his missteps maybe not. Only time will tell.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Had McCain not had the ultimate brain fart and given in to the pressure he had to choose someone like Palin, the result might have been much different.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I agree SPP - I am still trying to block that woman from my memory!
