The Note, 12/12/08: Double-Team

December 12, 2008 8:06 AM

By RICK KLEIN

On the third day of the first scandal to visit the president-elect, the new leader changed course. 

(On the following day, the markets were to open in a post-bailout world -- and the president-elect could glimpse that other future he hasn’t had to focus on for a while.)

So it came to pass that the most open and transparent transition in history gets a dose of openness and transparency.

And President-elect Barack Obama is left with major challenges on two fast-moving fronts -- neither of his own creation, yet not the type he can rightly ignore.

Obama’s course correction on the Blago affair, saying he will now detail his staff’s contacts with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, D-Ill., was the right step -- maybe the only step -- and buys him time.

But it won’t be the last word (particularly if certain words are caught on tape).

The challenges from here: How detailed/complete is the information that’s released? Whose voices are caught on tape? Who looks/sounds bad? What does Obama do about all of it? Can he make it all happen in “a few days”?

“Obama's evolving response was the first test of his team's capacity to cope with a fast-moving political scandal while staying true to his promise to run a transparent shop with a minimum of secrets,” Peter Nicholas reports in the Los Angeles Times. 

“But in proclaiming that he was not involved, Obama may have made a tactical mistake, some veterans of past White House crises said. In his initial comments, Obama said he was ‘not aware of anything that was happening.’ If that turns out to be premature, it could prove damaging to Obama's credibility given the expectations surrounding his presidency, the former officials said,” Nicholas writes.

The standard is his own: “His statements have been cautious and precise, careful not to get ahead of the facts or make declarations that might later have to be retracted,” Eugene Robinson writes in his Washington Post column. “For most politicians, that would be good enough. For Obama, who inspired the nation with a promise of ‘change we can believe in,’ it's not.” 

As for Thursday’s comments: “The language the President-elect used was careful. He didn't say there had been no contacts or that no one on his staff was aware that Blagojevich was allegedly trying to make an exchange where Blagojevich secured a lucrative job for himself or his wife in exchange for his appointing Mr. Obama's preferred candidate, friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett, to take his place in the U.S. Senate,” per ABC’s Jake Tapper. 

Think he might know a little more than he’s letting on? “What I'm absolutely certain about is that our office had no involvement with any deal-making around my Senate seat. That I'm absolutely certain of,” Obama said Thursday in his news conference. 

“Any deal-making”? This could get interesting: “If inquiries and accusations touch Obama aides, even tangentially, his political foes will try to paint him with the broad brush of dirty Chicago politics. . . . If his associates get dragged in as witnesses, or if FBI wiretaps turn up embarrassing conversations -- related to the current scandal or not -- it could be worse,” the AP’s Chuck Babington writes. 

“But if Obama can further his image as a political helmsman who navigates polluted waters without getting wet -- as he generally did during the presidential campaign -- he can endear himself all the more to those who see him as an agent of change and high-minded government,” he writes.

What he’s still not saying: “The president-elect declined to identify an anonymous Obama adviser whom a federal [affidavit] says Mr. Blagojevich ordered his chief of staff to contact. And Mr. Obama wouldn't comment on how Mr. Blagojevich determined that the Obama team was unwilling to participate in the governor's alleged schemes if their respective staffs never discussed them,” Jonathan Weisman reports in The Wall Street Journal. 

A reason to be concerned: “It was open knowledge among people in and around Springfield,” state senator Kwame Raoul -- who was among those in touch with the Blagojevich team about the US Senate seat, tells The New York Times’ Susan Saulny and Monica Davey. “Legislators and lobbyists alike openly talked about the fact that the governor would want to appoint somebody who would benefit him. I can firmly say that I’ve had these conversations, that I’ve spoken with both legislators and lobbyists who felt that that would be the consideration in his appointment.” 

“The question is, when the tapes and transcripts of their conversations are released, will there be something that makes us cringe?” Doyle McManus writes in his Los Angeles Times column. “In short, when Obama's team talked with the governor, were they operating under Obama's rules -- or Chicago rules? More important: How will Obama react if someone on his team made a misstep?” 

More McManus: “His actions over the next week could set a tone for his administration. They will mark a real-world test of his rhetoric about ethics and transparency.”

Slate’s Christopher Beam: “Obama's still in a good spot: The Blagojevich complaint leaves him pretty much untainted. And the questions raised -- did he want Valerie Jarrett to replace him? -- don't necessarily have embarrassing answers. But if he's going to keep invoking a new kind of politics, one that is honest and transparent, Obama will have to put all his cards on the table.” 

Pat Buchanan, at Real Clear Politics: “The stink of this is not going away, and it may adhere to the new presidency that seemed about to begin in a new era of good feeling.” 

The task that can only last “a few days”: “Obama's campaign lawyer Bob Bauer is taking a leading role in conducting what one top aide described as ‘an internal review’ stopping short of a full-blown investigation,” Politico’s Ken Vogel and Jonathan Martin write. “They need to make sure they meet Obama's vow to release findings ‘in a few days.’ More importantly, they need to make sure they don't miss something that could come back to bite them later.” 

At least this: “Long before federal prosecutors charged Blagojevich with bribery this week, Obama had worked to distance himself from his home-state governor,” Eli Saslow reports in The Washington Post. “They sometimes used each other to propel their own careers but privately acted like rivals. . . . Obama and Blagojevich shared pieces of the Chicago political network, which is why this has been an uncomfortable week for Obama's presidential transition team.” 

The Chicago Sun-Times headline asks bluntly (with no real proof other than an episode where he’s pushing a reporter’s tape recorder away -- doesn’t he do 50 reps of that as part of his morning workout?): “Is Emanuel the adviser on gov tape?” 

“Emanuel was uncharacteristically absent from Obama’s news conference this morning,” Fran Spielman and Abdon M. Pallasch write in the Sun-Times. “A Sun-Times reporter pressed him to comment about whether he was the emissary named in the criminal complaint. ‘You’re wasting your time,” Emanuel said. ‘I’m not going to say a word to you. I’m going to do this with my children. Don’t do that. I’m a father. I have two kids. I’m not going to do it.’ ”

David Axelrod says he’s not the guy: The last time he spoke with Blagojevich? “Thankfully, a long time ago,” he told moderator Gwen Ifill Thursday, at Harvard’s campaign post-mortem, per ABC’s David Chalian. 

While people rule themselves out . . . “So I am not an emissary. I am not targeted. And I have no accusers. That's simply not true,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson told ABCNews.com, asked whether he was an intermediary with the Blago folks on behalf of his son, per ABC’s Thomas Giusto and Brian Ross. “This is strange and painful speculation.” 

Not looking good for Jesse Jr.: “As Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to pick Illinois' next U.S. senator, businessmen with ties to both the governor and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich's campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job, the Tribune has learned,” per the Chicago Tribune. 

“Blagojevich made an appearance at an Oct. 31 luncheon meeting at the India House restaurant in Schaumburg sponsored by Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayak, a major Blagojevich supporter who also has fundraising and business ties to the Jackson family, according to several attendees and public records. Two businessmen who attended the meeting and spoke to the Tribune on the condition of anonymity said that Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi privately told many of the more than two dozen attendees the fundraising effort was aimed at supporting Jackson's bid for the Senate.”

Next Blago step: “Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn pulled a power play Thursday, calling on state lawmakers to immediately impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich so that he could quickly replace the governor and select Illinois' next U.S. senator,” Ray Long and Monique Garcia report in the Tribune. “Quinn said a special election could be skipped if he were to become governor, all in the interests of saving potentially tens of millions of dollars in voting costs and allowing Illinois to more quickly send a new senator to Washington in a turbulent time.” 

But: “Democrats are under fire from Republicans for seeming to slow the push for a special election to replace Barack Obama in the United States Senate,” ABC’s Teddy Davis reports. 

“It is ludicrous to talk about anyone appointing the next United States Senator,” said Illinois Senate Republican Leader-Elect Christine Radogno. “This decision absolutely must be made by the voters of Illinois. The only way to do that is to establish a Special Election that puts the power where it belongs -- in the hands of Illinois citizens.” 

Obama will be on tape (by choice) Friday, per the transition office: “President-elect Obama will host private meetings in Chicago. He will also record and video tape the weekly radio address. Vice President-elect Biden will be in Delaware for private meetings and has no public events scheduled.”

Meanwhile -- a chaotic day on tap on the markets, with the auto bailout bill dead until at least January.

Not even close: “The package died on a 52-35 procedural vote, well short of the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to the floor for passage,” ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Z. Byron Wolf, Kate Barrett and Michael S. James report. 

Said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.: “I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow.” 

The only Washington maneuvers left belong to the Bush administration, with new pressure to tap TARP funds.

“All eyes are on the Treasury secretary,” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos reported on “Good Morning America” Friday. “He controls that $700 billion rescue fund.” 

“In failing to reach a bi-partisan compromise agreement after marathon talks Thursday, they have now effectively handed the hot-button issue to the person they all believe should have dealt with it in the first place, President George W. Bush,” Time’s Jay Newton-Small reports. 

(Does Obama push?)

The blame game: “Republican opposition killed a $14-billion auto industry bailout plan in the Senate on Thursday night, putting the future of U.S. automakers in doubt and threatening to deliver another blow to the economy,” The Los Angeles Times’ Jim Puzzanghera reports. “The measure died after a last-ditch effort by Senate Democratic leaders to strike a compromise that would have lured enough support to save the legislation, which was crafted in consultation with the White House.” 

But: “Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), the lead GOP negotiator, said the sides were on the brink of a deal on the amendment he had offered. Representatives from the United Auto Workers -- who were present for most of the negotiations -- would not agree to a specific date, Corker said,” per The Washington Post’s Paul Kane. 

The GOP owns this one now: “Senate Republicans’ dramatic revolt against a White House-backed auto industry rescue plan is fraught with political risk,” Politico’s Manu Raju writes. “While the high-stakes gambit places them squarely within the mainstream of anti-bailout public sentiment, at the same time it exposes the party to potentially devastating criticism that its failure to compromise doomed the Big Three automakers and deepened the economic recession.” 

On the union side -- UAW President Ron Gettelfinger holds a press conference at 10 am ET in Detroit.

Welcome to the political arena, Ms. Kennedy: “Rivals -- including at least three members of the New York congressional delegation -- are starting to doubt Kennedy's viability and experience, and Paterson is said to be less than enthusiastic about picking her, people close to him say. Critics are even questioning the substance of her accomplishments in education, her most high profile issue,” Politico’s Ben Smith and Glenn Thrush report. 

“A senior Democrat said Clinton supporters had expressed their resentment over a possible Kennedy pick to people around Paterson, and that tacit resistance has opened the door to other members of the congressional delegation to violate party taboos and directly criticize a Kennedy,” they write.

Said Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., in a radio interview: “I don't know what Caroline Kennedy's qualifications are, except that she has name recognition, but so does J.Lo.”

In the RNC chairman’s race, the emerging argument against Mike Duncan, a la Bill O’Reilly: “Mike Duncan, as pleasant a person as he is, is the most anonymous chairman in the last 50 years,” Shawn Steel, an RNC committeeman from California, tells PolitickerCA’s James Gerber. “Most Republican leaders don't know who Mike Duncan is. They never heard him on the radio, they never watched him on T.V. He is the great unknown.”

Sen. John McCain was feisty as ever Thursday night on Letterman: “I don’t want to talk about the bleeping campaign. Understand? If you think I’m going to go back to that bleeping situation, then bleep you,” he said. 

Letterman: “Now, John, in your experience, and this is what everybody is saying –- the guy is either stupid or he’s nuts. What do you think?”

McCain: “I think a rare combination of both.”

Revisiting the Palin pick . . . McCain campaign manager Rick Davis says it was about winning, not governing: “We were losing without great prospects for victory,” Davis said at the Harvard forum, per ABC’s David Chalian. “Some decisions you make based on whether or not you will have an opportunity to govern. . . . You’ve got to win first.” 

McCain is George Stephanopoulos’ exclusive guest Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” 

The Kicker:

“It’s not going to be a pleasant sight.” -- Harry Reid, worried about Wall Street.

“I’m allowed to be a father.” -- Rahm Emanuel, not answering questions. 

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ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.