If naiveté were a crime, Jesse Jackson Jr. could be looking at a life sentence. Either that, or Senate candidate 5 wasn't being completely candid in his press conference this afternoon.
Jackson professed shock that Rod Blagojevich—a man who long before this week's arrest had a Katrina-sized cloud over his head—might have been conducting his Senate-seat search in accordance with anything but the most Mother Teresa-worthy standards.
Excerpts from Jackson's statement:
- I was shocked and saddened to learn that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested yesterday.
- If these allegations are proved to be true, I'm appalled by the pay-to-play schemes hatched at the highest levels of Illinois state government.
- Sadly, yesterday's criminal complaint casts another dark cloud over a state already beleaguered by corruption and scandal.
- I thought, mistakenly, that the process was fair: above-board and on the merits. I thought, mistakenly, that the governor was evaluating me and other senate hopefuls based upon our credentials and qualifications.
- I thought mistakenly that the governor was going to make a decision in the best interests of our state as well as our nation. I thought mistakenly that the governor was considering me based on my 13 years of hard work on behalf of the people of our state as well as our nation. I thought mistakenly that I had a chance and that I was being considered because I had earned it. Clearly I was badly mistaken. I did not know that the process had been corrupted. I did not know that credentials, that qualifications, that a record of service meant nothing to the governor.
How could Jackson, Jr. have lamented as he did the way Illinois was "beleaguered by corruption and scandal," yet been unaware that Blago was its latest and greatest practitioner? It's not exactly as if the guv's legal troubles, even before the current unpleasantness, were exactly a secret. For months, the body politic has been holding its breath for some kind of indictment of Blago.
Did Jackson, Jr. really go into his meeting of Monday with the governor with the expectations of an Eagle Scout candidate meeting with the troop leader? Will the MSM point out that, assuming Jackson's telling the truth, the people of Illinois would be ill-served by a senator that naive?
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.





















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Gee, Marblemouth Jr. only
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 17:42 ET by SickofLibsGee, Marblemouth Jr. only used 'mistakenly' six times in his short statement.
Apparently he is NOT a genius.
No one is as bad as his Dad..Close, but not that bad!
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 18:04 ET by PamHis attorney did say this:
I knew his father's protest at American Window and Door, and Blag coming out in their support was staged!
I am shocked----
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 17:54 ET by misterbill"well I never, well maybe not never, well maybe once in a while, well------"
Hey what do you expect from Illinois????
Irony
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 17:56 ET by CaringwhiteguyThe kid of a guy who funded an empire by shaking down businesses and other institutions with threats of boycotts, protests and charges of racism is now on the receiving end. Apparently he didn't learn enough from his dad about how to play the game.
Like father like son
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 17:56 ET by pocomocoIf the FEDS have Jr's voice on tape he's cooked like one of his father's turkeys.
The End of an dEra
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 18:08 ET by crepesculeLadies and Gentlemen, gather around and bear witness to the final days of a once powerful but always foolish American Family: The Jacksons!
→ Mistakenly
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 18:49 ET by Cool ArrowHow could Illinois, in all honestly, believe Junior Jackson, son of Shakedown Jackson, mistakenly understood this was a vetting based on merits.
You may remember it was Shakedown Jackson who extorted billions from Toyota for a gold cap in a TV ad.
Junior Jackson is dirty. Shakedown Jackson is dirty. And Obama is a lying sack of sh*t in saying he has not spoken to Blagojevich.
Chicago swallows.
CA: let's keep it refined,
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 19:56 ET by Mark FinkelsteinCA: let's keep it refined, please.
→ Sorry
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 00:58 ET by Cool ArrowLet me rephrase.
I saw his presser...he
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 19:57 ET by bigtimerI saw his presser...he convinced me!
Why he is out to be named come hell or high water...one way or the other.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Off with their heads
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 21:16 ET by Lee BoggsJessie Sr. recommended castration for Obama during the campaign. Imagine what he wants to do to Blago.
stock answer...
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 21:20 ET by sawing batta"this is not the Blago i once knew...."
I'm sure the Press will really push...Imagine if this was Rove and Bush back in Texas
Scandals, scandals, scandals............
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 21:36 ET by BEGRUNTAnd the Messiah hasnt taken office yet!!!!! How much more is coming out??????
"If a man does his best, what else is there"?
General George S. Patton Jr.
Yes, even before moving his
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 05:52 ET by celatorYes, even before moving his butt into the White House, the Obama School of Scandal is making headlines. He's already established that there is a dark cloud over everything he does and everything he touches.
Who Shakes Down Who?
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 21:54 ET by Junk Science SkepticGiven Jesse Sr.'s track record, I'd bet that somehow Jr. would end up shaking down Blago for the seat, not the other way around.
Liar Liar....
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 22:47 ET by Amanda Justice....pants on fire...
PinOOOOCHIooooo!
What is it
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 23:21 ET by NorthCoasterWhat is it about these Chicago Politicians that causes them to wear blinders and be "Shocked", when something negative occurs? How can they pretend to be so naive when they are right in the middle of all of this turmoil, radicalism and negativism. I'm to the point where I am incredulous when one of them claims not to know something that should have been obvious.
NC... This reminds me of
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 23:37 ET by bigtimerNC...
This reminds me of a blatant case of this.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Pish posh, Jackson Jr's bid
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 08:44 ET by dscottPish posh, Jackson Jr's bid was $500k, but he was only ONE of the bidders. Had the Chicago Tribune not blown the cover of the FBI they would have netted the other bidders.
"...As the investigation moved toward what appeared to be a climax, with perhaps a deal to be made for a Senate seat, a media report scared Blagojevich, who up to that point had displayed astonishingly brazen behavior. Blagojevich stopped the Senate-selling negotiations and began planning a legal defense — and Fitzgerald, his target now on the alert, went public a short time later....
...The dealing seemed very close to a climax — and an explosive political scandal. And then, on the morning of December 5, the Chicago Tribune ran a story on its front page reporting that law enforcement had secretly recorded Blagojevich’s conversations as part of a criminal investigation. Blagojevich immediately instructed Fundraiser A to “undo” the plan to meet personally with the associate of Candidate Five. Blagojevich instead turned his energy to preparing his legal defense.
The deal was off, blown, apparently, by the Tribune’s report. For anyone who has watched the case, the astonishing thing is that Blagojevich, prior to December 5, could possibly have assumed that he wasn’t under surveillance. But he apparently did, making for some of the juiciest political wiretaps in years. And he appeared to be moving toward actually making a corrupt deal to sell Obama’s Senate seat when he finally, belatedly, figured things out. And that seems to be the best explanation for why prosecutor Fitzgerald went public on December 9, instead of letting the case continue for a while longer."
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzhiYmFlMDZiNzkxYmZlMThmMTZjNDJlYzYwM2ZhNjY=
Someone at the Chicago Trib tipped off Blagojevich under the guise of a juicy story in order to prevent the FBI from netting ALL the bidders. Who was it? When did they know it? How did they find out? Why would they publish a story which they knew would disrupt an active investigation? BTW- Why has the December 5th story been scrubbed from the Chicago Tribune website? The Trib even has a time line of their stories on the Blagojevich affair, yet that story referenced is NOT among them. Nor is there any reference on google. Someone is covering up big time!
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.