According to the indictment, "Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but 'they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck them.' " (Senate Candidate No. 1 seems to be Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama.) In another passage, Blagojevich fumes that if Obama doesn't show him some love, he'll appoint a person Obama doesn't want. Obama comes off as good as he could possibly have hoped for: He's behaving well even when you don't think anyone is watching.
Still, there are questions for Obama and his team. Jarrett is one of his top advisers, and, in keeping with Obama's public comments about transparency, she should tell the story from her side. Aides have suggested that Obama didn't want her in the Senate but thought she would be more valuable in the White House. The indictment suggests he was pushing for her to get it. Which is it? On Nov. 9, Obama seemed to want her for the Senate seat. On the 10th, he didn't seem to. What happened in between? Jarrett pulled herself out of the running for the Senate seat rather abruptly—did she know something funny was going on? Did Obama know something funny was going on? There are loose threads that should be taken care of.
From Slate
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