The Chess Pieces Keep Moving

The now-official president-elect has appointed a basketball buddy, and a “white man,” rejected for Secretary of State, has been given a plum consolation prize, as the Democrats continue their chess-like maneuvering of players around the national board.  Now, if they could just get Rod Blagojevich declared insane, they could get their third choice for Obama’s vacant Senate seat, Valerie Jarrett and Jesse Jackson, Jr. being first and second, locked in office in a neat “castling” move.

Arne Duncan, Harvard grad, former pro basketball player, (Australia) and current Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools, which Pres-elect Obie’s daughters do not attend) is said to be set to become Secretary of Education.  Current Education Sec’y, Margaret Spellings, has nice things to say about the Chicagoan, but then, she doesn’t live there.

“I don’t want to hurt his chances but I think he’s a terrific school leader…and I’m saying this because we have a lot of experience together,” she said then. “I consider him a fellow reformer and someone who cares deeply about students. I think he’d be a great choice.”

Not everybody thinks Chicago Public Schools are being adequately reformed, though:

Due to inaction in Illinois’ legislature, a coalition of ministers plan to escalate their demand for education reform by taking the issue to Wrigley Field during the Chicago Cubs playoff game on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. The ministers, their congregants and supporters will rally in the middle of the street in front of the ballpark.

The Clergy Coalition for School Funding Reform’s (CCSFR) latest action is to bring attention to the school funding inequities, which have plagued Illinois’ students for more than 30 years. On September 2, the group, led by Rev. Senator James T. Meeks, staged a two-day protest of Chicago Public Schools where more than 1400 children didn’t attend the first day of school and attempted to enroll in the wealthy, property rich school district of Winnetka. Meeks is the pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago, the largest African American church in Illinois with over 20,000 members. He is also a state senator.

As to that “plum consolation prize:”

Senator John F. Kerry was named chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee today, pledging to use his stewardship of the influential panel to strengthen American interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan, help end the war in Iraq, and craft solutions to the climate change crisis.

And, the White queen takes the rook, and gets taken by a pawn.

It’s A Family Affair

Forget all the bitter squawking about “Bush/Clinton dynasties” Hillary Clinton’s run for president generated.  Poof!  No longer valid.  Now, dynasties are the “new black,” as in “endorse the black guy, get your family in.”   First up, Caroline Kennedy.  Now, she wants HRC’s Senate seat because, well, she’s a Kennedy, she endorsed Barack Obama for president and, doggone it, she really, really wants it.

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of an American political dynasty, has decided to pursue the United States Senate seat being vacated by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a person told of her decision said on Monday.

While some Clintonites are miffed, the whole “she’s just an inexperienced  Kennedy” stuff is a bit unfair in today’s world, no?  Can you say “Schwartzenegger?”  Who has his very own personal Kennedy, by the way.  Fred Thompson, Jesse Ventura, Al Franken, Sonny Bono, Clint Eastwood, Fred Gandy, Barack Obama, the celebrity politician list is growing.  Who needs “experience” if they’re famous?  Jeez.

Then, there’s the Mike and Lisa Madigan push for the governorship of Illinois.  The one-two push is being disguised as concern for the “good of the people of Illinois,” but, c’mon, the fact that Attorney General Lisa wants to be governor, and Daddy Dearest would do anything but give up his House Speaker position to help her get it, is the second-worst-kept secret in Illinois, coming in close behind Rod Blagojevich being under investigation.

Obama: Nothing To See, Move Along…

Even though, according to Rasmussen,  45% of American voters believe that today’s soon-to-be officially elected president-elect, Barack Obama, or his team is likely to be involved in the evolving Gov. Rod Blagojevich Senate seat sale scandal, Team O has issued a statement saying, basically, “we’re not on tape doing anything wrong, and that’s all we can tell you right now.”  From Politico:

“At the direction of the President-elect, a review of Transition staff contacts with Governor Blagojevich and his office has been conducted and completed and is ready for release. That review affirmed the public statements of the President-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the President-elect’s staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as U.S. senator.

“Also at the President-elect’s direction, Gregory Craig, counsel to the Transition, has kept the US Attorney’s office informed of this fact-gathering process in order to ensure our full cooperation with the investigation.

“In the course of those discussions, the US Attorney’s office requested the public release of the Transition review be deferred until the week of December 22, in order not to impede their investigation of the governor. The Transition has agreed to this revised timetable for release.”

Meanwhile, back at the Wall Street Journal, anonymous members of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s team say he, and they, are furious at the Chicago Tribune for jumping the gun and costing them “Candidate Number 5:”

Conventional wisdom holds that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ordered the FBI to arrest Rod Blagojevich before sunrise Tuesday in order to stop a crime from being committed. That would have been the sale of the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

But the opposite is true: Members of Fitzgerald’s team are livid the scheme didn’t advance, at least for a little longer, according to some people close to Fitzgerald’s office. Why? Because had the plot unfolded, they might have had an opportunity most feds can only dream of: A chance to catch the sale of a Senate seat on tape, including the sellers and the buyers.

The precise timing of Tuesday’s dramatic, pre-dawn arrest was not dictated by Fitzgerald, nor was it dictated by the pace of Blagojevich’s alleged “crime spree.” It was dictated by the Chicago Tribune, according to people close to the investigation and a careful reading of the FBI’s affidavit in the case.

Strange, I seem to remember Fitz praising the Trib for holding back:

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald praised the Chicago Tribune during today’s press conference because the paper honored a request to hold off on publishing information about the investigation of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The investigation involved bugs and wiretaps.

“We made an urgent request for the Tribune not to publish that story,” Fitzgerald said.

“I have to take my hat off” to the paper, Fitzgerald added.

Spin along, nothing to see…

Blago’s crazy, ya know?