Brainless Bravado vs. Calculated Fraud

The media has been waiting breathlessly for the moment when it can pierce the bubble of sanctimony that has enveloped President Elect Obama - a bubble created not by him but by the very media now eager to puncture it. And what better occasion than a lug-headed governor's oblivious grandstanding about being compensated for dealing Obama's Senate seat to sundry hungry politicians.

Endless opportunities finally to get down and dirty by excoriating traditional Illinois political corruption (about which not a word during the campaign!), give equal opportunity treatment to Democrats for corruption charges that only recently were reserved for Republicans, and - best of all! - taint Obama himself through innuendos about guilt by association by association by association. (Maybe an aide to an aide of Obama listened passively to an aide to an aide of Blagojevich making stealth overtures about what it would take for someone Obama favors to get the seat?)

But holiday fun aside -- and what better season than Christmas to expose raw venality in one blatant case even though it is to be found everywhere (but more subtly) in politics and finance throughout the year?! - the truth is that the Illinois Governor looks more dumb than corrupt. Which is probably why he keeps going back to work, trying to figure out what all the fuss is about.

Because all he was doing is political horse trading of a kind that is nearly universal in American politics: looking out for number one while taking care of constituents. "Political horse-trading" is the term of art, you know, a new fire house for District 5 because it made the difference in putting me over the top on Election Day. Or a job for loyalist Tim's wife, because Tim was a major contributor last year.

Trouble is big-mouth Blagojevich couldn't stop yapping about it on phones he had to know were tapped (he was the subject of an ongoing investigation).

Even U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald admitted he is not "trying to criminalize people making political horse trades on policies or that sort of thing." In other word horse-trading is what politicians do (it's called Senatorial courtesy or earmarks when Senators have their way in such matters) -- only quietly please, quietly.

We've just survived (or perhaps not) nearly three decades of narcissism, greed and self-interest posing as the public good. That's what got us into the sub-prime and credit crises. It's been business as usual for Wall Street, where just yesterday a former chairman of the stock exchange was arrested for massive, ongoing fraud.

None of this is to defend Governor Blagojevich, although even blowhards are innocent until proven guilty. But it is to say to the rapacious media, climb off your high horse and stop pretending you're shocked, shocked! Blagojevich is just doing publicly what the free market system has being doing privately for thirty years. If he goes to jail, while Wall Street speculators who bankrupted their firms and car company executives who destroyed what was once the world's most successful industry walk away with their taxpayer-funded million dollar bonuses, then justice will not have been done.

If, when it comes to greed, brainless bravado by a foolish politician deserves jail time, then calculated fraud by financial predators ought to be a capital crime.

Comments

[Peter007]

Benjamin is attempting to make a connection between what goes on in a politicians office and what went on along wall street. Other than the public being upset by both stories, I don't get the connection.
Political corruption has gray areas. Getting a politician to come right out and demand favors may be illgal. Most politicians are lawyers and so they are adept at circumventing the law. The result is the always the same. Give them something and in exchage you get something back...
It should be illgal for any politiciam to offer anything, including a photo oportunity, in exchange for money. We pay politicians lots of money. Why not make it illgal for them to raise any money while in office. That would put a lid on this corruption once and for all.

The financial mess on wall street had nothing to do with politics. Everyone, including the general public, has been greedy. Somebody just came up with a method to take advantage of everyones greed. Homeowners included.

[laocoon]

then arent you agreeing with the article? Endemic greed is the same in politics and business and the two are like sides of a coin.

[GoCards1978]

Amen, Benjamin! You got that right.

[PlanetKansas]

Real politicians don't squander their political capital for easy votes, there is always a quid pro quo.

Recall the Clinton's tried to negotiate the retiment of their campaign debt as part of the their endorsement of Obama.

Another deal we shouldn't be so proud of is the number of water and highway projects LBJ bargained to facilitate the passage of the civil rights act.

The Governor is going to defend himself as speaking rhetorically since no money actually changed hands. This controversy is only handing him an even larger position to bargain from, it depends how desperate the Democrats are willing to make him go away. His career is ruined, all he has left to bargain is a different future and he knows that.

[iyamchazz]

America 101. Blago is just doing what comes naturally.
Commit the most despicable act and be assured that you
will attain stardom. Whether it be analyst or a book deal or
some sort of advisor, life is good. Look at the coverage he's
getting! You couldn't pay for that. The big boys on Wall St.
are assured of their golden parachutes, and like the former
CEO of Hewlitt-Packard, will no doubt become pundits.
It's all about what I can do for me and to hell with the rest.

[tbone99]

The very fact that most corporate crime is reported in the business section , a feature apart from the rest of the paper shows the different standard white collar crime is held to. While the front and local pages are full of bank robberies and hold ups the executive CEO's are confined to the area next to the stock market, seeming to hint that these crimes ae only of interest to investors and are victimless.

[Subversive]

Dropping $20,000,000,000 in $100, $50, and $20 bills on the tarmac in Baghdad by one of the Pentagon's C-4's without explanation or oversight makes the Illinois Governor look like a petty extortionist by comparison. There's bailouts and then there's BAILOUTS!!!!!

[cadsuch]

Benjamin........you smooth talker, you!

[Overd0g]

There are some subtle (apparently) differences between malfeasance by public vs private officials, including the trivial items:

1. The people employ governors. Owners employ CEOs. What a CEO does is frankly none of your business unless you're a shareholder.

2. The government has a monopoly on the use of deadly force, and they have NO MARKET FORCES TO RESTRAIN THEM. These two factors make them susceptible to infinitely more scrutiny than business owners.

[AgathaX]

Yes. Notwithstanding your denial, the entire point of your essay is to defend Blagojevich's corruption. You defend it by minimalizing it as trivial and stupid. You defend it by blaming the messenger--the reporters whom you perceive as eager to change narrative from Obama the pure, to Obama the fallen. You defend it by comparing its, you presume, minimally harmful effect to that of the subprime crisis and other recent calamities. Those are defenses. Cynical and ineffective defenses, but defenses all the same.

[RoloTomassi]

Yes, and what YOU are defending is unspoken here, but well understood.

[ReesieKitty]

I'm so sick of everyone going on and on about the dirty Chicago politics, like a bunch of rubes that have never seen the big bad city! Grow up, people. The only things that make Blago more noteworthy that other corrupt pols around the country are
1) The scope of the thing- horse trading political favors or appointments is one thing, but actually selling off a US Senate seat is just pretty bold.
2)The fact that Blago was NOT 'horse-trading' for party favor, etc. He was doing it STRICTLY for personal profit, with no public or party gain thrown in. This was just about him and the Mrs. feathering a comfy nest for next year.
3)Just the sheer stupidity. The man really thought he was above getting caught and then seemed to go out of his way to open himself to indictment.
But again- Chicago and IL do NOT hold a monopoly on this kind of thing. It goes on everywhere and should be exposed everywhere, regardless of party affiliation. With all the news smear guys at Fox, etc. LOOKING for connections to Obama, if there was something- anything- real to link him to this, they would have found it and be trumpeting from the rooftops. But there isn't so sleazy innuendo will have to pass for actual information once again.

[Citizen-Jane]

Thanks Benjamin. It seems that topics like the economy, healthcare and the truth about the Iraq and our role around the world requires focus,research depth of knowledge. Where as Gov. B. is a welcome distraction for the corporate press all they have to do is create dots where there is none. Ask the same question many different ways resulting in the same answer. All the while hoping to be the first to break not Gov. B but Obama.

Meanwhile our children's education slowly errodes. Our infrastructure is under reported. The workers who will be effected by the auto bail out are totally ignored. The unions and the home owners are to blame for the weak economy and the fate of their companies. At least that is what they would have you believe. The days of serious unbiased reporting seems to be over. Because serious don't sale. I guess they (press) are only feeding into our attention span. Yes, the pubic seem to have a serious case of A.D.D.

[tigerlille]

Finally, someone is saying in print what a lot of us have been thinking. Aren't the matters identified in the Blago case essentially politics as usual, just played out with a total lack of finesse? If he broke the law, great, prosecute him. But why isn't anyone going after the big boys? Blago is a 2 bit player, and he doesn't have blood on his hands, like the high ups of our current administration. Go after them, they are the real criminals.

[harriscrl3]

I have to strongly disagree with something that was mentioned there is nothing absolutely NOTHING sanctimonious about Obama. In fact Barack Obama may in fact be the LEAST self-righteous LEAST Judgemental person with Integrity that I have ever seen. The man is a Christian and he wouldnt even judge other people's religion how many Christians do you know do that. I mean give me a break. If that how republicans or the Media feel about Obama then they do not know him at all. Either that or they have no clue what the word means.

Carol

[iyamchazz]

You are spot on Carol.
It takes an enormous amount of ego to run for public office.
It takes a truly great leader to control the ego. Obama has
done that. The greatest superstars in Hollywood are the one
who remained humble, like Dustin Hoffman. I know, I've met
him.

[3fingerbrown]

The author didn't say Obama was sanctimonious. C,mon, Carol, it was the very first sentence of the post.

[WilliePilgrim]

It's noteworthy that Illinois has been tarred as a corrupt state when this sort of thing goes on all the time in every state as part of a well recognized system of paybacks. Perhaps Illinois should be the model and we should be wondering why every state hasn't managed to put half its governors into federal prison for equally egregious tactics.
I think Blagojavich should be recognized for his opening the shutters on this practice and if he goes to jail, he shouldn't be alone.

[wmfor]

I switched channels yesterday when I heard some Faux News sanctimonious idiots saying, "Of course, there is no evidence that Obama did anything wrong in any way... BUT it is well known that Chicago politics is rotten to the core, AND his is from Chicago, SO one can't help but wonder how he rose there without being dirty..."

The same people were not, of course, making the same point about Texas politics eight years ago. But Blago was only trying to steal about a million... Bush has stolen hundreds of billions, so of course he is to be admired, not jailed.

[Overd0g]

Really? Please enumerate Bush's thefts, and the location of the funds now.

[exoevolution]

The entire America system - political, economic, financial, military, education, culture, etc. has been "Blagoed" for decades. There are Gov. Blagojevich's throughout America in positions of power.

George W Bush is the latest & greatest "Blago" in Chief.

Barack Obama has an unbelievable mountain to climb. I pray that Obama can break the cycle of "Blago" world.

God help us all!

[bellabeach]

Very well said!