The first of many upcoming Clinton flashbacks

WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama hasn't even stepped into office and already a scandal is threatening to dog him.

Obama isn't accused of anything. But the fact that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, has been charged with trying to sell Obama's now-vacant Senate post gives political opponents an opening to try to link him to the scandal. A slew of questions remain. The investigation is still under way. And the ultimate impact on Obama is far from certain.

He pointedly distanced himself from the case Tuesday, saying, "I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so I was not aware of what was happening" concerning any possible dealing about Blagojevich's appointment of a successor.

Asked what contact he'd had with the governor's office about his replacement in the Senate, President-elect Obama today said "I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening."


Except that the little messiah's campaign manager, David Axelrod, told a different story - back before they knew that Blagojevich was about to be indicted. This from ABC News:

But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.

While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a "kingmaker," Axelrod said, "I know he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."

Of course now that it is at least embarrassing and possibly criminal to admit that you were taking part in the great Illinois Senate Auction of 2008 Axelrod has changed his story and said that he "misspoke".

The mainstream media is circling the wagons around the little messiah and are doing everything humanly possible to cement in the public's mind that "there is no evidence linking Obama to the scandal". However they are deliberately ignoring the extremely precise wording of US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's statement in which he said that this indictment contained no accusations against the president-elect and that he couldn't say more at this time.

Clearly Mr. Fitzgerlad if leaving his options open as to what Mr. Obama might be charged with in the future.

Those who have predicted that an Obama presidency will be like a third term for Bill Clinton may be more right than they could have suspected.