The Teflon President-Elect

As I was reading about the scandal involving disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, I was less than shocked to see that President-Elect Barack Obama claims to know nothing of these events. It seems that Obama always knows very little when it comes to scandals involving those around him.

Let's look back, shall we? There was his America hating Reverend, Jeremiah Wright. Mr. Obama said that the Jeremiah Wright on those tapes was not the Jeremiah Wright he knew, and that he was never in church when Wright said horrible things about this country. And the media said, well, that's a good enough explanation for us.

Then there was his relationship with former terrorist Bill Ayers. Obama said Ayers was, "just a guy from the neighborhood." When it was discovered that Ayers and his wife hosted the launch of Obama's State Senate campaign, the media was forced to investigate a little. It was also discovered that Ayers and Obama served together on the board of the Woods Fund of Chicago. But, after that, the media concluded that Obama and Ayers "weren't close".

Then there was Tony Rezko. The Chicago area businessman who was indicted for using his connections to the state boards to demand kickbacks from businesses that wanted to do business with the state. It was discovered that Obama had purchased a house for $300,000 under the asking price. On the same day Rezko's wife purchased the adjacent property for the full asking price. While Obama acknowledged bringing the purchase to Rezko's attention, he denied a coordinated offer. Later, Obama purchased a 10 foot wide strip of Rezko's property for $104,500, around $60,000 above the assessed value. According to Chicago Sun-Times columnist, Mark Brown, "Rezko definitely did Obama a favor by selling him the 10-foot strip of land, making his own parcel less attractive for development." Obama acknowledges that the exchange may have created the appearance of impropriety, and stated "I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it." Again, this was largely ignored by the media, or looked upon by some as a good real estate deal.

Now there's the controversy with Blagojevich. According to FoxNews, the timeline of the alleged events suggests that some in Obama's camp knew what was going on with the attempt to "sell" Obama's Senate seat. Blagojevich was looking for the promise of a job and cash to appoint the correct person.

Will this stick to Obama? I'm sure it won't. Either the media will ignore it, or someone in the Obama transition team will take the fall. Then, Obama will reiterate that the had no knowledge of this and that will be the end of it. The media has spent so much time spinning for Obama, that they can't let anything touch him now or they will look worse than they already do. The media will continue to do their part to ensure that Obama remains "The Teflon President-Elect" and eventually "The Teflon President."