governor – News Stories About governor - Page 34

Dec 15, 2008 8:16 AM CST

All-Smiles Governor Was Sinking Fast

Colleagues describe Blagojevich as panicked, delusional

(Newser) - In public, Rod Blagojevich appeared a political natural, charming voters and reeling off anecdotes. In private, colleagues tell the New York Times, the Illinois governor is another man: petulant, foul-mouthed, and prone to bouts of fury if an aide misplaces his beloved hairbrush. As Blagojevich clings to office, insiders say...

Tribune Story Forced Feds
to Arrest Blago Early

Dec 15, 2008 7:16 AM CST

Tribune Story Forced Feds to Arrest Blago Early

Story broke up meeting

(Newser) - US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald must have been grinding his teeth as he arrested Rod Blagojevich Tuesday morning, reports the Wall Street Journal. Fitzgerald’s team had been salivating over the prospect of catching the sale of Barack Obama’s Senate seat on tape, but those hopes were dashed when the...

GOP Video Spotlights Obama-Blago Ties

Dec 14, 2008 8:01 PM CST

GOP Video Spotlights Obama-Blago Ties

(Newser) - Republicans posted a video today that questions Barack Obama’s old links to Rod Blagojevich, Politico reports. Titled "Questions Remain," it urges Obama to reveal contacts between his team and the scandal-plagued governor. The video shows that Obama advised Blago in his 2002 campaign, and endorsed Blago's...

Blago the
Only Rat
Paying
the Piper

OPINION

Dec 14, 2008 1:18 PM CST

Blago the Only Rat Paying the Piper

'Chicago punk,' sure, but ever heard of Bush, Rumsfeld, Lay, Rubin?

(Newser) - Poor Rod Blagojevich: He merely tried to auction off the president-elect’s Senate seat and could be imprisoned for it. But the men who bungled Iraq and crashed our economy can anticipate vacations and White House jobs, Frank Rich writes in the New York Times. Luckily for us, Blagojevich “...

Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick
New Senator

TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

Dec 14, 2008 11:21 AM CST

Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick New Senator

McCain scolds GOP for Blago flap; Granholm, Romney clash on autos

(Newser) - Blago and bailouts were the talk of today's talk shows. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told Meet the Press that voters should elect Barack Obama’s Senate replacement in a special election, while the state’s lieutenant governor said legislation would allow him to appoint a caretaker until a special...

FBI Circled Around Blago's Wife for a Year

Dec 14, 2008 7:28 AM CST

FBI Circled Around Blago's Wife for a Year

She dropped real estate work amid questions about clients paying for influence

(Newser) - She's known for ranting on an FBI tape—but that wasn’t the first time Patricia Blagojevich’s name has surfaced in the corruption probe of her governor husband, the Chicago Tribune reports. A federal investigation that began a year ago prompted Mrs. Blago to quit real estate work amid...

Blago's Real Crime:
His Blackmail of BoA

opinion

Dec 13, 2008 11:19 AM CST

Blago's Real Crime: His Blackmail of BoA

Government shouldn't just step into commercial affairs

(Newser) - Emperor Nero killed a lot of people, but most people just remember the fiddling incident, notes Joe Queenan in the Washington Post. Something similar is happening with Rod Blagojevich, whose most flamboyant offense, trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat, is obscuring his real crime: Forcing Bank of America to...

Emanuel Talked Senate Seat
With Blago Aide

Dec 13, 2008 10:20 AM CST

Emanuel Talked Senate Seat With Blago Aide

No sign Chief of Staff pick tried to wheel and/or deal

(Newser) - Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s pick for White House chief of staff, had multiple conversations with Rod Blagojevich's chief of staff about Obama’s Senate seat, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. There’s no evidence that Emanuel engaged in any dealmaking for the seat, or that he knew of Blagojevich’...

Fla. Gov Marries Amid Protests

Dec 13, 2008 6:32 AM CST

Fla. Gov Marries Amid Protests

Gays slam marriage ban as Crist weds New York socialite

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist married socialite Carole Rome last night as hundreds of people protested outside, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Most were from a group outraged by the governor’s support of Florida’s gay marriage ban, passed last month. Others protested the death of a St. Petersburg teen...

Death Threats,
Blago Rumors
Plague Emanuel

Dec 12, 2008 4:57 PM CST

Death Threats, Blago Rumors Plague Emanuel

(Newser) - Fuming over rumors he was the Obama adviser who spoke with Rod Blagojevich about the president-elect’s Senate seat, Rahm Emanuel told ABC News today he's received death threats and the media have "intruded too much." Emanuel is not a target of prosecutors, sources told the AP late...

Media Gets 'Silly' Over
Obama Ties to Blago

OPINION

Dec 12, 2008 2:05 PM CST

Media Gets 'Silly' Over Obama Ties to Blago

There's little evidence of ties as questions pour from press

(Newser) - The media is aflutter with questions over Barack Obama’s connection to Rod Blagojevich, and although it’s fair for the press to probe, things are getting “silly,” Joan Walsh writes on Salon. The only tie we’ve seen is Blagojevich caught on tape ranting obscenely that Obama...

Blago to
Ministers:
I'm Innocent

Dec 12, 2008 1:04 PM CST

Blago to Ministers: I'm Innocent

Guv says he'll be vindicated

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich prayed with several ministers before heading to his office today, telling them he is innocent and will be vindicated "when you hear each chapter completely written," said a pastor. He added that the governor discussed trying to get a legal and political consultation team in place...

AG Asks Court to Oust Blago

UPDATED

Dec 12, 2008 11:24 AM CST

AG Asks Court to Oust Blago

Declare him 'unfit to serve,' she asks

(Newser) - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today asked the state’s Supreme Court to declare Rod Blagojevich unfit to serve as governor, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. "We think it is very clear he is incapable of serving," said Madigan. She wants to prevent the scandal-plagued governor from appointing Barack...

Forget
Blago:
Rangel
Plagues Obama

analysis

Dec 12, 2008 11:12 AM CST

Forget Blago: Rangel Plagues Obama

Key congressman's probe could hurt Obama's agenda

(Newser) - The Blagojevich mess may appear more damaging, but the bigger concern for Barack Obama is the scandal surrounding Charles Rangel, who is under scrutiny for a number of questionable dealings, writes Gerald Seib in the Wall Street Journal. Blago may soon be out of Obama’s hair, but Rangel's status...

Obama Steered Clear
of Blago for Years

ANALYSIS

Dec 12, 2008 8:03 AM CST

Obama Steered Clear of Blago for Years

President-elect kept his hands clean; guv was classic machine pol

(Newser) - Rising through Illinois politics, Barack Obama learned to recognize a crook when he saw one, so he kept a healthy distance from Rod Blagojevich, writes Eli Saslow in the Washington Post. At the convention, Obama disappointed Blagojevich by giving nearly every other Illinois official a speaking slot. Says a mentor,...

Blago 'Upbeat'
Amid Storm

Dec 11, 2008 6:22 PM CST

Blago 'Upbeat' Amid Storm

(Newser) - With pressure mounting by the hour for him to resign or face impeachment, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich remained "upbeat" and in a "positive mood," his spokesman said. Blagojevich did his best to ignore the storm swirling around him. "There's a sense of trying to return to...

McGraw May Run
for Tenn. Guv

Dec 11, 2008 4:40 PM CST

McGraw May Run for Tenn. Guv

State's Democrats desperate to find challenger for Frist

(Newser) - Gov. Tim McGraw? The country star is “seriously considering” a run for the post in Tennessee in 2010, Clay Risen writes in a New Republic blog post. Risen notes that Democrats are trying to find a high-profile candidate to run against the all-but-certain Republican entry, Bill Frist. A McGraw...

$500K in Legal Bills May Have Motivated Blago

Dec 11, 2008 4:26 PM CST

$500K in Legal Bills May Have Motivated Blago

Guv could have hoped Senate seat could bail him out of debts

(Newser) - Disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich owes a Chicago law firm more than $500,000, the Wall Street Journal reports. In intercepted conversations released as part of the current complaint against him, Blagojevich repeatedly mentions his poor financial situation; earlier this year, he stopped paying Winston & Strawn, which had counseled...

Crazy? Nah, Just a Chicago Pol

OPINION

Dec 11, 2008 2:40 PM CST

Crazy? Nah, Just a Chicago Pol

Blagojevich just doing what machine politicians do, warts and all

(Newser) - Amateur psychologists are calling Rod Blagojevich “crazy,” just because he dropped some F-bombs while allegedly trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Obviously, these guys “have never talked to a Chicago machine politician in their lives,” writes John Kass in the Tribune. “How do...

Patti Is Not a 'Potty Mouth,' Family Says

Dec 11, 2008 1:22 PM CST

Patti Is Not a 'Potty Mouth,' Family Says

Feds' wiretap recording paints off-color image of Mrs. Blagojevich

(Newser) - Illinois’ first lady is not the “potty mouth” the feds and Barbara Walters make her out to be, Patti Blagojevich’s family tells the Chicago Sun-Times. While conceding that Patti can be “standoffish," state legislator Deborah Mell said yesterday, “that is absolutely not my sister,”...