Posted by
John Caile on Thursday, June 10, 2010 3:36:43 PM
With election day rapidly approaching, it's likely a pain for the Obama Administration, and the Democrats in general, to have to endure the embarrassing scandal of Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich's trial:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1865781,00.html
Then, as if that weren't bad enough, there is the ongoing investigation into the issue of the White House staff apparently attempting to bribe candidates in a number of key elections to "step aside" in exchange for jobs. The latest involves Colorado Democrat and House Speaker Andrew Romanoff:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100602/ap_on_el_se/us_colorado_senate
Such backroom dirty deals one should expect from an Administration born and bred in the "Chicago Way." So political wonks are not the least bit surprised. Having grown up in Chicago politics, I certainly am not.
But perhaps the most laughable case is the Democrats' latest blunder - against South Carolina Republican powerhouse Jim DeMint, Democrats have picked Alvin Greene, a 32 year old, unemployed nobody. Greene is black, which may garner him some support from the reliably Democrat voting African-American community, but he also lives with his mother, which is not exactly a "resume enhancing" factoid to voters of any color.
Then it got worse.
No sooner had he won the Democrat primary than the news broke that Greene had recently been charged with "disseminating, procuring, or promoting obscenity" in an apparent attempt to lure a college coed into a sexual liaison:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/09/surprise-south-carolina-democratic-senate-nominee-refuses-step-aside/
Apparently, the White House is attempting to persuade Mr. Greene to drop out of the race (given Mr. Greene's current employment status, an offer of a job at Wendy's should suffice - though I doubt they would take him). But on a serious note, if Alvin Greene the best that South Carolina Democrats can come up with in such an important contest, it does not bode well for them in November.
Naturally, South Carolina House Majority Whip James Clyburn suggested that a Republican conspiracy was somehow behind it:
"There were some real shenanigans going on in the South Carolina
primary," Clyburn said during an appearance on the liberal Bill Press
radio show. "I don't know if he was a Republican plant; he was
someone's plant."
But the truth may simply be the appreciation of harsh reality on the part of more legitimate potential Democrat candidates, those with genuine credentials - they simply didn't want to risk a career-damaging shellacking in 2010.