Obama’s Press Conference: Takes Strong Stand Against Blagojevich

Amid an increasingly loud chorus of pundit and talk radio discussion and some raised eyebrows, President Elect Barack Obama tackled the controversy of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Senate Seat For Sale scandal head on during his news conference — denying his staff was involved and blasting the four-letter-word-fan Governor:

President-elect Barack Obama fired off his strongest criticism so far against alleged pay-to-play Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“I was appalled and disappointed as anybody by the revelations,” Obama said at the start of his Chicago news conference to formally announce Tom Daschle as his Health and Human Services secretary.

He called on Blagojevich to resign, insisting his fellow Democrat could no longer “effectively” govern.

Obama said he had no contact with the scandal-stained Blagojevich about his Senate successor.

And he vigorously defended his staff against any suggestion that they may have entertained any Senate-seat sale schemes hatched by Blagojevich.

“I am confident that no representatives of mine would have had any part in any deals,” Obama said, later adding he was “absolutely certain.”

Obama instructed his aides put compile information about any contacts they’ve had with Blagojevich or his staffers — a document the President-elect pledged to release to the public.

In an important sense, Obama had to deal with the issue forcefully.

The ongoing media narrative has become the scandal’s role as an early test of Obama, with GOPers saying it fits into a pattern of questionable Obama associations and points out the political culture from which he emerged. At this point it is guilty by association since nothing has come out suggesting Obama or his team were involved. Even in what most acknowledge to be the smelly culture of Illinois politics, Blagojevich is acknowledged by all sides to far exceed Guinness Book of Record skunk-stench records.

Meanwhile, a new Rasmussen poll finds that 84 percent of Illinois voters want Blagojevich to do what Obama has called on him to do: resign.

One notable comment in Obama’s remarks suggests an up and coming Democrat may have to wait a bit more.

In his press conference Obama called on the Senate seat to be filled by someone “untainted” by this scandal. That most likely lets out Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. who had to hold a press conference yesterday to deny that as “Candidate #5″ mentioned in the federal criminal complaint he had his emissaries suggest the Gov. could get something in return for naming Jackson to the seat. Even if he is totally cleared, Jackson remains the most tainted of all Illinois politicians in this scandal because — rightfully or wrongfully — his camp has been mentioned in a questionable light on the government wiretap tapes.

Watch Obama’s press conference below:

UPDATE: The New York Times’ lively The Caucus blog (which also offers a link to the full transcript of the press conference) notes that Obama’s remarks are unlikely to put the subject to rest:

The U.S. attorney had also said there was no indication that Mr. Obama was in any way involved. But Mr. Obama did note that his staff was still gathering facts about whether anyone on his team might have been involved, leaving the door open that some inconvenient news could emerge. It seems unlikely that Mr. Obama’s statements today will put these questions to rest.

And poor Mr. Daschle! Like Al Gore on Monday, Mr. Obama’s co-stars were overlooked as reporters questioned Mr. Obama about the scandal. Still, in the health-care question, Mr. Obama indicated quite clearly that the Bush tax cuts may not be rolled back as fast as he had promised, if at all. In the end, of course, dealing with health care and the rest of the economic emergency in this country will have a more lasting effect on his presidency than the current scandal in his home state.