It may be a 'big deal' to you, Luke Russert, but Sestak's 'job offer' is way down on our list

[flpoljunkie]

The media just won't let go of this 'nothing burger.' It's the way they operate--working as hand maidens to the GOP.

I expect Obama will lay this to rest today. Then, they will, of course, look for something else with which to try and beat the Dems over the head.

[Botany]

1. "They" are making this stuff up in order to hurt Obama re Sestak Bribe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x315695

[Cha]

15. Just like White and Ayers..and the birfers.

[jezebel]

2. They are working themselves into a froth over it. I have heard it called "Obama's watergate" and

"could Obama be impeached?" in the last ten minutes on 2 different stations. And these weren't Republicans these were the media anchors. Disgusting.

[Peacetrain]

3. Damn they can't even give it 10 minutes can they.. Impeached? oh vey

[Deep13]

5. Answer: no. It's not a crime or even unethical. nt

[harkadog]

25. 18 US Code 211 says differently unfortunately.

Government officials can't offer jobs for things of value. Having your candidate get a clear shot to the nomination is a thing of value. So either that happened and is a crime or Sestak is a liar.

[Deep13]

29. I realize the Fed. law doesn't actually require a quid-pro-quo...

...like most state bribery laws do. I'll have to check out the Fed. statute again when i get a chance. Even so, wouldn't the actual service of the prosective employee be "something of value?" Anyway, Sestak's withdrawal from the race may be a political benefit, but it is not something of value to Obama himself. He would not get rich for example because Spector wins the primary. Was making Hillary Clinton SoS a bribe to keep her from being critical of him from the Senate? I think there has to be some allowance for purely political matters.

Anyway, I have to reject the idea that disproving the one necessarily proves the other. It may be possible that Obama offered a job just because Sestak is qualified, but that Sestak assumed it was to get him out of the way.

[harkadog]

30. I am originally from Chicago and was involved in politics there for 30 years.

Obama's problem is that he has surrounded himself with Chicago people, like Rahm Emanuel and Axelrod, who think nothing of offering people jobs, contracts, and money to get their way politically. Because that is how things are done in Chicago and these people have got to realize they are at the federal level where there are different standards and a higher level of scrutiny.

[Cleita]

7. They would love to get him impeached over nothing, like they

did Bill Clinton.

[karynnj]

8. The difference is that Clinton, though not quilty of high crimes and misdemeanors,

DID coach witnesses and he did lie under oath. There was a reason that they suspended his law license for a time.

[Zoeisright]

13. And that justified spending $40 million and hamstringing an administration?

BS.

And then Bush/Cheney, who DID commit impeachable offenses, are totally left off the hook.

[karynnj]

20. I didn't say that

The problem I have is on equating Obama to Clinton. At this point, there is NOTHING that Obama has been accused of that breaks the law. Clinton DID step over the line.

Now, most of that $40 million was spent long before Clinton even met Lewinski. There the MOST that Clinton could be blamed for is that he refused to completely lay out everything about Whitewater. This was reasonable - but as he did nothing wrong he could have stopped everything by disclosing everything - as Senators led by Moynihan recommended (per Sidney Blumenthal's book).

[Proud Liberal Dem]

22. Media Anchors=Republicans (or at least Republican-enablers)

They OWN the media now apparently

[Deep13]

4. It's not a bribe.

Even if true, and I'm not assuming it is, offering a job to a qualified person is not a bribe even if there are ulterior motives for doing so. Was Bill Clinton's appointment of Gov. William Weld (R-MA) as ambassador to Mexico a bribe? Of course not. Was it calculated to eliminate Weld as a political adversary or to let Weld and Helms trash each other on TV? Probably.

[flpoljunkie]

23. You make a great point here.

[Captain Hilts]

6. That's correct. Let's get ahead of it and not let it become Big. nt

[craigmatic]

9. This maybe technically illegal but administrations have been doing this for a while now.

Sestak should learn to keep his mouth shut.

[ShortnFiery]

19. Yeah, so what Blago is getting prosecuted? When OUR GUYS do it, it's LEGAL.

:crazy:

[jenmito]

10. He said, "Some Republicans are calling this 'Obama's Watergate.'"

Meanwhile, what "some Republicans" are calling it gets repeated by Luke and others. :eyes:

[Cha]

16. Whereas most republicons are so full shit..

they waddle.

[Hepburn]

11. Luke Russert...

...:puke:

[WI_DEM]

12. Luke Russert is a bloated example of nepotism at its worse.

Really what qualifies him to have a fairly high profile job at a major news network?

[goclark]

14. "Son of Tim" was his entire resume

The words "Son of Tim" got the job for him.


Why, when there are so many qualified people, did they pick "Lil Luke!!!

Give me a break! :puke:

[treestar]

17. If this is against the law, why so?

It sounds like a dumb law - what evil is it meant to prevent?

And how can the government ever prove the state of mind of the job offerer?

[harkadog]

31. The law (18 USC 211) is intended to prevent a government official

from using the powers of his office to corrupt the political process and prevent them from receiving something of value by offering jobs. Government officials can't offer jobs for things of value. Having your candidate get a clear shot to the nomination is a thing of value. State of mind can be proven by the implications of the surrounding facts. That method of showing state of mind is used everyday by government prosecutors in court throughout the U.S.

[treestar]

35. Anyone else could run against your candidate though

If Sestak takes the job, someone else could still run against Spector, for example. If it's a law it would have to be one that applied regardless of particular circumstances. That law would be meant to apply to something much more concrete as a "thing of value," I'm betting.

[harkadog]

36. It applies and David Axelrod agrees

He said Tuesday that if a job was offered in the manner Sestak suggested it "would be a serious breach of the law". Sestak need to come clean on this.

[ShortnFiery]

18. Luke Russert = MSNBC's nepotism program at it's most VILE.

:puke:

[Phx_Dem]

21. Sestak really screwed himself and may have hurt his chances

for election in the general, simply because he wanted to stick to the White House for supporting Specter. Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face! There may be nothing illegal or unethical, but that won't stop the media from dogging him until election day.

:nuke:

I miss Specter right about now.

[flpoljunkie]

Specter's not gone yet. Though, no doubt Sestak wishes he'd kept his mouth shut.

[treestar]

38. Maybe Spector could pull a Lieberman

If he ran as Ind. then he is in a similar position.

[flpoljunkie]

24. At least Sestak hasn't said he said it to get 'e-lec-ted' like Specter!

[Phx_Dem]

26. Yep, and that dumb and selfish remark did him in. n/t

[kiranon]

27. Sestak may be the Democrats Rand Paul.

Sestak's comment about the job offer comes across as an incredibly stupid comment by a politician. There is nothing wrong in talking about options for a person to pursue in politics - he can be 1 out of a 100 in the Senate or be a person in charge of an important office/job in Washington or elsewhere. Asking what his goal is now or in the future is not a bribe. I seriously doubt his judgment and his ability to conduct high level discussions here or with foreign leaders. I wouldn't assign him any tasks that require judgment, the ability to hold confidences or loyalty.

[totodeinhere]

28. It's totally unfair to compare Sestak to Rand Paul.

There just is no comparison. His comment about whatever happened or didn't happen with the alleged job offer doesn't even come close to Paul's wanting private businesses to have the right to discriminate against African Americans.

[IndianaGreen]

32. Well, Obama did not 'lay this to rest today.' He let it fester.

The Gulf catastrophe trumps everything else, including this one.

[flpoljunkie]

34. It will be put to rest shortly. Assume that means sometime today, or perhaps tomorrow at the latest.

[TwilightGardener]

33. Honestly, it's not even ON my list. It's politics. Job offers and appointments

are made for all sorts of strategic reasons, I'm sure. As long as the person is qualified, I don't give a damn. I wouldn't have cared that every other President did it, and I don't care now.

[JoeyT]

37. It's pretty much a non-issue.

I'd be willing to bet every president in the last 50 years has done this. I know one of them did and no one said a word.