45% Believe Obama Involved in Blago Scandal

That isn't very reassuring for the incoming president. Americans are generally not stupid people and have seen more than enough scandal coming out of Chicago to know that winning elections there requires some shenanigans and a you scratch my back mentality. Hell, JFK had his election bought for him there.

Still, a man who was elected on a platform of hope and change isn't too respected if 45% believe he or someone in his staff was involved with Blago:

Forty five percent (45%) of U.S. voters say it is likely President-elect Obama or one of his top campaign aides was involved in the unfolding Blagojevich scandal in Illinois, including 23% who say it is Very Likely.

Just 11% say it is not at all likely, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Thursday and Friday nights.

Voters nationally are more skeptical than those in Illinois. Thirty-two percent (32%) of Illinois voters said in a survey late last week that there is no way Obama was involved in the Blagojevich case, while only 13% said it is Very Likely that the president-elect was involved, with another 13% saying it is Somewhat Likely.

This is a textbook example of how not to handle a scandal. This story should have been forgotten by now but Blagojevich isn't playing along and Obama is stammering with his answers or not answering at all. He looks guilty of something and ignoring it isn't going to make it disappear.

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will play it straight and start talking about a reduced sentence for Rezko who's talking and once Blago realizes that he's not going to win and a jail term awaits, he'll start screeching too.

That's all fine and good with me.

Update: This is another example of how amateurish the Obama transition people are. They have completed their investigation, of course found no one did anything wrng but won't release it until next week. Another week for a scandal that could have been taken care of within a day or two. If this is how his administration is going to be, the GOP will gain back majority status in both the House and the Senate in 2010.

As an added bonus, Rahm Emanuel was cordial but still hasn't said squat to the press.