Shadowy Obama Antagonist Has Long Criminal Record

Because Solyndra doesn't count ... yet

(NEWSER) - Yesterday Barack Obama officially broke George W. Bush’s record for the longest scandal-free streak by a president in the post-Watergate era—at least by one political scientist’s criteria. Dartmouth professor Brendan Nyhan ran a study earlier this year on presidential scandals, which he defines as "widespread elite perception of wrongdoing." Nyhan figured the Washington Post is a good indicator of elite opinion, so to qualify as a scandal, the S-word had to be used in the writer’s own voice on a front-page Post story. More»

Screw-up reveals redacted info

(NEWSER) - Rod Blagojevich's defense team asked the judge to subpoena Barack Obama yesterday with a motion that was supposed to be heavily redacted. But whoever redacted it did a lousy job; the blacked out text could be easily read just by copying and pasting it, as Capital Fax revealed. Here's what Blago's lawyers allege in the redacted portions:

• Obama lied about his conversations with Tony Rezko. The lawyers say Obama turned down a fundraiser Rezko offered him in exchange for favorable legislative action. Obama has denied even having such a conversation.

GOP could mount a comeback, if it plays smart

(NEWSER) - They got an electoral thumping in 2006 and did no better in 2008, but Republicans may be getting their groove back. The GOP is still polling at record lows, and the Ensign scandal won’t help the party buck its reputation for moral hypocrisy. Yet, Politico reports, the opposition is making shrewd attacks on President Obama’s programs, and a 2010 comeback is not impossible. More»

(NEWSER) - Rod Blagojevich's camp asked Roland Burris for money before nominating him to take Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Burris revealed the request, for up to $10,000 in campaign contributions, in an affidavit dated Feb. 5—3 weeks after he was sworn in. Burris didn't mention the request during Blagojevich's impeachment hearing because he "was not given the opportunity," he said. More»

Replacement denies deal to keep him on as 'incapacitated governor'

(NEWSER) - Rod Blagojevich said today that shortly after his December arrest by federal authorities, he was approached by “leading senators” who offered him a chance to stay on as an “incapacitated governor,” the Chicago Tribune reports. The deal, which the now-impeached governor rejected, would have been contingent on him not appointing a replacement to Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. More»