1. - Commonsense in Illinois - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:41 pm:

   I hold my breath with great anticipation…




2. - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:42 pm:

   Your advice is wise, Grasshopper. Now, snatch this pebble from my hand.




3. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:42 pm:

   Rich, Could you post something tomorrow stating as the Senator from Illinois, Obama has an obligation to get me Cubs/Sox playoff tickets?

   Thanks.




4. - A Citizen - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:42 pm:

   Well ! There it is. A done deal, Jones will probably convene Friday and ram that sucker through, so Obama can finally claim to have done something, anything, in Illinois.




5. - Zora - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:51 pm:

   There’s a QOTD: What would YOU put on Sen. Obama’s “Phone Home” list? Both snark and serious versions are needed.




6. - Black Ivy - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:57 pm:

   Spin, spin, and more spin. Who cares if they spoke. Does the Democratic Presidential candidate adn former Illinois Senator have enough courage and integrity to pressure his “Godfather” to convene the Senate and act on the ethics legislation? I fear not - he’s too distracted speaking on the state of the economy (and not ACTING). Words, no action!




7. - Snidely Whiplash - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:57 pm:

   Obie: “Emil, can you move this legislation through for me? I don’t need the heat right now.”

   Emil: “Boy, you know I like you and all, but you know I can’t do that.”

   Obie: “Can you do me a favor and tell the press that I called and told you that I strongly support the legislation and the need to get it voted through quickly?”

   Emil: “You’re a good man. Clean cut. You got it. Just remember my son when you start making appointments.”




8. - Jaded - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:58 pm:

   Barack
   “Hey Emil pass this ethics plan, because mine clearly wasn’t good enough hence the need for more ethics…man.”

   Emil
   “Thanks for the advice kid, now if you’re so smart, tell me why your’re still in a dead heat with a guy you should be up on by 10 points right now. If it wasn’t for me, you would still be a back bench State Senator, so do us both a favor, stick to wooing the hollywood elite and leave the serious politics (Illinois that is) to me.”




9. - Jaded - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 4:59 pm:

   Of course Emil wouldn’t say that, but wouldn’t it be fun if he did?




10. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:01 pm:

    Barack did not create this problem, the Governor did through his amendatory veto.




11. - The Doc - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:02 pm:

    Clear as mud. Thanks for the strong effort, Senator Obama (insert sarcastic barb here).




12. - And the answer is - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:05 pm:

    What he did not say was the “earliest possible opportunity” was Nov 5..




13. - fed up - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:16 pm:

    Wow thats the most work our senator has done in 2 1/2 years. Maybe he could call the other politican he endorsed Stroger and tell him he doesnt like corruption.




14. - Big Mama T - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:17 pm:

    A very forceful statement. You just have to admire BO’s convictions.




15. - Dan S a Voter and a Cubs Fan - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:23 pm:

    This is another example of why I will not vote for the motor-mouth do-nothing Senator from Illinois in November.




16. - Tom B. - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:26 pm:

    Word:

    Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Long couple weeks ahead of us.

    Miller, you’ve railed against a politician and he/she actually did what you said he/she should.

    Might as well pack up and go to disneyland, let Fanning take over for a while.




17. - pro - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:28 pm:

    BO is in a conundrum - come out for the override and risk being against strong ethics reform.

    Come out against it, and he is supporting the Gov’s ideas.




18. - Levois - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:33 pm:

    He must have been listening.




19. - Deep Water - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 5:48 pm:

    Rich, please watch fox news tonight tomczak, collins avila mcdonough. 9:00 p.m. thanks




20. - Disgusted - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 6:04 pm:

    SIGH - another election of voting for the lesser of two evils or writing in my husband’s name. He’s very intelligent, capable, thorough, has street sense, is hands on, can fix anything and that includes the government. But he’s not greedy and he helps his fellow man, so he’d never stand a chance.




21. - Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 6:22 pm:

    It’s impossible to know what Obama actually said to Jones, to assume the Dejong quote is anything close to verbatim is silly.

    This could easily be read as: Obama called Jones and told him to go into session and override next week, Jones told him to f-off, so we’re just gonna say Obama called and expressed support because it would look bad if we told you what really went down.




22. - Captain Flume - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 6:38 pm:

    Chicago Business is reporting that the Bammer asked EJ to call the Senate back into session at the earliest possible time to consider the ethics bill override. Hmmm?




23. - Old Elephant - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 7:01 pm:

    Very interesting parsing going on. Obama urged him to call the Senate in at the “earliest possible” time. In other words, after the November election.

    Obama: sticks his head in the sand while surrounding himself with Jones, Rezko, Ayers, Wright.

    Palin: Blows the whistle on corruption and cleans up government.




24. - 2ConfusedCuckooCrew - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 7:03 pm:

    It is clear that Carol Marin is THE most powerful journalist in Chicago, perhaps the nation!
    Move over George Tagge, Marin will set the agenda
    NOT

    The big question is why Obama even called?

    With WhackyJack McCain spinning on Son of S&L scandal II he must hope for some foreign war issue….the last thing he needs is for the media to get back to Keating 5 , Resolution Trust, $125 billlion …..Too many bad memories for WhackyJack and SaraCuda…..Obama should be full sail on this one. Forget The President, Blagoof et al.




25. - Amy - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 7:18 pm:

    wow, how many days since the ask did it take him to do,
    really, nothing at all….. some reformer.




26. - Amy - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 7:18 pm:

    wow, how many days since the ask did it take him to do,
    really, nothing at all….. some reformer.




27. - Amy - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 7:19 pm:

    sorry. don’t know how the double post happened.




28. - save a horse ride a harley - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 7:52 pm:

    What did “they speak” about? How Obama got more money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than any other senator except one (Clinton’s former OMB Director got 90 million while leading one of these corrupt GSE’s and I do believe he is on the ones campaign staff)? I want to hear about it from the “one.” The spinmeister saying it doesn’t make it so…




29. - Lefty Lefty - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 8:38 pm:

    The hyper-partisans are out in force tonight…must be the (almost) full moon.




30. - Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 9:42 pm:

    AA isn’t hyper about much, except old-school things like the truth.

    Let’s flip on the Springfield Wayback Machine-when young Mr. Shrimp DeJong was the flack for CMS and GOMB, he was ridiculed all over the ‘patch and maybe on the pages of this very Blog on occasion for some of the whoppers he had to lay out there on behalf of his employer.
    Did he get a gravitas transplant or does one get “anointed” when they join that staff to have such instantaneous credibility? Besides, the comment is totally meaningless. When Obama can show that he’s rounding up votes for a legit bill, then he’s doing something. Otherwise, all hat, no cattle.

    PS: I believe “save a horse” is referring to Franklin Raines, Fannie’s CEO from 98-03 who was asked to leave after the last debacle and who “earned” $90 million, including several huge “performance awards.”

    2Confused, you’re usually not confused about much, so you know why Obama won’t take a hard swing on Fan and Fred.




31. - Ted - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 9:50 pm:

    [the rest of the news] “…the conversation ended awkwardly and abruptly when Sen. Obama’s teleprompter malfunctioned.”




32. - Captain Flume - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 9:55 pm:

    Here is the blurb I read from Crain’s:

    (Crain’s) — Responding to pleas from government reformers, Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday phoned Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. and asked him to call the Senate back into session “at the earliest possible opportunity” to consider a major pending ethics bill.
    But there was no immediate indication that Mr. Jones is willing to go along.




33. - Truth - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 9:58 pm:

    Very good, Ted. Very good.




34. - there he goes again - Wednesday, Sep 17, 08 @ 10:41 pm:

    This is what happens when the Obama Campaign keeps hiring this young, inexperienced staff in its campaign. What a joke.




35. - Cassandra - Thursday, Sep 18, 08 @ 4:32 am:

    I think experienced pols Obama and Jones both knew they were playing to the (ever credulous) Illinois
    voter crowd. Obama gets to talk about how those
    clueless do-gooders he has to suck up to until the election made him call, and, well, you know… Jonessure does know and he’s ot about to do a darn thing.

    Look for an inspiring Obamaspeech about how, well,
    just this week he was urgin historic reform in Illinois.




36. - anon - Thursday, Sep 18, 08 @ 6:32 am:

    You don’t say ?????????




37. - bored now - Thursday, Sep 18, 08 @ 7:37 am:

    there he goes again must be jealous! couldn’t get a job???

    the obama campaign beat the crap out of what was almost the entirety of the “experienced” democratic campaign staffers, who congregated with hillary clinton. any objective consideration of who had the better staff would have to go to the “young, inexperienced staff.” hillary’s experienced staff was not only worthless, but an anchor weighing down their candidate. the reality is that her “experienced” staff did her a great disservice.

    i understand that the obama campaign may not have hired too many of the madigan boys, but barack is competing in the major leagues. he needed people who could understand the national political climate in the 21st century, not a bunch of people whose skillset was exceeded in the late 1970s. what happened when madigan’s troops faced someone with a newer skillset? that young candidate beat his incumbent who was staffed by a bunch of “experienced” campaign staffers. obama wants to win…




38. - Gadfly - Thursday, Sep 18, 08 @ 9:10 am:

    So, Miller says call, some editorials say call, and then, lo and behold, BO calls. So why the negative reaction, especially considering you have no idea what was said in the conversation? He did what you asked and now what, that wasn’t good enough, so you want him to do more?

    Seriously, he’s running for president, why in the world would he want to drag himself into a fight between a lame-duck Senate President, the governor with the lowest approval ratings in the nation and MJM?

    He’s done what you asked, now lay off.




39. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 18, 08 @ 9:26 am:

    Gadfly, were you addressing those comments to me? I’m not sure how you can interpret my commentary as negative. What gives?




40. - Gadfly - Thursday, Sep 18, 08 @ 9:40 am:

    Rich-

    Heck, I don’t know. Not necessarily you, maybe you, maybe others, maybe it was just a partisan moment (I’ve been trying to avoid those). Just seems like some folks who were urging the phone call to happen weren’t satisfied with the result. Sidebar - who seriously thinks Emil would take BO’s counsel anyway?

    although I will say your “um, ok” comment was a little perplexing — so I’ll ask, are you satisfied with the call or do you think there should have been a more emphatic response from BO?

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