President-Elect Obama has joined the rising chorus calling for Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s resignation:
President-elect Barack Obama believes that Gov. Rod Blagojevich should resign, his advisers said on Wednesday. “The President-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois,” Robert Gibbs, the incoming White House press secretary, said.
On Tuesday, shortly after news of the criminal corruption complaint against Blagojevich broke, Obama said he was “saddened and sobered” by the news. But he stopped short of demanding the governor’s resignation or addressing the questions that arose in the wake of Blagojevich’s arrest, including how his successor to the Senate will be picked. The Obama transition team has worked to distance itself from Blagojevich, with whom relations were already strained.
That’s certainly better than the mugwump answer he gave yesterday but it’s not as strong as it should be and it doesn’t do anything to elucidate what he knew about the governor’s activities.
