I’m not sure whether it’s the 4:30pm timing or the fact that Rahm Emanuel is in Africa that’s my favorite part of the Obama team’s Blago internal review “drop and run” scenario. Really, as others note, the MSM is so placid the Obama team probably could have gotten away with releasing it outside the holiday rush and even answering some questions. But this approach only adds to the “transparency in name only” phenomenon and will irritate a few of the more conscientious reporters. (We note that we already have gone from “no” contacts to “no inappropriate contacts with Blago” with many, many questions remaining.)
The reality is that Patrick Fitzgerald has the tapes. So they’ll get played one way or another unless Blago and all the culprits decide to plead to all the charges Fiztgerald can dream up (meaning everything gets swept under the rug). But that seems highly unlikely.
Meanwhile, this hide-the-ball from the media routine does suggest that, like so much of the Obama administration-to-be (e.g. foreign policy, tax cuts), there is much more continuity with the Bush team than many could have imagined. But in deference to the Bush administration officials, at least they had the nerve to go before the press day after day and take the pointed questions — even on non-holiday weeks.
