Emanuel Had Contact With Governor’s Office on Senate Seat

The Obama associates said the interactions concerned several people who might fill the seat. Such contacts are common among party officials when a political vacancy is to be filled. It was not clear whether the communication was via direct telephone calls.

The Chicago Tribune reported that communications between Mr. Emanuel and the governor, both Democrats, had been captured on court-approved wiretaps, but Obama associates gave conflicting accounts of the interactions.

Meanwhile, the mainstream press is still shocked that politics became involved in the selection of Obama's senate seat. We don't know how many honest politicians (besides Ron Paul) are in government but we would really be shocked to find many who don't play these kind of games behind their closed doors. It's only a news story because Gov. Blagojevich employed creative new ways to use an offensive expletive more so than creative politics - and he apparently is inept with technology and unaware of the vast scope of the Patriot Act. They'll have to be a little more cautious with their cell phones and Blackberries in the future. As Lord Acton observed: "I cannot accept, your canon that we are to judge pope and king unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they do no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power...."