Face Off! Did Obama Handle the Rod Blagojevich Scandal Well?

3 years ago

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Executive Producer

It's Face Off time again! This week, we saw Barack Obama deal with what could be seen as the first scandal of his administration. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is being brought up on charges related to an attempt to sell Obama's Senate seat. It also turns out that Obama's presumptive chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, may have met with Blagojevich several times.

How is Obama handling this? Is he putting the public's concerns to rest?

Liza Porteus Viana says Obama kept his cool under pressure:

There was concern that if Obama didn't come out calm, cool, and collected, he would fan the flames of speculation that perhaps some people in his circle had some questionable dealings or conversations with Governor Blagojevich. But that didn't happen today.

In fact, Obama did what he needed to, and even added a little bit of humor to the absolutely fantastic scandal marring politics in his state. Read More

On the other hand, Mark Impomeni believes that Obama has created more questions than he has answered:

The decision to answer questions is a good start by the Obama team, but the questions must be answered truthfully. Like his first remarks on the scandal, Obama's statement that no one on his staff had any conversations with the governor's office that involved Blagojevich's various plans to profit from naming a successor to Obama did not last 24 hours. Yesterday's stunning revelation that Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had numerous contacts with Blagojevich about the seat and may have provided a list of acceptable candidates to the governor on Obama's behalf certainly makes that statement inoperative. Read More

So now it's up to you. Who do you think makes a better case, Liza or Mark?

Who made a more convincing case?
Liza	1026 (21.0%)
Mark	3855 (79.0%)

Filed Under: Face Off

Tagged: barack obama, BarackObama, rod blagojevich, RodBlagojevich, scandal

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