The Democratic Party is sitting pretty. They managed to secure their presidential dream candidate and to keep an enviable majority in the Senate. But those who would carry on gloating would be wise not to get too comfortable.
Just after electing President-elect Barack Obama, the Democrats are already faced with a new challenge ““ to rebuild their brand. The media is rife with people talking about the soiled Republican brand that stems from their complicity in the financial crisis. Alas, they don’t seem to spend as much time noting Democratic pitfalls. But in the last month we were blessed with a story that epitomizes true greed, something so perfectly brainless that it could not escape the media’s attention (thank goodness!). And yes, it comes straight out of the Democratic Party.
The elation that arose from Obama’s election lasted all of one month, when a certain indictment derailed the “change” train. Of course, I speak of Rod Blagojevich, the salty-tongued Illinois governor of pay-to-play fame, who was caught allegedly conspiring to sell Obama’s Senate seat.
The least he could have done was to give the Democrats a scandal they could be proud of. Instead, he just embarrassed them. Reportedly, Blago was trying to get a measly $150,000 for “his” Senate seat. That’s a drop in the bucket in political terms, and an insult to professional criminals. But, besides that, he was clumsy and got caught on tape. Pieces of transcripts of those tapes are available for the world to see, in all their bleeping glory.
This story is not only important for its outing of Democratic politicians, who have somehow managed to escape the blaring coverage that Republicans face. What’s more, it comes on the wings of a new, namely Democratic administration promising expansive change. This is an administration that rose to power on a battle cry aimed at abolishing corruption in Washington ““ Republican corruption, ironically.
Now, it appears as if by some miracle the President-elect will come up clean in the Blagojevich probe. But that does not begin to resolve the issue. Regardless of whether Obama is personally involved, the affair contributes to a crisis of confidence in our political officials at the worst possible time, and belies the message of a “new America” that is to magically appear when Obama takes office. Americans are already distrustful of our financial institutions, and now they can’t have much more faith in their government. Many will struggle to trust a president ““ and an administration ““ that was plucked from the same cesspool that produced Gov. Blagojevich (not to mention Tony Rezko, Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers).
The Democratic Party would like nothing more than to have everyone forget about Blagojevich. Wishful thinking. The governor has already shown that he’s not going down without a fight; he made an appointment even after the Senate vowed to block it. As long as he sticks to his guns, he will remain a national issue. And that’s the last thing the reform-minded Obama wants to happen.
As for the rest of us, the Blagojevich scandal may have been a dose of reality. Of course, we want to believe that government can be cured of bad behavior. Obama has promised it. But Americans should know that politics are intrinsically flawed, inviting people to test the limits of their power, which often results in people abusing power. Blago reminds us of that.
Thus, the President-elect can do everything possible to try to instigate change in Washington, but he can’t alter human nature. Corruption, unfortunately, is as old and storied as politics itself. Politicians have always exploited the public trust for private gain, and it would be naïve to think that they will shape up because a new leader is willing it.
That being said, “change” was a useful byword for the presidential election, but it’s easier said than done. Obama will have a hard enough time weeding out the misfits in his cabinet, let alone reshaping Washington in its entirety.
Nor are we certain that he plans to change anything. For a candidate who ran on “reform,” Obama has done remarkably little of it. As Blagojevich demonstrates, corruption ran amuck in Illinois while Obama was there. That’s not a good track record.
Granted, the Blagojevich affair does not mean in the least that all politicians are bad. Most, I am sure, are very respectable. But this scandal caps off a memorable year of juicy scandals. From the nocturnal escapades of Eliot “Client Number 9″ Spitzer, to the exploits of John “The Adulterer” Edwards and William “Cold Hard Cash” Jefferson, we have seen a plethora of politicians take the plunge to the dark side.
The Blago matter is just another chapter in the annals of political corruption. But it comes at a crucial time. It reminds people that even though we have supposedly come so far ““ in electing the first black president, etc. ““ there are certain things that simply won’t change. Political corruption is one such thing that’s sure to haunt us till time eternal.
Thus, expectations should be lowered for those anticipating a sea change in Washington. If reforms do come, they’re likely to underwhelm us.
E-mail Pherson at apherson@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.