Sestak Gate

Usually, I get my news online or in the newspapers rather than on cable news, because of how worthless CNN, MSNBC, and Fox are, but recently I’ve been going to the gym and on the treadmill facing the TV, I’ve seen a bunch of stuff regarding “Sestak Job Offer,” on the little headlines they place under the talking heads.  Now, I don’t actually LISTEN to it, because the only way to work out is to Iggy and the Stooges, but I got back and read up on the issue, and here’s my take:

Okay, so basically, it all revolves around Arlen Specter.  You’ll all remember that he switched sides in the middle of his recent term and became a Democrat rather than a Republican, thus putting the Senate over the edge so that, before Scott Brown took the Kennedy seat, the Democrats had a 60-40 filibuster-proof majority.  It was a controversial move to say the least, and I won’t get into that here.

Point being, Specter alienated his Republican base and screwed himself for the next election.  So Democratic Representative Joe Sestak decided to run for the seat and won the primaries, ousting Specter as the Democratic candidate for the 2010 election.

Obama was naturally thrilled at Specter’s flip, which, if Specter voted along party lines, gave him a rubber stamp on a lot of his pet legislation.  So he wanted Specter to continue in his Senate seat, since he threw so much support behind him.  A strong contender in your same party, as Obama knows, is a dangerous thing.

Sestak recently admitted in a television interview that Obama offered him a job in his administration back in February which, if he decided to take, would have forced him out of the Senate race.  Some have called this a “bribe,” and others have questioned the ethics 0f it, and hence, the scandal has begun.

My thoughts:

Really?  This is a scandal?  I will agree that there is certainly an ethical debate here, but I think it’s a relatively tame one given the historical precedents.  Clearly Obama wanted to get Sestak out of the way so Specter could run.  This makes perfect sense.  Incumbents win 95% of all elections, Specter would have had a better chance even with his flip-flop against Pat Toomey (his Republican rival) than relative unknown Sestak would, AND Specter has proven to be an Obama ally.  I will honestly not be shocked (or indignant) at all if Specter is given a job in the administration when his term is up.

So yeah.  If a job offer took place, the offer was political, and it was probably Obama trying to consolidate power and help out an ally.

Who cares?  This isn’t anything unusual, it’s American politics at its core.  That’s what Presidents DO, they offer jobs and positions to their allies and their enemies in the grand chess game that is politics.  Lincoln famously loaded his cabinet with his political enemies so he could keep them in line.  JFK and LBJ despised each other, but that’s why JFK appointed him as his VP candidate.  Presidents are always offering jobs to potential enemies, people that could get in their way.  What was McCain’s appointment of Palin if not an attempt to woo the far right, who thought he was too moderate?

Even for Obama, this is nothing new.  Hillary Clinton was brutal when she ran against him, and then she lost and immediately became his biggest supporter.  Then she got what is probably the most prestigious job in the administration.  There’s no proof, of course, that this wasn’t part of a deal between the two, but please.

Jill Biden famously let slip that Joe had been offered a choice of the Secretary of State or VP position.  I mean, really.  You can argue the ethics of this all you want – in my view, campaign contributions are much more problematic – but the outrage that Obama might have offered a guy a job for political motives is either disingenuous or naive.