« Namedropping: Gephardt, Mitchell | Main | Johnson's Out: First Thoughts » Jim Johnson Out As Chief Vetter11 Jun 2008 02:39 pm Barack Obama just released a statement: “Jim did not want to distract in any way from the very important task of gathering information about my vice presidential nominee, so he has made a decision to step aside that I accept. We have a very good selection process underway, and I am confident that it will produce a number of highly qualified candidates for me to choose from in the weeks ahead. I remain grateful to Jim for his service and his efforts in this process." Comments (19)
My god, the Obama camp just loves kicking people to the curb. This is a ridiculous trend. 
Jonathan: Wha? From what I can tell, he's gotten rid of about three people or so (Samantha Power, one of the informal foreign policy advisers, Johnson).
Jonathan, I couldn't disagree more. it shows a standard for integrity. Jim Johnson knows that it's possible what he did is amoral even if it wasn't outright illegal. Setting the bar high is easy Talk is Cheap Living up to that high bar and honoring that Talk: That's Obama
Marc, if Jim Johnson has attracted this much attention with (what seems to me, anyway) flimsy evidence of wrongdoing over this mortgage thing, how is nobody raising a bigger stink about Eric Holder's role in the Marc Rich pardon scandal? That seems largely to have escaped the public's attention.
John, Jonathan,
Look, I am not a McCain supporter, I am just not a big fan of Obama in general. I am bewildered that people think he is some sort of new politics when he is just really good at old school politics. I was a Biden supporter from the get go, I will vote for Obama, but things like this don't show integrity, when yesterday it was all, "This is silly, we don't vett the vetters." and today it's accepting the resignation. If you want to like Obama that's fine, and I will vote for him because I am a Democrat, but don't pretend he is something special or super ethical.
Miki, "kicked to the curb" would include Rev. Wright, Rev. Pfleger, and the Trinity church.
In my mind, Phil Graham is the one who really should be thrown overboard... I find it fascinating that the Jim Johnson story, in the WSJ, gets picked up while the Phil Graham stories, being he actually wrote McCain's Econ Policy (at least the first one) were summarily ignored by Marc and others
My god, the Obama camp just loves kicking people to the curb. This is a ridiculous trend. Given the behavior of the current administration, I find this to be a refreshing change. Miki, "kicked to the curb" would include Rev. Wright, Rev. Pfleger, and the Trinity church. Not to rehash old news, but I'd argue that Rev. Wright kicked Obama to the curb first.
This story must really be huring Obama. I expected this announcement on Friday afternoon. If they couldn't wait til then, that's a sign of significant erosion. But the damage has been done, and Obama's kind words on the way out mitigate whatever help Johnson's resignation gives him. The fact is, he only wants voters to see conflicts of interest among Republicans, with Democrats permitted to indulge in them freely. For the Reeps, it's "How dare you?" For the Dems, it's "Hey, why begrudge a guy for making a living?" Obama should have denounced Johnson's deal, instead of winking at it and criticizing others for, again, distracting him.
This story must really be hurting Obama. I expected this announcement on Friday afternoon. If they couldn't wait til then, that's a sign of significant erosion. But the damage has been done, and Obama's kind words on the way out mitigate whatever help Johnson's resignation gives him. The fact is, he only wants voters to see conflicts of interest among Republicans, with Democrats permitted to indulge in them freely. For the Reeps, it's "How dare you?" For the Dems, it's "Hey, why begrudge a guy for making a living?" Obama should have denounced Johnson's deal, instead of winking at it and criticizing others for, again, distracting him.
It's not a change Darius, it's not pushing aside people for immoral or illegal behavior, it's pushing people aside for political expediency. I am sorry that I demand more than rhetoric and slogans when it comes to change, but when I look at Obama's campaign I see "new politics" as a tactic, not an actual ethic. I would like to see more tough political decisions and standing up to the media and McCain rather than these kinds of expeditious decisions.
You know, sometimes a resignation is just that, a resignation, not a firing. And once someone delivers a resignation, if you don't accept it, then what? Force them to stay?
This is only the beginning. ;)
This is an example of a story that only beltway people care about...the rest of the country could care less. The fact that the national corporate media has magnified it so much just shows you how desperately they are grasping at straws to help their BBQ buddy John McCain.
It's not a change Darius, it's not pushing aside people for immoral or illegal behavior, it's pushing people aside for political expediency. I am sorry that I demand more than rhetoric and slogans when it comes to change, but when I look at Obama's campaign I see "new politics" as a tactic, not an actual ethic. I would like to see more tough political decisions and standing up to the media and McCain rather than these kinds of expeditious decisions. I can understand where you're coming from on this, but unfortunately the mainstream media had already decided (rather arbitrarily) that this was a "big story". And while I too would have liked to see Obama call out the media on their idiocy, I don't see how he could have done so without seriously damaging his chances in November.
@Vail Beach The timing of the announcement is better now. It helps to bury a lingering story AND it will probably get snowed under in the controversy over John McCain's "not important" when the troops come home comments from this morning.
Just yesterday, Obama was claiming that JJ didn't work for him. Then how does he accept a resignation for a job that was never held? Wasn't this a Seinfeld episode? Oh, and beneath that bus? Don't forget to add Obama's "typical white person" mama.
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I guess maybe it did matter, contrary to what Obama said earlier. Maybe he'll pick someone who isn't biased in one camp, someone who knows both Obama and Clinton very well.
Posted by John | June 11, 2008 2:45 PM