Obama Answers Blagojevich Questions

Update: Video here.
After announcing Daschle and Lambrew, Obama was asked about Blago and for me, he answered all I need to know. I think Blagojevich is just a delusional whack-job who had irrational fantasies about people. Or maybe he went off his meds. Who knows, but there's something sort of mental about the guy.
Here is some of what Obama said. I typed fast so some of it may be direct quotes but much of it is paraphrased just to give you a gist. I'll post video when it's up. Here's the NYT take.

On what the governor should do:
I was appalled and disappointed by what we heard in those transcripts.
Some people view politics as a business. I got into politics because we have to reclaim politics as a public service. The public trust has been violated. The gov. can't effectively serve as the governor of Illinois.
In terms of our involvement, I had no contact with the governor's office. I didn't speak to him about these issues.
Obama said he wants to talk to all of his staff to see if anyone had contact and what was said. He'll share that over the next few days. But my office had no involvement in any kind of dealmaking. That I'm absolutely certain of.

I have not been contacted by any federal officials. I have not been interviewed by them. We weren't perceived as amenable to deal making. I won't quote back any of the things that were said about me.
Beyond that, I don't know the progression of the investigation.

How did the governor get the impression you weren't willing to play ball?
What's wrong with politics in Illinois? (USA Today says North Dakota is most corrupt) 
I can't presume to know what was in the mind of the governor. I can't even speculate on that. I can just read the transcript and shake my head.
In Illinois, there are two views of politics. Some go in for sacrifice and public service and you go in as a business -- what's in it for me?

You've got good guys -- Dick Durbin and many others who have upheld the highest ethics and standards. But you have habits and a culture that think of politics as a means of self aggrandizement.
If various allegations end up true, this is the far end of the spectrum. But there are subtle versions of bad politics that are legal but don't fulfill the spirit of service. There are times when people don't think about what's best for the public good. Our whole campaign was run on restoring politics for public good.
You can get elected by playing it straight.

Finally, a healthcare question, the only one. How do you plan to fund healthcare?
Central to my healthcare plan during the campaign was how to reduce costs so that we can put them into prevention. We wanted to make sure any plan we have starts with the premise that rising costs are unsustainable. It will bankrupt government, states.

We will have initiatives like health IT that will reduce costs. We will make cuts of programs that aren't working.
The Medicare Advantage program will likely get cut.
I haven't determined the rollback of Bush's taxcuts yet. Today we will begin to chart how this process moves forward. We will involve everyone, labor, doctors, republicans, democrats, business... Some of it will be on CSPAN. Tom is convening groups around the country.
We will move forward with an open mind to all kinds of ideas. I met too many families that are desperate because of healthcare. This has to be intimately woven into our economic recovery play. This can't be put off. This is part of the emergency.

Obama's New White House Office of Health Reform

Jeanne Lambrew

Today at 11 am Eastern, Obama will officially announce Tom Daschle as his choice to head up Health and Human Services. Daschle will also direct a new department, according to Politico:

Daschle will also be director of a new WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF HEALTH REFORM. The deputy director will be Jeanne M. Lambrew, a Senior Fellow at American Progress and an associate professor of public affairs at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. She was one of two 'narrators' who co-wrote Daschle's health-care book, 'Critical,' out early this year. Her bio says that during the Clinton administration, 'She was the White House lead on drafting and implementing the Children's Health Insurance Program ... She also worked at the Department of Health and Human Services during the 1993-1994 health reform efforts.'

Politico's Chris Frates scoops: 'President-elect Obama will name Mark Miller, executive director of Congress' Medicare advisory agency, as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.'

But will Obama answer questions about Blagojevich? I sure hope so.
Politico's questions:

PRESS CORPS PREP – Politico's Kenneth P. Vogel and Carrie Budoff Brown, '7 Blago questions for Obama' at his news conference this morning, his first since Blagojevich was charged:

1 – 'Did you communicate directly or indirectly with Blagojevich about picking your replacement in the U.S. Senate?'

2 – 'Why didn't you or someone on your team correct your close adviser David Axelrod when he said you had spoken to Blagojevich about picking your replacement?'

Last month, Axelrod unambiguously described a conversation between Obama and Blagojevich about filling the seat. 'I know he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them,' Axelrod told an interviewer from Chicago's Fox affiliate. ... Axelrod issued a statement [Tuesday] saying he 'was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then, or at any time, discuss the subject.'

3 -- 'When did you learn the investigation involved Blagojevich's alleged efforts to 'sell' your Senate seat, or of the governor's impending arrest?'

4 – 'Did you or anyone close to you contact the FBI or U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald about Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell your Senate seat to the highest bidder?'

5 – 'Did federal investigators interview you or anyone close to you in the investigation?'

6 – 'When did you and Blagojevich last speak and about what?'

7 – 'Do you regret supporting Blagojevich?'