Friday, July 16, 2010

Bashing by Blagojevich a badge of honor for many

Jesse Jackson Jr. isn’t likely to lose sleep over Blagojevich’s unkind words. But a potentially far more serious revelation about the 14-year congressman came out at trial.

Prosecutors told the presiding judge that a witness, if asked, would place Jackson at a meeting where a businessman offered to raise $1 million for Blagojevich if the governor appointed Jackson to the Senate.

Jackson hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing and said in a recent statement he was “never part of any improper scheme with Blagojevich or anyone else.” A spokeswoman for Jackson, Theresa Caldwell, said Thursday that he wouldn’t comment further.

Still, it could lead some in the Democratic Party to consider Jackson damaged goods, said Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of politics at the University of Illinois Springfield.

“I’m not sure Jesse Jackson’s biggest problem is Rod Blagojevich offering a moral judgment on his character,” Redfield said.

Redfield's comments were featured in a July 15, 2010, article by the Associated Press.

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