Obama Offered Federal Judgeship To Calm Political Drama

On the heels of President Obama’s effort to bribe a Pennsylvania congressman with a government job, a Washington insider reveals that the commander-in-chief unscrupulously tried using a federal judgeship to resolve an internal White House political problem.

To avoid a big public scandal, Obama offered his first White House counsel (Gregory Craig) a federal judgeship in exchange for his resignation. An Ivy League graduate who worked for Ted Kennedy and represented Bill Clinton in his impeachment trial, Craig declined the offer and was subsequently ousted.

Indeed the firing made worldwide headlines and caused an uproar among the administration’s crucial liberal base, which accused him of getting rid of Craig for doing his job too well.

Details of the Craig brouhaha are offered in a new book written by a notoriously liberal magazine columnist, according to a story posted in a political news site. The behind-the-scenes narrative of Obama’s first year in office points the finger at Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for getting rid of Craig, who the president calls a “close friend and trusted advisor.”

Earlier this year Obama tried swaying a popular Pennsylvania congressman, Joe Sestak, to drop out of the upcoming U.S. Senate race so the incumbent, Arlen Specter, wouldn’t be challenged in the state’s Democratic primary. In a television interview Sestak said that the White House offered him a top federal job to help secure Specter’s victory.

A five-term incumbent, Specter switched political parties last spring after giving Obama the critical vote for his disastrous and fraud-infested $787 billion stimulus program. Before Specter bailed on Republicans Obama assured the contentious lawmaker he’d do everything in his power to help him win reelection if he switched parties.

Considering the president’s history, it’s completely feasible to assume that that he’s using a Supreme Court appointment to assure that a trusted political ally (Elena Kagan) is in place to protect his (healthcare) legislation when it comes before the High Court.