The Joe Sestak Cesspool

Congressman Joe Sestak, by declining to give details about his claim that the White House offered him a "high-level" job in return for getting out of the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's senate race, has created a mountain out of what could have been a molehill. There must be a reason.

After all, if the explanation finally given by the White House is true, why didn't Sestak simply say at the time, "Rahm Emanuel had Bill Clinton ask me if I would like an unpaid position on an advisory board and I said no." If the Congressman had, the entire issue would have likely disappeared before it got legs.

Instead, for months, Sestak refused to give any explanation of what had transpired. The White House finally came out with a statement on May 28, the Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend, (a traditional time to bury bad news), but it doesn't pass the smell test. Even the New York Times is skeptical, noting that Sestak was ineligible for an unpaid position on the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, (which is what the White House claims Clinton offered). According to the rules, "The Board consists of not more than 16 members appointed by the President from among individuals who are not employed by the Federal Government."

These rules were approved by Clinton in 1993.

So, either the White House and Clinton are incredibly stupid to offer an unpaid position for which Sestak was ineligible, (and why would he give up being a paid congressman so he could be an unpaid advisory board member), or the most open and transparent government in history is lying.

A discussion with a Sestak campaign volunteer didn't make me feel any better. She claims the problem is that Sestak, is honest but naïve about politics.

That's not the way I see it. The skeptic in me thinks Sestak knew if he told the truth he'd implicate the administration in a scandal of their own making, so he refused to say anything about what happened, waiting instead for the White House and their attorneys to come up with a plausible explanation. (It's interesting that when the White House did offer up its version of the events, it came from Robert F. Bauer, White House Counsel.)

The whole situation brings back memories of Rod Blagojevich, one-time governor of Illinois (what is it about politicians from that state?) who tried to make money selling President Obama's former Senate seat.

The White House seems to have a history of being heavy-handed when trying to get their way, and this is just another example.

Sestak's behavior over the many months since he first said he'd received the offer doesn't make him seem honest, in spite of his campaign volunteer's insistence. After all, the version of events the White House tossed out this weekend doesn't reflect badly on Sestak. Apparently he was made an offer and turned it down.

So why wasn't he honest and forthcoming from the beginning? It seems there's still more to this story than the White House-or Sestak-is willing to admit.

As to Joe Sestak, an honest politician (is that an oxymoron?) would tell the truth.