So who offered this one, Carter?

I've been following this Sustek situation as of late, because my nose tells me it wreaks of a "3rd rate burglary." I'm sure it's something of which Titus is fully aware living in PA, and since I spoke in detail with it to Jambo I assume we're all in the loop. Long story short for those who aren't, Congressman Sustek admits on local TV that the Whitehouse offered him a job to drop out of the primary race against the damaged Arlan Spectre. Sustek says it's a high ranking position, in the federal government, and when asked if it was Secretary of the Navy offers the ominous, "no comment." Sustek being a retired Admiral I assume the SoN job was a natural fit.

At any rate the Whitehouse first ignored the story, but this being the quintessential quid pro quo corruption narrative, it had legs. So late on Memorial Day Friday they dumped an excuse off into the press via the Whitehouse legal wing. It stated that it was not a violation of law because "something of value" was not offered, only a soft offer, via their emissary Bill Clinton, of an unpaid congressional "Presidential Advisory Panel." Ya, good move - no name injects integrity and honesty into a situation like that of Bill Clinton, sheeesh.

First, am I to believe an "advisory board" would be enough to lure a sitting congressman out of a Senate race he is leading? Second, you tapped a former President of the United States to offer an unpaid advisory position? Really? In addition the PoTUS doesn't even possess the authority to hand pick a congressional advisory board according to Jake Tapper of ABC News (perhaps the last of the mainstream legitimate reporters).Well, Sustek got on board with that message and his "no comment" rapidly turned into, ya, ya, what they said.

Now another ... Colorado Speaker of the House, a Mr. Romanoff, has admitted on camera that the Whitehouse also approached him to drop out of a recent primary race, against a weakened incumbent Dem senator (named Bennett). And unless I heard the clip wrong the offer was for a job "within the Whitehouse." Thus my gitchy subject line.

This wreaks of Nixonian politics - the arrogance to operate with impunity. With an ascension as meteoric as Obama perhaps he has an air of "divine right" about him. He has never lost, never been seriously challenged, and has never been meticulously vetted by with the full weight of the media as is commonplace with most contenders to the throne, Democrat or Republican. So why should he assume he must operate within bounds? It never hurt him before. This also smacks of the Rahm Emanuel (WH chief of staff & former Sr. advisor to President Clinton), read: Chicago machine politics, of which Emanuel is a life long native.

A question occurs to me though - why are Democrat contenders openly causing the White House such grief, and in a potentially criminal act? Is it possible they want separation from an unpopular DC agenda for the general election? Or are there a few honest politicians? I think this speaks volumes on Obama's popularity among outside the beltway Democrats (as if the last PA senate election didn't speak enough to that point).

Former presidents called in to do back room deals in clandestine locales, it's like a bad episode of 24. Get Woodward and Bernstein on this already, aren't there any underground garages left in DC?