Obama: Blagojevich Should Step Down

The Washington Post is reporting that Robert Gibbs, spokesman for President-elect Barack Obama, said Obama has added his voice to the cacophony calling for the resignation of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested yesterday on federal corruption charges.

President-elect Barack Obama believes that Gov. Rod Blagojevich should resign, his advisers said on Wednesday. “The President-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois,” Robert Gibbs, the incoming White House press secretary, said[...]

Gibbs said that Obama believes the Illinois general assembly should now take control of the issue of picking a new U.S. Senator for Illinois. The assembly is expected to reconvene next week to debate whether to hold a special election to fill the seat. The assembly should “consider the issue and put in place a process to select a new senator that will have the trust and confidence of the people of Illinois,” Gibbs said.

Granted, his judgment hasn’t exactly been stellar lately, but it’s hard to imagine, if Blagojevich has any concern at all for the well-being of his party, that he will exercise his authority to appoint someone to fill Obama’s vacated seat. Anyone Blagojevich chooses would likely be tainted by the scandal for the remainder of the term. With such shocking charges and damning evidence against him, Blagojevich’s only graceful move, at this point, is to resign.