Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was captured on tape saying that unless he received “something real good” for the appointment of a top adviser to Barack Obama to fill the president-elect’s Senate seat he would appoint himself, according to a criminal complaint.

“Unless I get something real good [for Senate candidate 1], s***, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying?” Blagojevich was taped saying on November 3, the day before Election Day.

Blagojevich added that the Senate seat “is a f***ing valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

The complaint does not mention her name, but the description makes clear that Blagojevich is referring to Valerie Jarrett, a senior campaign adviser to Obama who has been tapped as a top White House aide.

“By this time, media reports indicated that Senate Candidate 1, an advisor to the President-elect, was interested in the Senate seat if it became vacant, and was likely to be supported by the President-elect,” the complaint states.

Blagojevich also was caught on federal wiretaps saying he was interested in the job as secretary of health and human services in an Obama administration, a well-paid position on a foundation board, or millions of dollars for a nonprofit organization that he would run after leaving office, according to a 78-page federal criminal complaint.

Blagojevich also schemed to shake down a union in exchange for appointing a senator who was favorable to the union, prosecutors allege.

As if that weren’t incriminating enough, the complaint asserts that Blagojevich stated his goals even more bluntly in the wiretapped conversations with Tony Rezko, a convicted real estate developer and longtime Obama fund-raiser.

“I want to make money,” the affidavit quotes the governor as saying.

According to Politico, U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in a statement that “the breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” and Blagojevich is accused of putting “a for sale sign on the naming of a U.S. senator.”

Obama canceled a schedule briefing with the FBI in Chicago, but it is unclear whether this is related to this morning’s events. According to this morning’s pool report, Obama’s meeting with former Vice President Al Gore remains on the slate.

A news conference on the arrests is expected shortly. We’ll continue to follow events as they develop.

The McCain campaign launched a new ad this morning that links Sen. Barack Obama to the “corrupt Chicago political machine” that controls the city from which the Democratic presidential nominee arose.. The ad, titled “Chicago Machine,” will air nationally, according to the McCain campaign — but many negative ads from both campaigns never hit the airwaves.

PRODUCTION NOTES: This spot is significant, whether it airs or not, because it represents an escalation of the McCain campaign’s attacks on Obama. By highlighting Obama’s relationships with convicted real estate developer Tony Rezko; William Daley, brother of current Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley — and son of long-time Chicago political kingpin Richard J. Daley — as well as a former Fannie Mae lobbyist; his “political godfather,” Illinois State Rep. Emil Jones; and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is the subject of several corruption investigations.

Obama’s ties to Rezko and Jones are clear and documented, though Obama has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with either man. Daley is one of Obama’s many economic advisers, as are former Treasury Secs. Robert Rubin Paul O’Neill and Larry Summers, billionaire investor Warren Buffet, former Fed chairman Paul Volcker and Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. It is unclear how closely Obama is tied to Blagojevich, though Rezko’s trial centered on his dealings with the Blagojevich administration. However, the message of the spot is unmistakable: Obama is corrupt.

It is noteworthy that the McCain campaign continues to hit Obama for his connection to Fannie Mae — last week McCain released ads focusing on Obama’s connections to former Fannie Mae CEO’s Jim Johnson (true) and Franklin D. Raines (false.) The New York Times reports today that McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, received $2 millions over five years, “as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations.” The McCain campaign has scheduled a conference call with reporters this morning, featuring Davis and senior campaign adviser Steve Schmidt. The stated purpose of the call is to discuss the ad, but Davis will likely face questions about his own connection to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We’ll have more on that soon.