White House Offered Sestak Appointment to Drop Primary Challenge Against Specter

This is hardly a new, late-breaking development. Back in February of this year, Representative Joe Sestak (D- Pennsylvania's 7th District) was asked by Philadelphia talk-show host Larry Kane whether or not he had been offered a high-ranking job within the Obama administration in return for dropping his primary challenge against incumbent Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter.

Much to Kane's surprise, Sestak said that he had in fact been offered a job by somebody in the administration, although he declined to name names or the specific position offered. It created something of a stir at the time but was more or less dismissed as a non-issue since it was thought at the time that Specter would survive Sestak's primary challenge.

Guess again. Earlier this month, Sestak received 54% of the vote against incumbent Arlen Specter in the primaries. No more Specter means that the reported job offer boomerangs.

Then on Friday, the White House acknowledged Bill Clinton tried talking Sestak out of running against Specter at the White House's request. The Administration claimed no wrongdoing, insisting the position they offered Sestak was an unpaid advisory position.

Even if one was gullible enough to take the Administration's often-contradictory word at face value, one would have to wonder why they didn't come up with the 'unpaid advisory' angle after being contacted by Larry Kane in February instead of immediately denying it.

Personally, I hardly think this will be the Watergate-esque downfall of the Obama Administration some pundits are making it out to be. However, this provides yet another graphic example of Obama going back on his campaign promises of an open and transparent administration [not that I thought that for even a second, but apparently there are still people laboring out there laboring under that particular delusion- NANESB!]