From the moment Specter became a Democrat it was no secret that the establishment wanted Sestak to defer his own candidacy. Progressives were rather irate pretty much from the instant it became apparent this would be the case. There were leaks and rumors of all natures, including that of  a job offer being floated. Sestak was asked a direct question about the rumors, and answered honestly.

Some have criticized Sestak for being honest. I wholeheartedly disagree. I appreciate the honesty. Actions taken from the White House are under scrutiny, that is a fact and a requirement. Those in the administration should not be engaging in anything that can't stand the light of day if revealed.

Thing is. Now that details have been revealed, the administration's actions seem to withstand the light of day just fine (unless there is more information forthcoming, which to me seems unlikely).

The current "case" as being presented by conservative blog warriors and nimrods seems to rely on a creatively edited reading of 18 USC-600. The preferred condensed version that seems to be the copy-pasta du jour appears like this:

Whoever, directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit...to any person as consideration, favor, or reward...in connection with any primary election...shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

OMGZ! Sure sounds like they've got 'em dead to rights. Call the prosecutor! Fine .... ummmm .... Clinton? Rham? I dunno. SOMEONE!

Well. Just simmer down there my scrappy Red-Stater friend. Just because Obama hasn't exactly lived up to some expectations does not make you any less of an idiot. Did you actually read the parts that go in the [...] spaces? Let's just check the work to be sure on this. The entire section reads thus:

Whoever, directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit, provided for or made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress, or any special consideration in obtaining any such benefit, to any person as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any political office, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

The emphasis is mine. IANAL, but that seems a kind of important passage to omit. What act of congress is it that empowers the executive to take on an unpaid adviser? If he wasn't offered a paycheck, it can not even be argued that a congressional appropriation made it possible. In short. It seems clean to me. Hardballish? Yeah. Legal? Sure as heck seems to be.

Now, is the fact that Obama seems intent on turning the Democratic party into a flop-house for the flotsam and jetsam of an increasingly discredited corporatist ideology totally lame? Yes, indeed this is quite unfortunate. Not happy about it at all. I was glad to see Specter get his butt kicked. And I'm hoping to see the same happen to Lincoln. But good lord. This is just stupid.