Not just another dull, boring, stodgy political roundtable show.  J.D. from Ohio, View from the Right’s Joe from Kansas, Lisa J.- Ms. Contrarian, Chris Cantwell, and View from the Left’s Taylor from Washington kick back with a couple beers and discuss the political and world events of the past week.

Blago’s Greatest Hits - Jonathon Martin, Alexander Burns/Politico

“1. “It’s got to be good”: On Nov. 4, Blagojevich was already plotting to use Illinois’s soon-to-be-open Senate seat to his advantage – and talked about opening the bidding. He said he planned to ask, “How much are you offering, [President-elect]? What are you offering, [Senate Candidate 2]? . . . Can always go to. . . [Senate Candidate 3].”

Blagojevich wasn’t specific about what he wanted, but he did explain: “It’s got to be good stuff for the people of Illinois and good for me…It’s got to be good or I could always take [the Senate seat].”

2. “F—ing golden”: The next day, Blagojevich said again that he would appoint himself to the Senate if he didn’t get what he wanted from the Obama team. “I’ve got this thing and it’s f—-ing golden,” Blagojevich says. “I’m not giving it up for f—-ing nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”

3. The trade: On November 7, Blagojevich, his chief of staff and a Washington-based adviser held a conference call suggesting a direct trade with Obama: the Department of Health and Human Services in exchange for appointing Obama’s favored successor — believed to be adviser Valerie Jarrett.

“Rod Blagojevich indicated in the call that if he was appointed as Secretary of Health and Human Services by the President-elect, then Rod Blagojevich would appoint Senate Candidate 1 to the open Senate seat,” the complaint reads.

4. “Selfish grab”: The governor’s chief of staff, John Harris, advised him to avoid making “it look like some kind of selfish grab for a quid pro quo,” but Blagojevich was blunt about his motives: “I want to make money.”

Later in the call, he put a price tag on his ambitions, saying he wanted a job that paid between $250,000 and $300,000.

5. Blago’s bank-shot: During a Nov. 7 conference call, Harris also suggested a three-way deal with Obama and the labor coalition Change to Win.

From the FBI report: “Harris suggested that SEIU Official make Rod Blagojevich the head of Change to Win and, in exchange, the President-elect could help Change to Win with its legislative agenda on a national level.”

6. Flaming PEOTUS: On November 10, Blagojevich held a two-hour conference call with several advisers, including his wife, to figure out what options he could pursue if an administration appointment didn’t work out, as looked increasingly likely. Frustrated, Blagojevich told his advisers he didn’t want to give this “motherf—-er [the President-elect] his senator. F—- him. For nothing? F—- him.”

A new option the plotters raised: getting Mrs. Blagojevich appointed to a number of corporate boards in order to rake in more cash for the Blagojevich family. According to the FBI, “Blagojevich stated that he is ‘struggling’ financially and does ‘not want to be governor for the next two years.’”

7. Shaking down Buffett and Gates: A day later, on November 11, Blagojevich and one of his advisers discussed the possibility of Obama’s wealthy supporters cobbling together a 501(c)(4) organization for Blagojevich to run. The FBI reports the Illinois governor “raised the idea of the 501(c)(4) organization and asked whether ‘they’ (believed be the President-elect and his associates) can get Warren Buffett and others to put $10, $12, or $15 million into the organization.”

Later, Blagojevich added another target to his shakedown list, suggesting: “the president-elect can ask Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and others for money for the organization.”

8. “My political situation”: On November 12, after a conversation with an SEIU official in which he pushed his 501(c)(4) plan, Blagojevich spoke with Harris about his criteria for choosing the next Illinois senator: “our legal situation, our personal situation, my political situation.” When Harris said Blagojevich’s legal situation was the most tenuous of the three, the governor replied “that his legal problems could be solved by naming himself to the Senate seat.”

9. White House hopes: Being governor of Illinois, possibly appointing himself to the Senate or taking on a posh private-sector gig wasn’t enough for Blagojevich, who expressed “a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for president in 2016.”

10. “Hold up” Cubs cash: Angry at some of the Chicago Tribune’s editorials, Blagojevich threatened to hold up state support for the Tribune-owned Chicago Cubs unless the newspaper reorganized its editorial board. In response to an editorial calling for Blagojevich’s impeachment, the governor’s wife told her husband: “hold up that f—-ing Cubs s—-. … F—- them.”

Blagojevich urged Harris to approach the Tribune and tell them to “Fire those f—-ers.”

J.D. from Ohio: So did anything newsworthy happen this week?

Lisa J.: D’oh.  You think?

Chris Cantwell: Listening to some of those tapes…I swore I could have been watching the Sopranos. 

Joe from Kansas: It’s almost fun watching the Democrats have to deal with this for once.  This putz not only wanted to auction off Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder, he also was trying to extort a newspaper, trying to parlay a tollway project into a $500,000 contribution from a highway contractor and, get this, trying to shakedown a freaking children’s hospital.  And it’s all on tape!  I give credit to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for moving to get this putz out of office as quickly as possible before he does any more damage.

Taylor from Washington: Yes.  He should go.  Dick Durbin has urged the legislature to call a special session to fill the Senate vacant.  Lt. Governor Pat Quinn has asked Governor Blagojevich to step down.  There are some indications now that he may very well do that as early as tomorrow.  But let’s not get carried away that this is a Democratic scandal. 

J.D. from Ohio: Well, it’s a scandal for sure.  I was a little disappointed in President-elect Obama’s response…or lack of response when this whole thing broke.  I know he wants to come off as ‘cool’ and ‘thoughtful’ and ‘measured.’  But “it’s a sad day?”  No, how about…’it’s an outrage?’  Blagojevich was trying to sell his Senate seat as if he’d posted the thing on E-bay.  In fact, if he could have gotten away with it- he probably would have.

Lisa J.: I agree with that.  This was a case that really didn’t need a whole lot of reflection or thought.  Blagojevich violated an essential trust between government and its people by using his office to line his own pockets.

J.D. from Ohio: Even day two, Obama released a statement to the effect of “The president-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois.”  Really? 

Joe from Kansas: He should have dropped the hammer on him right away. 

J.D. from Ohio: It took him until Thursday to ferment some righteous indignation.  This is Steve Chapman from Real Clear Politics…

Obama’s My Pet Goat Moment - Steve Chapman/Real Clear Politics

“By Thursday, he sounded like the agent of change that we remember: “We have to reclaim a tradition of public service that is about people and their lives and their hopes and their dreams, and it isn’t about what’s in it for me. And I think the public trust has been violated. Let me be absolutely clear, I do not think that the governor, at this point, can effectively serve the people of Illinois.” Would it have been reckless to say that when the story first broke?

In the taped conversations, Blagojevich expressed hope that he could get a Cabinet position if he gave the seat to Obama aide Valerie Jarrett but later fumed that “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation.” Another aide, David Axelrod, now says he was wrong when he said last month that the president-elect and the governor had discussed possible appointees. But Blagojevich’s comments suggest that someone from the Obama camp was communicating on the matter.

If that’s so, it doesn’t prove that Obama is just another crooked Chicago pol. But it is a reminder that though he is not of the Democratic machine, he has never been exactly against it. Former congressman and federal judge Abner Mikva said of Blagojevich, “You don’t get through Chicago like Barack Obama did unless you know how to avoid people like that.” Note the verb: not “challenge” but “avoid.” His approach to old-style politics was wary coexistence.

Obama’s risk-averse reaction confirms he is sometimes too cautious and cerebral for his own good. That flaw has occasionally surfaced before. Asked in one debate what he would do in the event of a terrorist attack, he offered, “Well, the first thing we’d have to do is make sure that we’ve got an effective emergency response, something that this administration failed to do when we had a hurricane in New Orleans.” Hillary Clinton begged to differ: “I think a president must move as swiftly as is prudent to retaliate.” 

Taylor from Washington: Yes, he could have been more forceful from the outset.  But this is not an Obama scandal and I wish the Republicans would stop trying to spin it into one.  It’s clear that Obama did not offer anything to Blagojevich in return for putting his choice in the senate seat.  The Governor was clearly pissed at Obama because he wasn’t play ball with him.  So besides a delayed reaction, I don’t see how this can be anything to tag Obama on.

Lisa J.: I basically agree that Obama didn’t do anything wrong.  I question the fact that it took about 2 to 3 days before he responded as strongly as I think he should have from the beginning.  Obama’s campaign was about change we can believe in.  Surely one of those changes is the rooting out corrupt a-holes like Blagojevich from government. 

J.D. from Ohio: I agree  Obama didn’t do anything wrong here.  But.  I don’t think he helped himself with those who had questions about him in the first place.  He should have come out with a decisive no bones about it statement reputiating Blagojevich from the start.

Joe from Kansas: Don’t blame the Republicans for questioning Obama’s role in this whole thing.  He could have come out the day this whole thing broke and made it clear that what Blagojevich did was wrong and that he should be removed.  Obama didn’t.  It took two dry runs before Obama finally made a definitive statement.  Going back to what J.D. said, hell no, this didn’t help those who had questions about Obama’s ties and associations with the Chicago machine or whether or not Obama had sufficiently been questioned by the media during the campaign about the whole Rezko deal.  A lot of us feel Obama’s been given a free ride on this and lo and behind, just over a month after the election this thing pops.

Taylor from Washington: Joe, Blagojevich makes it clear on the tape that he’s upset that Obama won’t play ball with him, won’t assist him or his wife, and only offered his gratitude.  This is not an Obama issue.  This is an Illinois issue about filling Obama’s Senate seat.  Period.  End of story.

Chris Cantwell: I think the best thing about this story is now I can spell Blagojevich without having to look it up.

Lisa J.: Can we talk about the auto bailout real quick here?  Again, I am appalled that Senate Republicans can look themselves in the mirror with a straight face.  Where was the same concern when they passed the Wall Street bailout?  It looks bad.  It looks like they’ll save Wall Street and big business executives but they won’t save auto workers.

Joe from Kansas: Let’s be clear.  The auto industry has worked on a dysfunction business model for years.  I don’t begrudge the worker for the wage he’s being paid, but clearly someone on either management or the union had to know that at some point they were not going to be able to sustain these wage levels.  This crisis has been a long time coming.  If the UAW isn’t willing to be realistic and come to the table to work out a plausible arrangement, they may be bargaining their workers right of out of a job.

Chris Cantwell: This throws the bailout back on the lap of President Bush.  Bush could authorize the Treasury to make the money available through the funds already allocated for the Wall Street bailout.  The question is should he?  I really don’t know. 

Taylor from Washington: Of course he should.  Unemployment is at a 26 year high as it is.  What’s going to happened when millions of auto workers lose their job and go on unemployment?  You want to talk about a hit to the system.  Wow.

Better Than a Bailout - Jeff Jacoby/Boston Globe Editorial

Joe from Kansas: That’s interesting.

Lisa J.: I’d have to check my next paycheck to see how much I would save.  It would help some, I’m sure. 

Chris Cantwell: But enough to really matter?

J.D. from Ohio: Personally, I think they’ll somehow manage to work out a bail out deal for the automakers.  The auto workers don’t want to lose their jobs and I think that for all the bluster there’s a real movement in the Congress to actually get things done.

Lisa J.: But do they really need to get things done on this?  Businesses fail every day in this country.  Are we going to save each and every one?  As I said in my piece last week, what if John McCain would have bucked the conventional wisdom that said we had to bail out Wall Street and throw them billions upon billions of dollars- simply because of their own mismanagment.  The American people were against the Wall Street bailout.  McCain could have been the maverick at that point and time.

Joe from Kansas: Well, I think the government’s spending way too much money period.

Chris Cantwell:  I don’t know if the bailout will eventually pass.  My guess is that President Bush will act at some point to make sure GM and Chrysler don’t go under.

Taylor from Washington: I’m not sure what the best answer out of this is, but how can the government rescue Wall Street and not try to save the middle class jobs?  The middle class has taken enough of a hit from NAFTA and trade deals as it is.  Losing the auto industry will effectively gut the middle class.