That sound you heard was a bored Washington press corps letting out a collective whoop at the sign of the Obama administration’s first scandal: the alleged improprieties involving Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) and Colorado Democratic Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff, who were both approached by the White House for possible jobs to convince them to drop out of primaries against incumbent Democrats.
But this kerfuffle is more a case of a D.C. media establishment eager for something – anything! – to shake up the dull routine of covering a relatively smooth first term.
First, the Sestak case. Earlier this year, Sestak claimed that the White House had offered him a “high-ranking” federal job if he stepped down from his primary challenge against Sen. Arlen Specter. Last week, the White House and Sestak filled in the details of the story: it turns out that the White House had dispatched Bill Clinton to reach out to Sestak and discuss an unpaid, part-time position on an advisory board, a suggestion that Sestak dismissed.
Republicans, led by Rep. Darrell Issa (CA), have pushed the story as nothing less than the death of the republic. But Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said there’s nothing to it – as the position was unpaid, it couldn’t be bribery. Washington sage Norm Ornstein has called it a “non-story,” noting that “to any veteran of the political process, such offers are nearly routine across every administration.”
The Romanoff case is potentially more serious – but still much ado about not much. Romanoff revealed that the White House suggested three jobs that he might be interested in if he dropped out of his primary race against incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet. Last night’s Politico headline oozed muckraking gusto: “Andrew Romanoff: W.H. offered three jobs.”
The only problem is that the headline wasn’t true. Where did I find this out? From the same Politico story:
In Romanoff’s case, [White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim] Messina apparently suggested paid jobs in the administration, a difference from the Sestak overture. But unlike the unpaid position offered to Sestak, both the White House and Romanoff said Romanoff was never guaranteed a job.
“At no time was I promised a job, nor did I request Mr. Messina’s assistance in obtaining one,” Romanoff said in his statement.
[…]
“Mr. Messina also suggested three positions that might be available to me were I not pursuing the Senate race. He added that he could not guarantee my appointment to any of these positions.” [emphases added]
It gets better. It turns out Romanoff had applied for a job at the U.S. Agency for International Development during the transition, even following up by phone. Last September, Messina contacted Romanoff asking if he was still interested in a USAID position or if he would continue his run for the Senate. Romanoff said he was no longer interested in the job. End of story.
Or not. As Politico’s coverage suggests, the media, denied a feeding frenzy for so long, is just getting warmed up. Mark Halperin, as reliable an index of C.W. there is, linked excitedly to the Politico story, also falsely using the word “offered” in his post.
This morning, Politico served up the big-picture slam you know it’s been waiting months to publish: “White House political team stumbles, bumbles.” (Posted at 4:46 a.m., the story won the dawn handily.) In their Romanoff piece from last night, there was this priceless nugget as well: “The White House, which remained silent for hours after Romanoff’s statement…” Hours! What is this White House hiding?!
Unfortunately, we live in a political culture where non-stories routinely become headline stories. No actual wrongdoing may have occurred, but this is all bad news for the White House anyway. When you’re spending time explaining why something you did was not improper, you’ve already lost the image battle. If this refuses to die down, it may take a frank and unequivocal statement by the president to turn the page on this faux scandal.
And so begin the dog days of D.C. summer.
Photo credit: Colorado House Democrats
