Marathon Pundit: Blago trial: 'What can I get for Senate seat?'

John Harris, one of many Rod Blagojevich chief-of-staffs, testified this morning that his hair-brained former boss asked him a month before Barack Obama's successful presidential election, "So what do you think I can get for the Senate seat?"

Harris testified that Blago eventually mused that he could swap it for campaign contributions, a cabinet appointment, or a foundation chairmanship.

Surprised? Illinois Democrats shouldn't be. One who knew better was Blago's almost-forgotten 2006 primary opponent, former Chicago alderman Edwin Eisendrath.

Here's what he wrote a month after Blago's arrest for attempting to sell that Senate seat:

In 2006 I challenged Rod Blagojevich in the Democratic primary for governor. I ran because Blagojevich sold out the public for piles of campaign cash.

I said "no" to Blagojevich when it mattered.

A very savvy pol recently said to me, "Ed, if we only knew then what we know now." I replied that we did know it then. He laughed and admitted it was so. That's a far more grown up response than the "I-knew-it-was-bad-but not-this-bad” dodge that's in vogue.

They all knew. [Emphasis mine] The majority of the House impeachment report cited documents that were public before the election — the same documents I cited when arguing the governor should not be re-elected. Instead of standing with me at the time, the party leaders poured over my petitions to see if they could keep me off the ballot.

Hmmm...knocking primary challengers off a ballot for signature irregularities...where have I heard that before? Oh, Barack Obama did that when he ran for the Illinois state Senate, ensuring his election.

Yes, they all knew. Obama and all of the other Blago-enablers, they all knew.

Blago's former running mate, Governor Pat Quinn, still hasn't admitted the obvious to the voters. He refuses to apologize for this 2006 comment about Blagojevich: