The just-released report on the Transition's contacts with Blagojevich includes the following passage:
On November 7, 2008 -- at a time when she was still a potential candidate for the Senate seat -- Ms. Jarrett spoke with Mr. Tom Balanoff, the head of the Illinois chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). ...
Mr. Balanoff told Ms. Jarrett that he had spoken to the Governor about the possibility of selecting Valerie Jarrett to replace the President-Elect. He told her that Lisa Madigan’s name also came up. Ms. Jarrett recalls that Mr. Balanoff also told her that the Governor had raised with him the question of whether the Governor might be considered as a possible candidate to head up the Department of Health and Human Services in the new administration. Mr. Balanoff told Ms. Jarrett that he told the Governor that it would never happen. Jarrett concurred.
There's something about the sterility of those last two sentences that makes Blago seem so pathetic. "Jarrett guffawed" or "Jarrett expressed amazement at his incredible chutzpah" would be one thing. But the simple "Jarrett concurred" is just crushing.
--Noam Scheiber