White House acknowledges enlisting Clinton
WASHINGTON - Forced to disclose backstage political bargaining, President Obama's embarrassed White House acknowledged Friday that it enlisted Bill Clinton to try to ease Rep. Joe Sestak out of Pennsylvania's Senate primary with a job offer.
The admission left many questions unanswered, however, and Republicans aren't likely to let the issue rest. For Obama, the revelations called into question his repeated promises to run an open government that was above back-room deals.
Seeking to quiet the clamor from Republicans and some Democrats over a possible political trade, the White House released a report describing the offer that was intended to clear a path for Sen. Arlen Specter to win the Democratic nomination.
Presidential Counsel Robert Bauer rendered his own verdict in a two-page report that said there was no improper conduct. No one in the administration discussed the offer with Sestak, Bauer said. The report did not say what, if any, contacts or promises the White House had with Specter on the matter. It also did not reveal whether Obama was aware of the former president's role.
The report didn't impress Republicans.
"Regardless of what President Clinton or Congressman Sestak now say, it is abundantly clear that this kind of conduct is contrary to President Obama's pledge to change 'bus
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