As I was watching CNN this morning before work, they came on with the story about the Illinois Governor and possible ties with people inside Obama’s transition team and those inside his newly minted cabinet. The CNN headline read, “True Change? Or Politics as Usual?”

I have to ask myself, where were stories like this during the campaign, you know the whole “no bias, no bull” thing that CNN pushed every night on cable news? Is Obama bringing any true political change? Or is he just bringing politicians in from one of the most politically corrupt states in recent history? And therefore, is this a negative “change” to even more corrupt politics, moreso than we have seen yet (I can hear the Bush-haters now)?

I realize Obama has not been implicated in all of this, and honestly I’m not even really questioning his integrity in all of it (though one has to wonder with all of his connections to Illinois and his own very quick rise to power within a few short years). I’m simply asking the question that if Obama promised to bring true political change and integrity to the office of the President, why is it he chose people who are now directly tied to this quite scandalous investigation? What else does he know? What other “machine politics” might he be connected with from Chicago? What does this say about his decision making as the Commander in Chief? And what does it say about a country where a majority of the people elected him to office if he is just politics as usual? Was he elected simply because he became a brand name that stood for a dream that in reality was a phantom (“Change we can believe in”), or because he would actually and effectually change things?

I highly doubt at this point anything will change as far as the integrity of politics goes. I was hopeful that maybe he would change things for the better on some fronts once I realized he would get elected. I’m giving him a chance, and so far, I’m not liking what I’m seeing. I haven’t totally written him off. But now I’m not so sure about any true change in the political world with this whole thing blowing up right before he gets inaugurated. In fact, based on these recent events, it sounds like it will just get worse with him in office (maybe, though I could be wrong). But one can only wonder until all things come out in the open with all of this.

All I’m ultimately commenting on is what someone from the Justice Department said at a press conference the other day: Illinois is one of the most politically corrupt states in recent history (saw it on tv, can’t remember what guy it was). And it is from that state that Obama has filled several positions in his own cabinet and transition team. It just has to make you wonder.