The Republican National Committee yesterday released an ad titled “Questions Remain.” It posed that question everyone’s been asking regarding the scandal surrounding Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich: What did Obama know and when did he know it?  Obama, for his part, says that he knew nothing, and reversed what his former chief strategist David Axelrod said last month about being in contact with the Governor regarding his preferences for the seat.

Meanwhile, it transpires that even if Obama himself didn’t have contact with Blagojevich, his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel may have.  Of course, there’s nothing yet to suggest anything sinister between Emanuel and Blagojevich, but I think it shows that this first real test of an administration not even in power yet is not going well.  The inability to handle possible scandal well is definitely one of Obama’s weaknesses that, while he’s improved upon during the campaign, still is not that well oiled of a machine.

Obama can count on some bi-partisan help though, namely from his former rival John McCain.

Via Politico, McCain blasted the RNC ad today:

I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary. You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody — right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary. And so, I don’t know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama’s campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois, but I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me.

McCain isn’t the only conservative saying, “not now.”  Allahpundit over at Hot Air poses the question, “Too much too soon?”:

Exit question: Should the RNC have waited on this? No benefit of the doubt during the interregnum, at least?

Reading the comments, the usual suspects are for the ad, saying that the Democrats wouldn’t have waited so long, that McCain is a pansy for “pandering” to Obama, and that, as the opposition, they must fight back now.  The latter is true, I think, but it can be done in a way that doesn’t include scary music.  The middle argument is blantantly untrue, but we could debate that all day.  And the former argument has me thinking, “weren’t these the same kind of people that were just warning Democrats not to sputter, ‘but…but…but Republicans do this stuff too!’”

My problem with the ad is not the criticism toward Obama.  It’s that it has a political campaign feel to it, and last time I checked, the election was over.  Of course, in America, the end of one election is really just the beginning of the next, but rather than spending time on attacking Obama, would it not be better to try and find some candidates to vye for his now undoubtedly wide open seat?

Scandals are the perfect time to try and capture a seat that may have been previously uncapturable (See: Stevens, Ted).  Obama’s seat was sure to go to a Democrat, but now there’s a chance it could go to special election, making it very much winnable.  Trying to capture it, and pushing for that special election, ought to be the ultimate goal for the RNC.