This too is nothing.  This makes three.  Move along...

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100602/ap_on_el_se/us_colorado_senate

AP Sources: Admin talked jobs with Romanoff

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press
Writer  2 hrs 6 mins ago
WASHINGTON  The Obama administration dangled the possibility of a government
job for former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff last year in hopes he
would forgo a challenge to Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, officials said
Wednesday, just days after the White House admitted orchestrating a job offer
in the Pennsylvania Senate race.

These officials declined to specify the job that was floated or the name of the
administration official who approached Romanoff, and said no formal offer was
ever made. They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not cleared
to discuss private conversations.

"Mr. Romanoff was recommended to the White House from Democrats in Colorado for
a position in the administration," White House deputy press secretary Bill
Burton said. "There were some initial conversations with him but no job was
ever offered."

The new revelation of a possible political trade again called into question
President Barack Obama's repeated promises to run an open government that was
above back room deals.

The Colorado episode follows a similar controversy in Pennsylvania. An
embarrassed White House admitted last Friday that it turned to former President
Bill Clinton last year to approach Rep. Joe Sestak about backing out of the
primary in favor of an unpaid position on a federal advisory board.

Sestak declined the offer and defeated Sen. Arlen Specter late last month for
the Democratic nomination after disclosing the job discussions and highlighting
it as evidence of his antiestablishment political credentials. He said last
week he rejected Clinton's feeler in less than a minute.

In a two-page report on the Sestak case, the White House counsel said the
administration did nothing illegal or unethical.

Republicans have strongly criticized the offer to Sestak and challenged
Romanoff to answer questions about his own dealings with the White House.

"Romanoff would be well-served to explain all of the details surrounding his
discussions with the White House, the positions they proposed and the
individuals who contacted him immediately," said Amber Marchand, a spokeswoman
for the Republicans' Senate campaign committee.

Unlike Sestak, Romanoff has ducked questions on the subject, and it was not
clear how long his discussions with administration officials lasted. Also
unlike Sestak, Romanoff was out of office and looking for his next act after
being forced from his job because of term limits.

Romanoff had sought appointment to the Senate seat that eventually went to
Bennet, publicly griped he had been passed over and then discussed possible
appointment possibilities inside the administration, one of the officials said.

After being passed over for the Senate appointment, the out-of-power Romanoff
made little secret of shopping for a political job. Romanoff also applied to be
Colorado secretary of state, a job that came open when Republican Mike Coffman
was elected to Congress. Gov. Bill Ritter again appointed a replacement, and
again passed over Romanoff.

Next, according to several Colorado Democrats speaking on condition of
anonymity to discuss internal negotiations, Romanoff also approached Ritter
about being Ritter's running mate for Ritter's re-election bid. It was only
after that attempt failed, the Colorado Democrats said, that Romanoff joined
the Senate contest.

Romanoff still wasn't settled on the Senate race. When Ritter announced in
January that he wouldn't seek a second term after all, Romanoff publicly talked
about leaving the Senate race to seek the governor's office, though he ended up
staying in the Senate contest.

Bennet has outpaced Romanoff in fundraising and support from Washington,
although party activists attending the state party assembly last month favored
the challenger by a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent. The primary is Aug. 10.

Bennet was appointed by Ritter to fill out the final two years of the term of
Ken Salazar, who resigned to become interior secretary.

Romanoff's campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to questions.

___

Associated Press writer Kristen Wyatt in Denver contributed to this report.

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