to maintain that a job offer was made, but he downplayed the importance of the incident and defended Obama's integrity. On May 28, the White House formally responded to the allegations and acknowledged White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel enlisted former President Bill Clinton to offer Sestak a seat on a presidential advisory board or another executive board if Sestak dropped his candidacy. If Sestak accepted, he would have been allowed to remain in the House while serving in the unpaid position. Bauer said that nobody in the administration itself directly discussed the offer with Sestak, and he does not believe there was anything improper, illegal or unethical about the conduct. Republicans in Congress disagreed, arguing the action contradicted claims Obama made during his presidential campaign about ethical conduct and transparency in government. Darrell Issa, in particular, felt it was an impeachable offense and referred to it as "Obama's Watergate". Nevertheless, the matter gradually became less of a focus during the primary election, where other topics like spending and the economy took the spotlight. With Issa poised to become chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform following the Republican Party recapturing the house during the 2010 midterm elections, it was widely expected he would launch an official investigation into the job offer based on his prior critical comments about the matter. However, on November 5, Issa announced he would not pursue an investigation. Some politicians and members of the media said that the job offer made to Sestak was neither illegal nor abhorrent, and that such deals are regularly made by politicians of all levels. Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post felt the matter only appeared to be a scandal because the White House badly mishandled the response, and Chicago Tribune writer John Kass wrote, "Offering a spot to an ambitious young politician to protect an old servile weakling isn't new. Presidents do it, governors do it. Big-city mayors really know how to do it." References External links Pennsylvania Department of State official election results Pennsylvania Democratic Party Political events in Pennsylvania Senate Senate Primary elections in the United States