Selling Obama's seat too cheaply?

By Jim Tankersley and Andrew Zajac

It's a quote likely destined for political infamy: A Senate seat, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich allegedly said, "is a (expletive) valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."

But if federal prosecutors' allegations are true, Blagojevich was set to give one away for far less than market value.

The feds arrested Blagojevich today on corruption charges including allegations that he put a "for sale" sign on the former Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama. The criminal complaint prosecutors filed today, based heavily on taped conversations between the governor and his aides, lists several potential price tags floated by Blagojevich and co. It includes a cabinet appointment, up to $1 million in campaign contributions and lucrative employment for the governor and his wife.

Blagojevich at one point "stated that he is interested in making $250,000 to $300,000 and being on some organization boards," the complaint alleges.

A quick - and we'll admit it, tongue-in-cheek - analysis of campaign finance data suggests that's far less than Obama's seat is worth.

When the seat came open in 2004, 10 major contenders from both parties spent about $73.8 million on their campaigns to win it, or $7.3 million each.

The biggest spenders were failed Democratic contender Blair Hull, who poured $28.9 million of his securities trading fortune into a third place finish in the Democratic primary and Obama, who spent $14.9 million in winning the seat that put him on a national trajectory leading now to the White House.

Five Senate seats were similarly open - which is to say, no elected or appointed incumbent in the running - this year. They included cheaper and less competitive races in Idaho and Nebraska and high-stakes targeted fights in Virginia, Colorado and New Mexico. On average, a winning candidate in those states spent about $7.4 million.

So between Illinois four years ago and the nation this year, that's a pretty consistent cost of winning, and we'd suggest, a fair appraisal for the value of Obama's seat: about $7.3 or $7.4 million.

That's worth more than a few organizational boards. As Blagojevich is alleged to say elsewhere in the criminal complaint, that's "(expletive) golden."