David Axelrod gains the upper hand in his war with Rahm Emanuel: the 'creepy ballerina' under fire for Sestak and Blago job offer allegations

The worst-kept secret in the White House is the ongoing power struggle between Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senior Adviser David Axelrod.

With the onset of the Sestak affair, the war appears to have escalated. The illegal job offer relayed by Bill Clinton to Joe Sestak -- to convince him to drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate Primary against Arlen Specter -- was reportedly conveyed through Emanuel.

But that's not all.

The White House also appears to have created or saved many jobs for its cronies, according to "anonymous sources" within the White House.

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.

Coincidentally the longrunning Rod Blagojevich saga began its trial phase this week with word that Emanuel and Obama's long-time pal Valerie Jarrett had been subpoenaed to testify about their roles in helping to select Obama's Senate replacement.

It appears likely that Emanuel, Jarrett and SEIU president Andy Stern helped orchestrate the selection process, which also could have crossed the line into illegalities at the federal level.

But, wait -- there's more!

What hasn't yet come to light are the machinations behind the administration's months-long push to take over the health care sector. The White House succeeded in jamming DemCare down the throats of an unwilling public only by the narrowest of partisan margins. With so many Democrat seats at risk this November, one wonders what favors, jobs and payoffs were offered up in exchange for suicidal votes.

What is far more clear is that David Axelrod is on the ascendancy in the White House -- and the Creepy Ballerina will do well to simply avoid prison time.


Related: The Illustrated Valerie Jarrett Primer