Despite the fact that Barack Obama had nothing to do with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s scheming ways, some Republicans aren’t letting him entirely off the hook.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald made clear in his complaint that there are absolutely no accusations of wrongdoing being made against the president-elect. Obama is also distancing himself as much as possible from Blagojevich.

"I had no contact with the governor or his office," Obama said Tuesday, calling the whole ordeal a “sad day” for Illinois. "I was not aware of what was happening."

But there’s video of Obama’s top adviser, David Axelrod, saying November 20 that Obama had spoken with the governor (video below). On Tuesday, Axelrod said he had a memory lapse … or something: “I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the president-elect has spoken directly to Gov. Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discuss the subject.”

That about-face was enough for Republicans.

"Americans expect strong leadership, but President-elect Barack Obama’s comments on the matter are insufficient at best," said Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan. "Given the president-elect’s history of supporting and advising Gov. Blagojevich, he has a responsibility to speak out and fully address the issue."

Added Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 Republican in the House: "The serious nature of the crimes listed by federal prosecutors raises questions about the interaction with Gov. Blagojevich, President-elect Obama and other high-ranking officials who will be working for the future president," he said. "Simply put, I ask President-elect Obama to publicly explain tomorrow exactly what steps he is going to take to ensure that the forthcoming investigation is independent, fair, open and honest. Those planning to work for President-elect Obama should be as forthcoming."  

Obama endorsed Blagojevich in 2002 and 2006, and served as a top adviser to him in his first 2002 run for the State house (although Obama aides say those reports are inaccurate). Obama and Blagojevich both had past fund-raising help from Tony Rezko, a Chicago businessman convicted of corruption (another embarrassment for the president-elect).

Another red-faced moment for Obama: Axelrod — who will be the president-elect’s senior adviser in the White House — listed Blagojevich on his firm’s website as one of his clients, when the politician was a candidate for Congress.

ABC News says there are still questions to be asked:

There are indications that Mr. Obama and his team refused to go along with the "pay to play" way Blagojevich is accused of operating, offering only "gratitude" if the governor appointed his friend Valerie Jarrett to take his U.S. Senate seat, much to the governor’s chagrin.

But there remain questions about how Blagojevich knew that Mr. Obama was not willing to give him anything in exchange for the Senate seat — with whom was Blagojevich speaking? Did that person report the governor to the authorities?

Meanwhile, The New York Times says a phone call made by Obama three months ago may have been the nail in the coffin for Blagojevich.

From the Times:

Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on January 1, prosecutors say.

Tipped off to Mr. Blagojevich’s efforts, federal agents obtained wiretaps for his phones and eventually overheard what they say was scheming by the governor to profit from his appointment of a successor to the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Obama.

Hmmm. From everything we’ve seen and heard, it looks like Obama is above the fray on this one. Word has it that Obama played the Chicago politics game just enough to get by, but not anywhere near enough to be a bad actor. But we bet he wishes he never threw his support behind the now-scandal-scarred Blagojevich.

Here’s the video of Axelrod on a local FOX station on November 23: