Like a nasty rash after an infection, the US presidential election may be over, but the fighting and scandals continue to hang around for months after, spreading and festering in the hot, sweaty mess that is American politics.

On Tuesday, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (no, we can’t pronounce it either, but Slate says it’s ‘Bluh-GOY-uh-vich) was arrested for trying to sell off Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Now the initial shock of the scandal has worn off (at least for those of us playing at home; DC political gossipers Wonkette say: “Everybody knew Blagojevich was an insane crook… Illinois Democrats are famous scumbags”), the press have descended to pick the story apart, while Chicago Democrats — many of whom make up Obama’s ranks — are furiously scrubbing their hands of any association with the affair.

The big story today is the outing of Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. by his lawyer as the man known as ‘Candidate 5’ in the FBI’s affidavit against Blagojevich, which says:

ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he might “get some (money) up front, maybe” from Senate Candidate 5 to insure Senate Candidate 5 kept his promise about raising money for ROD BLAGOJEVICH. (In a recorded conversation on October 31, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH described an earlier approach by an associate of Senate Candidate Five as follows: “We were approached ‘pay to play.’ That, you know, he’d raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.”)

Jackson Jr. held a press conference (video here) stating he is innocent and that he is “not a target” of the investigation. Howard Fineman has some interesting personal insights into ‘Junior’ at Newsweek.

Blagojevich is still refusing to resign, despite Obama and all 50 Democratic senators calling for his resignation.

So will this all rub off badly on Obama? History says no, according to The American Prospect, though Slate believe his vague response and refusal to comment won’t help. Justin Webb at BBC thinks he’ll be fine, though Time‘s Massimo Calabresi believes the two have enough ties that it will “test Obama’s carefully cultivated reformist”. ABC News’ Jake Tapper looks at what Obama didn’t know and when he didn’t know it.

And on the lighter side of things: Blagojevich: The Musical; Glengarry Rod Blagojevich: a play in one act; Who (allegedly) said it? Rod Blagojevich or Tony Soprano?; Blah-lego-vich; the t-shirt; and If They IM’d