Hot Topics In Politics Picked Apart By Analyst Nick Ragone

Political analyst Nick Ragone stopped by the PIX11 studio this morning to talk about the latest in Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's corruption scandal latest developments, the Obama cabinet and New York Gov. David Patterson's budget proposal.

Ragone stated the fall out of the Blagojevich's corruption scandal is still up in the air. But what will be interesting to find out is if Robert Emmanuel and David Axelrod had knowledge in the scandal and why they did not blow the whistle on Blagojevich.

Switching over to President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet, something that is unclear is Joe Biden's role as vice president. With so many experts appointed to foreign and domestic policy, Biden's specialty, he may have a diminished role as VP. Ragone believes that though there are a lot of familiar faces from the Clinton administration back under the Obama administration, Obama's has surrounded himself with well-rounded person with a lot of experience.

Locally, Gov. Patterson's proposed tax hikes to close New York state's $15 billion deficit is the largest in the state's history. Ragone said that this is certainly fuel to the Republican's fire when the gubernatorial elections come up in 2010.

WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...