If politics is about body language, then Barack Obama would appear to have nothing to fear from the burgeoning scandal around Rod Blagojevich, Illinois governor, whose arrest on corruption charges on Tuesday has touched the president-elect.

Giving a relaxed and humorous performance in Chicago on Thursday, Mr Obama went beyond the minimalist response most presidents are advised by lawyers to adopt in these situations. Mr Obama, who was described by Mr Blagojevich in secretly taped transcripts as a “motherf***er”, among other choice profanities, had no contact with the governor on the issue of who would take his now vacant Senate seat, he said.