Hillary's Comeback

Hillary Clinton has had a long dry spell.

The drought is over. Tuesday night was her night.

From the Washington Post:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won critically important victories in Ohio and Texas last night, defying predictions of an imminent end to her presidential candidacy and extending the remarkable contest for the Democratic nomination to Pennsylvania's April primary and perhaps well into the summer.

Clinton also won in Rhode Island, while Sen. Barack Obama captured Vermont. Her victories snapped his winning streak at 12 consecutive contests, rejuvenated her struggling candidacy and jolted a Democratic Party establishment that was beginning to see Obama as the likely nominee.

Clinton still faces daunting odds in her bid for the nomination. Obama began the day with a lead in pledged delegates that will be hard for her to overcome in the 12 primaries and caucus remaining, despite the results from the four states voting yesterday. But her advisers said that the big win in Ohio alone would force a serious look at both candidates and that the race was far from over.

Yesterday's voting came after two weeks of intensive and increasingly acrimonious campaigning. Clinton, her back to the wall, played the role of aggressor, challenging Obama on his readiness to be commander in chief and chastising him on trade and health care. Obama attempted to fend off those attacks with the hope of scoring victories that his advisers were confident would drive Clinton from the race. But exit polls showed that, among late-deciding voters, Clinton had a clear edge.

Former president Bill Clinton had said earlier that she needed to win both big states to have a realistic chance of winning the nomination, and she delivered. But even before the Texas results were in, she made clear that she would continue.

"For everyone here in Ohio and across America who's ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, and for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up, and for everyone who works hard and never gives up, this one is for you," she said.

As the crowd chanted, "Yes, she will! Yes, she will!," Clinton said she is in the race to win. "You know what they say: 'As Ohio goes, so goes the nation,' " she said to cheers from supporters. "Well, this nation's coming back and so is this campaign," she continued. "We're going on. We're going strong and we're going all the way."

Obama, speaking in San Antonio before Texas was counted, congratulated Clinton on her victories in Ohio and Rhode Island, something she had never done during his winning streak, but he said her successes would not stop his march toward the nomination.

"We know this," he said. "No matter what happens tonight, we have nearly the same delegate lead as we had this morning, and we are on our way to winning this nomination."

As if to underscore his confidence about the nomination, Obama said he had called Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) to congratulate him on clinching the Republican nomination and said he looked forward to debating the future of the country. McCain, he said, "has fallen in line behind the very same policies that have ill-served America."

Later he criticized McCain and Clinton for dismissing his call for change as "eloquent but empty" and vowed to continue his campaign for change and a new politics in Washington.

Hillary had a great night.

She won Texas and Ohio and Rhode Island.

Barack Obama went to Super Tuesday Jr. and all he got was lousy Vermont.

Speaking last night, Obama showed that he's forgotten how to lose. He looked bad. He looked angry. If he was eloquent, it was an autopilot eloquence.

BARACK OBAMA: Well, we are in the middle of a very close race right now in Texas, and we may not even know the final results until morning. We do know that Senator Clinton has won Rhode Island, and while there are a lot of votes to be counted in Ohio, it looks like she did well there too, and so we congratulate her on those states. We also know that we have won the state of Vermont. And we know this – no matter what happens tonight, we have nearly the same delegate lead as we did this morning, and we are on our way to winning this nomination.

He was wrong about Texas. It wasn't that long after midnight that Hillary was projected the winner. Technically, it was morning, but when he said morning, I took him to mean dawn, morning with daylight.

All in all, it was a very disappointing night for Obama. He probably was the one doing the fainting.

Although Hillary did make up a little ground in the delegate count, Obama's lead there is secure.

So, now what?

Hillary vows not to give up.

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: For everyone here in Ohio and across America, who's ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out and...

(APPLAUSE)

... for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up, and for everyone...

(APPLAUSE)

... who works hard and never gives up, this one is for you.

(APPLAUSE)

You know what they say: As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.

(APPLAUSE)

Well, this nation's coming back, and so is this campaign.

(APPLAUSE)

The people of Ohio have said it loudly and clearly. We're going on, we're going strong, and we're going all the way.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, they call Ohio a bellwether state. It's a battleground state. It's a state that knows how to pick a president.

(APPLAUSE)

And no candidate in recent history, Democrat or Republican, has won the White House without winning the Ohio primary.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will!

MRS. CLINTON: You all know that, if we want a Democratic president, we need a Democratic nominee who can win the battleground states, just like Ohio.

(APPLAUSE)

And that is what we've done. We've won Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire, Arkansas, California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

(APPLAUSE)

And today we won Rhode Island. And thanks to all my friends and supporters there.

(APPLAUSE)

This is a great night. But we all know that these are challenging times. We have two wars abroad; we have a recession looming here at home.

Voters faced a critical question: Who is tested and ready to be commander-in-chief on day one?

(APPLAUSE)

And who knows how to turn our economy around? Because we sure do need it.

(APPLAUSE)

Ohio has written a new chapter in the history of this campaign, and we're just getting started.

(APPLAUSE)

More and more people have joined this campaign, and millions of Americans haven't spoken yet. In states like Pennsylvania and so many others, people are watching this historic campaign, and they want their turn to help make history.

(APPLAUSE)

They want their voices to count, and they should. They should be heard. So, please, join us in this campaign. Go to www.HillaryClinton.com.

This is not a woman ready to give up on her presidential aspirations.

Is she willing to tear the Democrat Party apart in the process?

Should she step aside?

I don't think so. It's not right for her to forsake her supporters. Their voices deserve to be heard.

It's undeniable that Hillary picked up momentum in the last few days. I think maybe voters are beginning to understand that Obama is an empty suit.

It could be that we're seeing the impact of the media finally giving a bit of attention to the real Obama. Some of them have snapped out of drool mode.

Questions about Obama's ties with Tony Rezko are being raised. It's nuts that it took this long for the national media to catch on.

Then there's the SNL factor. Obama isn't used to being mocked. And maybe "bitch is the new black" is resonating.

Could it be that the photo of Obama in Somali dress mattered to voters?

As Seth Meyers of SNL's "Weekend Update" noted: "This week, pictures of Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama appeared on the Internet, in what was clearly an underhanded attempt to make him look like a sushi chef [on screen: Obama in a traditional Somali dress]."

I think the "Hussein" dust-up was a problem. Obama and spouse Michelle did not handle the truth well. That's never good. We've never had a president with an unmentionable middle name.

The NAFTA thing didn't help either. When Obama is put under more scrutiny, he falters. The facade crumbles. The eloquence seems canned.

Notice that Hillary includes Florida and Michigan among her victories. She wants those pledged delegates seated at the convention. That's a hornet's nest waiting to be disturbed.

Whatever happens, this cannot end well for the Democrats.

"Proud conservative liberal" John McCain is a real option. Disgruntled Dems may find him appealing.

I think Election 2008 is shaping up to be the season of our discontent for both Dems and Republicans.

Obama's Judgment

On this day of primaries that may decide the Democrat nominee for president, the Washington Post delves into the Obama "movement."

Another rally, another rapturous crowd.

At around 1 p.m. Wednesday, less than a week before today's crucial primary vote, a few hundred supporters lined up outside Duncanville High School, about 15 miles south of Dallas. Buttons were sold, three for $12. Shirts too, $10 each. Three hours later, the packed gymnasium of more than 2,500 -- with at least 500 more stuck outside -- spontaneously erupted into chants. The right side yelled, " B ARACK!" The left side screamed, " OBAMA!"

The candidate had yet to take the stage.

And down on the floor stood Rhonda Friedberg, a roll of duct tape encircling her right arm like a loose bracelet. A slender, striking woman with more than a passing resemblance to Diane Keaton, Friedberg calls herself "the tape lady." She's taped signs in restrooms, posters on walls and electrical wires to the floor so people don't trip.

This has been a season of many "firsts" for the 46-year-old molecular biologist: the first time she's volunteered for a campaign, the first time she's served as a precinct captain in an election, the first time she's given money to a candidate.

Every time Friedberg drives her 1991 red Toyota pickup truck out of the driveway of her Dallas home to attend another meeting of Obama's precinct captains, she surprises even herself. Before, she was "a homebody," as her husband of seven years describes her. Now, she feels she's part of a movement.

"Whether or not he wins the nomination, whether or not he makes it all the way to the White House, this is a movement," Friedberg shouts above the roar of the crowd. "A movement is when you're emotionally involved, and that's where I am."

She pauses, then says "And, you know, it's not about Barack Obama. It's about us. He's expressing what we need expressed and what we've been needing expressed for years."

...Never mind the gladioluses and calla lilies that need planting in her small front yard. Forget the novel she picked up about two months ago.

Over the past month, Friedberg's priority has been to make sure Obama's supporters in her precinct know about the Texas two-step: First they have to vote in the primary, then show up at 7 p.m. for the caucus.

By Monday morning, she'd made more than 700 phone calls on Obama's behalf. Being inside the arena, enveloped in the roar of the crowd, listening to Obama and his promises of hope and change, she feels part of something.

I think Friedberg nails it when she says that "it's not about Barack Obama. It's about us."

It seems to me that there are a lot of people wanting a purpose, something to believe in. What's weird is that the purpose seems to be Obama, not a cause or a goal or a philosophy.

"He's expressing what we need expressed."

OK. That's just sad. What's he expressing?

Barack Obama is supposed to be about changing politics as usual. Is that what we need expressed?

Unfortunately, his words ring hollow.

The movement is fraudulent.

From FactCheck.org:

Barack Obama's campaign is distributing a mailer in Ohio that plays upon anti-NAFTA feelings in the Buckeye State. But the flyer is misleading:

---Obama is quoted as saying that "one million jobs have been lost because of NAFTA, including nearly 50,000 jobs here in Ohio." But those figures are highly questionable and from an anti-NAFTA source. Other economic studies have concluded the trade deal resulted in much smaller job losses or even a small net gain.

---The mailer quotes Hillary Clinton as saying "NAFTA has been good for New York and America." That quote, however, is taken out of context. She also said in that same news conference that NAFTA was flawed and old trade deals needed to be revisited.

That's definitely politics as usual.

Obama is not the man he claims to be. And if Obama is not the man he claims to be, then the movement falls apart.

On Monday's Nightline, Obama was interviewed by Terry Moran.

On the question of experience, Obama welcomes the contrast between him and Clinton, who has repeatedly described herself as someone who is "tested" and "ready."

"I think the question is, how do you know any president is ready?" Obama said. "[Until] you're president, you haven't made these decisions."

"What people can take a look at is how I exercised judgment on key foreign policy questions over the last several years," he said. "And I think they can have confidence. ... More often than not, I have shown judgment that was superior to some of these people who are claiming much lengthier experience."

As part of her proven experience, Clinton has highlighted her visits to more than 80 countries, her time spent in the White House and her service on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"Look, I've lived overseas," said Obama. "I have family overseas. I have served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

I can't believe that Obama has the nerve to consider living overseas and having family overseas to be foreign policy experience. That's idiotic.

He claims that he has superior judgment compared to "people who are claiming much lengthier experience."

Yeah, he opposed the Iraq war from the beginning. How many times have we heard that? Obama's always yapping about Hillary voting for the war and he didn't.

He didn't have to cast a vote on the war because he wasn't a U.S. Senator at the time!

How long does he think he can use his statement on Iraq as an indication of his superiority?

If Obama has such superior judgment, then why does he make "boneheaded" mistakes and surround himself with a weird band of buddies and associates?

Obama's spiritual mentor, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., shares the views held by terrorists.

On the Sunday after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Mr. Wright said the attacks were a consequence of violent American policies.

Mr. Wright, who has long prided himself on criticizing the establishment, said he knew that he may not play well in Mr. Obama’s audition for the ultimate establishment job.

“If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me,” Mr. Wright said with a shrug. “I said it to Barack personally, and he said yeah, that might have to happen.”

Obama's campaign has said, “Senator Obama is proud of his pastor and his church.”

Really? I question Obama's judgment on that.

Wright isn't the only questionable person close to Obama.

He's friendly with Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi.

[Khalidi is] a harsh critic of Israel who reportedly worked on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization when it was labeled a terror group by the State Department.

Khalidi held a fundraiser in 2000 for Obama’s failed bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

And then there's William Ayers.

Jonah Goldberg writes:

"Everything was absolutely ideal on the day I bombed the Pentagon."

This excerpt from William Ayers' memoir appeared in the New York Times on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 -- a few hours before Al Qaeda terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Ayers, once a leader in the Weather Underground -- the group that declared "war" on the U.S. government in 1970 -- told the Times, "I don't regret setting bombs" and "I feel we didn't do enough."

Ayers recently reappeared in the news because Politico.com reported Friday that Barack Obama has loose ties to him. Ayers, now a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is apparently a left-wing institution in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, and Obama visited Ayers' home as a rite of passage when launching his political career in the mid-1990s. The two also served on the board of the charitable Woods Fund of Chicago, which gave money to Northwestern University Law School's Children and Family Justice Center, where Ayers' wife (and former Weather Underground compatriot) Bernardine Dohrn is the director.

Hanging out with former members of the Weather Underground isn't using the best judgment in my opinion, particularly since Ayers has no regrets about declaring war on the America. That's not good.

Now, we get to Tony Rezko.

Obama and Rezko have strong ties.

In 1995, Obama began campaigning for a seat in the Illinois Senate. Among his earliest supporters: Rezko. Two Rezko companies donated a total of $2,000. Obama was elected in 1996 -- representing a district that included 11 of Rezko's 30 low-income housing projects.

In 2003, Obama announced he was running for the U.S. Senate, and Rezko -- a member of his campaign finance committee -- held a lavish fund-raiser June 27, 2003, at his Wilmette mansion.

A few months after Obama became a U.S. senator, he and Rezko's wife, Rita, bought adjacent pieces of property from a doctor in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood -- a deal that has dogged Obama the last two years. The doctor sold the mansion to Obama for $1.65 million -- $300,000 below the asking price. Rezko's wife paid full price -- $625,000 -- for the adjacent vacant lot. The deals closed in June 2005. Six months later, Obama paid Rezko's wife $104,500 for a strip of her land, so he could have a bigger yard. At the time, it had been widely reported that Tony Rezko was under federal investigation. Questioned later about the timing of the Rezko deal, Obama called it "boneheaded" because people might think the Rezkos had done him a favor.

I think Obama's relationship with Rezko speaks volumes about his judgment.

From Nightline:

Obama's critics point to Tony Rezko, a Chicago real estate developer, as a reason to question Obama's brand of politics.

Rezko, who has raised a lot of money for Obama over the years, goes on trial this week on corruption charges. Rezko has ties to many politicians, but it is a real estate deal Rezko participated in with Obama in 2005 that enabled the senator to purchase his current home, that has brought a lot of scrutiny to the candidate's campaign.

For Obama, who has called himself a reformer and touted his judgment, some voters might ask how could he enter into this transaction with a longtime contributor who, at that time, was known to be under investigation for corruption?

"I've already said that that was a mistake, even though it was completely above board," said Obama. "Because he had been a contributor, I shouldn't have entered into any real estate transaction with him."

What a lame response!

Obama doesn't personify honesty. He's not about change. He insists that he has superior judgment, but I don't see the evidence.

It's pathetic that so many people are spellbound by someone they really don't know. And at least some of what they think they know about Obama is not true.

A Primer: The Tony Rezko Trial

In anticipation of the Tony Rezko trial, the Chicago Sun-Times provides a primer.

Seven things to know about the trial:

1. Who is Tony Rezko?

He's a Syrian-born businessman who made millions of dollars in real estate, fast-food chains and overseas ventures. Rezko's prowess as a political fund-raiser bought him political access and influence within the Blagojevich administration, prosecutors charge. Rezko, who was once a top Blagojevich adviser, is accused of demanding illegal payments from firms trying to do business with the state and directing that money to himself or to political designees. Rezko also served as an Obama fund-raiser, and Obama entered into a land deal with Rezko in 2005. Obama later called the move "boneheaded" because Rezko was widely known to be under federal scrutiny at the time.

2. Hottest trial in town: If you want a seat, come early.

3. Rezko cleaned-up

4. Picking jurors

5. Gov B is Public Official A

There will be no more "Public Official A," or "Individual B," etc. In contrast to how names were disguised in reams of court documents, the cards will be out on the table at trial. That isn't good news for Gov. Blagojevich, who St. Eve recently confirmed is the "Public Official A" referred to in prosecution filings. The government alleged in December that two witnesses are expected to testify Blagojevich told them supporting his administration would bring financial rewards. Blagojevich allegedly said "he could award contracts, legal work, and investment banking to help with fund-raising," according to a filing in which prosecutors laid out expected trial testimony. Prosecutors have not accused Blagojevich of wrongdoing. Last week, Blagojevich defended himself, saying: "What was described there doesn't describe me or how I do things."

6. 'Teflon' Obama

That same court filing makes reference to presidential contender U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. While Obama's involvement in the case will be minimal compared with the governor's, the prospect of his name being mentioned isn't a headache Obama needs -- especially on the eve of major primaries in Ohio and Texas on Tuesday. Prosecutors charge Rezko directed $10,000 from a kickback scheme into Obama's campaign fund. Obama isn't accused of wrongdoing, and he has since given that money to charity. An Obama reference at trial could be harmful to the defense, strategist Lisnek predicts: "If it comes in that Rezko was trying to take advantage of Obama -- that may not play well with a jury. "Obama's very positive. He's almost like Teflon right now. It could hurt the defense if jurors believe Rezko tried to sully his name and use him."

Not so with Blagojevich, Lisnek said: "Blagojevich has been so muddied."

7. It's all about Levine
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8 things you need to know about Obama and Rezko

Bill Cunningham and John McCain

I support John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, on a host of issues.

I greatly admire his service to our nation. He's an American hero.

I think he will be a relatively strong candidate and I think he has a real chance of winning in November.

That said, John McCain can also be a real doofus.

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- A conservative radio talk show host who helped introduce Senator John McCain before a rally here Tuesday used Senator Barack Obama’s middle name, Hussein, three times, while disparaging him, prompting Mr. McCain to apologize and repudiate the comments afterward.

Bill Cunningham, who hosts “The Big Show” with Bill Cunningham, a local program here that is also syndicated nationally, was part of a line of people lauding Mr. McCain and revving up the crowd before his appearance here before several hundred people at a theater here.

He lambasted the national media, drawing cheers from the audience, for being soft in their coverage of Mr. Obama compared to the Republican candidates, declaring they should “peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama.”

He went on to rail, “at one point, the media will quit taking sides in this thing and start covering Barack Hussein Obama.”

John McCain made no reference to Cunningham's remarks during his half hour speech. Afterward, during a news conference, McCain condemned Cunningham for his remarks.

Responding to questions from reporters, Mr. McCain said he did not hear what Mr. Cunningham said, saying that when he arrived, Mr. Portman was on stage.

“Whatever suggestion that was made that was any way disparaging to the integrity, character, honesty of either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton was wrong,” he said, “I condemn it, and if I have any responsibility, I will take the responsibility, and I apologize for it.”

He called Mr. Obama a “man of integrity” and said he was someone he had come to know “pretty well and I admire.”

He also said that it was not appropriate to invoke Mr. Obama’s middle name in the course of the campaign.

“I absolutely repudiate such comments,” he said. “It will never happen again.”

Good grief.

McCain says that it wasn't appropriate to use Obama's middle name.

I trust Obama will return the favor and make sure that no one at any of his rallies will say, "John Sidney McCain."

Sidney. It could be that McCain is sensitive about middle names.

Later on Tuesday, Cunningham responded to McCain's slap.

Sitting at a microphone in an office, Mr. Cunningham said:

Only Democrats, Air America, New York Times, talk-show hosts and newspaper reporters have freedom of speech. I have the right to speak my mind any way that I would like. If I consider Obama to be a hack Chicago politician from the Daley political machine, taking money from this Tony Rezko dude under threat of federal indictment, can’t I speak truth to power?

Mr. Cunningham said the media often say “nasty, negative things” about President Bush and Vice President Cheney, and that The Times had “smeared” John McCain on its front page.

Treat all the politicians the same. We’re not dealing with the messiah here. Obama cannot heal the sick and make the blind see. He’s a hack Democratic politician from Chicago, that’s all he is. Let’s treat him like every other hack Democratic or Republican politician.

Then he continued:

I’m angry at McCain. Why would John McCain repudiate me? I’ve been able to unite McCain and Obama against me. I might become a supporter of Ralph Nader.

McCain has a problem with Bill Cunningham just because he said Hussein.

That's an inappropriate reaction.

Watch video of Cunningham's remarks.

Cunningham wasn't as rough on Obama as McCain was on Mitt Romney.

I don't think McCain ever apologized to Romney, though I do remember him being nice when he accepted Romney's endorsement.

McCain's hypocrisy is troubling.

If McCain believes that Obama isn't eventually going to throw him under his Straight Talk Express bus, he's being incredibly naive.
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Watch John Sidney McCain throw Bill Cunningham under the bus.
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Recall the always respectful John Sidney McCain LAUGHED when a woman at a campaign event asked him, "How do we beat the bitch?"

How does McCain's reaction to that reference to Hillary Clinton's character fit with McCain's condemnation of Cunningham's remarks?

“Whatever suggestion that was made that was any way disparaging to the integrity, character, honesty of either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton was wrong,” he said, “I condemn it, and if I have any responsibility, I will take the responsibility, and I apologize for it.”

It doesn't.

Hypocrisy, thy name is John Sidney McCain.

Some Thoughts on the Hillary-Obama Debate

CLEVELAND -- Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama clashed over trade, health care and the war in Iraq Tuesday night in a crackling debate at close quarters one week before a pivotal group of primaries. Charges of negative campaign tactics were high on the program, too.

"Senator Obama has consistently said I would force people to have health care whether they can afford it or not," said Clinton, insisting it was not true.

Responding quickly, Obama countered that former first lady had consistently claimed his plan "would leave 15 million people out ... I dispute that. I think it is inaccurate," he said.

The tone was polite yet pointed, increasingly so as the 90-minute session wore on, a reflection of the stakes in a race in which Obama has won 11 straight primaries and caucuses and Clinton is in desperate need of a comeback.

Clinton also said as far as she knew her campaign had nothing to do with circulating a photograph of Obama wearing a white turban and a wraparound white robe presented to him by elders in Wajir, in northeastern Kenya.

The gossip and news Web site The Drudge Report posted the photograph Monday and said, without substantiation, that it was being circulated by "Clinton staffers."

The Drudge Report is a "gossip and news Web site."

It's funny the way the AP feels the need to get in that swipe.

"We have no evidence where it came from," Clinton said, making clear that's not the kind of behavior she wants in her campaign.

"I take Senator Clinton at her word that she knew nothing about the photo," Obama said.

...Obama also sought to distance himself from an endorsement from Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, the controversial Chicago-based minister who has made numerous anti-Semitic comments in the past.

Obama said he hadn't sought the endorsement, and that he had denounced the remarks.

Clinton interjected at one point, saying that in her initial Senate campaign in New York in 2000, she was supported by a group with virulent anti-Semitic views.

"I rejected it, and said it would not be anything I would be comfortable with." She said rejecting support was different from denouncing it, an obvious jab at Obama.

He responded by saying he didn't see the difference, since Farrakhan hadn't done anything except declare his support. But given Clinton's comments, he said, "I happily concede the point and I would reject and denounce."

The audience applauded at that.

Yes, that's right. The audience loves Obama and so does the Associated Press. So does Tim Russert and so does Brian Williams.

Early in the debate, Hillary claimed that she wasn't being treated fairly by the moderators.

Transcript:

MR. WILLIAMS: I -- well, here's another important topic, and that's NAFTA, especially where we're sitting here tonight. And this is a tough one depending on who you ask. The Houston Chronicle has called it a big win for Texas, but Ohio Democratic Senator Brown, your colleague in the Senate, has called it a job-killing trade agreement. Senator Clinton, you've campaigned in south Texas. You've campaigned here in Ohio. Who's right?

SEN. CLINTON: Well, can I just point out that in the last several debates, I seem to get the first question all the time. And I don't mind. I -- you know, I'll be happy to field them, but I do find it curious, and if anybody saw "Saturday Night Live," you know, maybe we should ask Barack if he's comfortable and needs another pillow. (Laughter, boos.) I just find it kind of curious that I keep getting the first question on all of these issues. But I'm happy to answer it.

I knew Hillary would work last weekend's opening SNL skit into the debate somehow.

Too bad she didn't mention Tina Fey's "bitch is the new black" line.

That would have caused a few sparks to fly.

Hillary was rather restrained, almost too restrained given what she has on the line. She needed to do more than not make any mistakes. She needed to wipe the floor with Obama. She didn't.

Again, Obama was spewing his talking points about his "ethics package."

Whenever Obama says anything about ethics it drives me nuts.

What about TONY REZKO?

When will the mainstream media quit giving Obama a free pass on his shady dealings?

It really bugs me. Hillary shut up about him after that picture of her, Bill, and Rezko surfaced.

Then when Tim Russert quizzed Hillary on Putin's successor, it really ticked me off.

RUSSERT: What can you tell me about the man who's going to be Mr. Putin's successor?

CLINTON: Well, I can tell you that he's a hand-picked successor, that he is someone who is obviously being installed by Putin, who Putin can control, who has very little independence, the best we know. You know, there's a lot of information still to be acquired. That the so-called opposition was basically run out of the political opportunity to wage a campaign against Putin's hand-picked successor, and the so-called leading opposition figure spends most of his time praising Putin. So this is a clever but transparent way for Putin to hold on to power, and it raises serious issues about how we're going to deal with Russia going forward.

I have been very critical of the Bush administration for what I believe to have been an incoherent policy toward Russia. And with the reassertion of Russia's role in Europe, with some of the mischief that they seem to be causing in supporting Iran's nuclear ambitions, for example, it's imperative that we begin to have a more realistic and effective strategy toward Russia. But I have no doubt, as president, even though technically the meetings may be with the man who is labeled as president, the decisions will be made by Putin.

RUSSERT: Who will it be? Do you know his name?

CLINTON: Medvedev -- whatever.

RUSSERT: Yes.

CLINTON: Yes.

Russert didn't play his gotcha game with Obama.

"Who will it be? Do you know his name?"

Russert treats Hillary like she's a Republican.

There's obviously still bad blood between them.

Another thing I didn't like was hearing Obama talk about Terri Schiavo.

RUSSERT: Senator Obama, any statements or vote you'd like to take back?

OBAMA: Well, you know, when I first arrived in the Senate that first year, we had a situation surrounding Terri Schiavo. And I remember how we adjourned with a unanimous agreement that eventually allowed Congress to interject itself into that decisionmaking process of the families.

It wasn't something I was comfortable with, but it was not something that I stood on the floor and stopped. And I think that was a mistake, and I think the American people understood that that was a mistake. And as a constitutional law professor, I knew better.

And so that's an example I think of where inaction...

RUSSERT: This is the young woman with the feeding tube...

OBAMA: That's exactly right.

RUSSERT: ... and the family disagreed as to whether it should be removed or not.

OBAMA: And I think that's an example of inaction, and sometimes that can be as costly as action.

And Obama says he's the guy who can bring the nation together.

Apparently, his unity plan doesn't include people who believe in the sanctity of life.

Summary:

The country is screwed.

Obama-Rezko Connection

Do you think that the likable Barack Obama is Mr. Clean when it comes to ethics?

Don't.

Is he the embodiment of change, a new sort of government, hope that we can believe in and be proud of?

No. He's not.

Read what John Batchelor has to offer.

Here's more--

Mark Levin alerted his listeners to a piece from American Thinker, "The Obama-Rezko plot thickens."

There is much yet to be learned about the web of transactions involved, but it now appears that money originating from a convicted Middle Eastern wheeler-dealer found its way to indicted Chicago wheeler-dealer Tony Rezko, and then weeks later provided the means for a nearly simultaneous land transaction that enabled the Obamas to buy their home for substantially below asking price.


It certainly doesn't look like change we can believe in, when it comes to Chicago politics.

More on the Obama-Rezko connection and dirty politics, from Right Wing Nut House.

And more from the Chicago Sun-Times, here.

There's a strong chance White House hopeful Barack Obama's name will surface at indicted political fund-raiser Tony Rezko's trial, which is to begin next week.

In a ruling released Monday, a federal judge also made clear that Gov. Blagojevich, too, stands to come up at trial, as she made public what Blagojevich has long denied: that the governor is the "Public Official A" who's repeatedly referenced in Rezko court documents.

Obama's name was not mentioned, but U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she would allow prosecutors to present evidence about a portion of a $375,000 finder's fee that a Rezko associate, Joseph Aramanda, obtained through an alleged kickback scheme orchestrated by Rezko.

Prosecutors, she ruled, will be allowed to ask about how money from that fee allegedly was used "to make a political contribution" in Aramanda's name "because Rezko had already donated the maximum amount by law."

The ruling does not identify Obama as the recipient of that contribution. But sources have identified him as the "political candidate" who prosecutors say received a $10,000 donation from Aramanda -- at Rezko's direction -- during Obama's 2004 run for the U.S. Senate.

Obama has donated that contribution to charity. Aramanda's lawyer could not be reached for comment.

In addition, Rezko allegedly directed another associate, Elie Maloof, "to donate for the same reason," St. Eve wrote.

"The evidence is admissible," she added.

As with the Aramanda contribution, Obama has donated a $10,000 contribution from Maloof -- who was out of the country and could not be reached -- to charity. The two contributions are among $157,835 in Rezko-linked donations that Obama has given away.

Rezko was once part of Obama's senatorial finance committee.

Tony Rezko's trial begins next week.

It may be too late for any of this to help Hillary Clinton, but it won't be too late to help John McCain.

"Bone-Headed" Barack Obama and Tony Rezko

Barack Obama has shared some recovered memories involving his dealings with Tony Rezko.

Obama Discloses New Rezko Details

Watchdog groups are questioning why it took Sen. Barack Obama more than a year to disclose additional details of his dealings with indicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

While Rezko was known to be under federal investigation, Obama toured a Chicago-area home with him to get his opinion of the property, Obama's campaign revealed to Bloomberg News for a story published Monday. The politician later bought the home, with Rezko's help, who bought the adjoining lot in what was effectively a package deal.

Until then, Obama has professed trouble recalling such details during interviews with reporters.

Responding to questions about Rezko and the home sale last month, the Obama campaign repeatedly cited the candidate's on-the-record statements: "I don't recall exactly" conversations about the house with Rezko; "I am not clear" how Rezko decided to join in the purchase; and "I may have mentioned to him the name of a [developer] and he may at that point have contacted that person."

Pressed for more details, the campaign declined to provide any that were not then part of the public record.

...Obama called it "bone-headed" to have engaged in financial dealings with the wealthy Chicago political operative, particularly as federal agents were reported to have been investigating Rezko for alleged corruption. He has also said he was "confident that everything was handled ethically and above board."

The new revelations appear to indicate Obama had involved Rezko at an earlier stage of his home buying process than was previously known, and left many wondering why he had not shared the information sooner.


"Why did they wait so long to disclose this?" asked Jay Stewart of the Illinois-based Better Government Association, which combats corruption, waste and fraud in government.

"If you run as an agent of change, a reformer...that's holding yourself to a pretty high standard," said Stewart. "But when you're laying out that kind of rhetoric...it makes sense for people to say, 'Let's look at what you've done. Let's see if your rhetoric matches with reality.'"

"Where is Sen. Obama getting his media advice?" wondered Cindy Canary, executive director for the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

"Is Obama following his instincts or the advice of a high-paid consultant?" she asked. "If it's a high-paid consulatant, maybe he should follow his own instincts... This is something that Sen. Obama should have put forward from the get-go."

Asked if there was a reason the campaign was mum on the Rezko home tour for more than a year after news of his involvement in Obama's home purchase broke, spokesman Bill Burton said, "No."

Obama claims that he's the man to change Washington. He's Mr. Clean. He's ethical. He's the one to lead us to the Promised Land.

Something is not right here.

At a rally in Madison on October 15, 2007, Obama told the crowd, "I won't snow job you."

He also said, "I'm asking you to trust in yourselves."

I think Obama hasn't lived up to his promise not to snow job Americans.

It's good Obama is asking us to trust in ourselves, because he can't be trusted.

Obama talks change, but he doesn't walk change.

David Gregory and Jay Leno

The writers' strike is really taking a toll on the Tonight Show's guest lineup.

NBC is dragging out any of its news division personalities that it considers to be even remotely amusing.

Tonight, Jay Leno filled time with David Gregory (aka Stretch).

Leno and Gregory talking presidential primary politics -- Wow. How entertaining. I'm thrilled.

They discussed the "nastiness" between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Monday's debate.

Leno asked if Obama's "Wal-Mart" jab and Hillary's "Rezko, slum landlord business" remark had any truth to them.

LENO: Both of them seemed like such exaggerations. Is there any truth to either of those arguments?

GREGORY: Well, you know, in Obama's case, he did have some dealings with a guy who had some shady investments, this guy Rezko; and he returned those contributions. You know, there's usually grains of truth that they get sort of, you know, extrapolated, and they become magnified. And it's the heat of battle right now.

After a clip of Hillary and Obama from the debate, they babbled a bit more about the primaries.

Gregory didn't address Obama's Wal-Mart shot at all, and he completely dismissed the Rezko (or as CQ Transcripts prefers: "Resco") stuff as no big deal.

What a partisan hack!

They also talked about President Bush.

Gregory said, "He's a total smart aleck."

Leno said, "I'll tell you something I never told anybody before."

Then Leno proceeded to tell the story of when he was attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner and as he passed President Bush to get to the podium, "somebody gooses me."

He said it had to be the work of the President.

Leno said, "It just struck me as so odd... I'm flattered I guess."

What an idiot!

Leno has told that exact same story before, almost word for word, same set up.

He told it when Matt Lauer was a guest on the Tonight Show, on January 16, 2007.

Gregory then went on to tell a story about being in Poland, reporting on the President.

Gregory said that the President "goes out of his way to say, 'Gregory, you're lookin' mighty nice today by the way.' What are you supposed to do with that? 'Well, thank you. You look kinda good, too, actually.' "

Yeah. Ha, ha. President Bush is a weirdo.

God, I hope this writers' strike ends soon.

Hillary and Obama,"Resco" and Dancing

UPDATE, February 21, 2008: Obama Discloses New Rezko Details
_________________

UPDATE, January 28, 2008: Bond for Tony Rezko revoked

A federal judge Monday revoked the bond of Antoin "Tony" Rezko at least until a court hearing tomorrow.

The action by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve came after Rezko was arrested at daybreak at his Wilmette home and prosecutors raised concern about a $3.5 million wire transfer to Rezko from Lebanon.

Some of the money went to certain property owners who had posted their homes to secure Rezko's release, a move that removed their financial risk if Rezko fled, prosecutors argued.

St. Eve said she was most disturbed to learn that Rezko had access to funds from overseas after she was told just the opposite last year.

"I feel that the financial picture that was presented to the court in January '07 is obviously far from an accurate financial picture," she said in court.

The judge suggested she would not have released Rezko, a Syrian native, if she had known he had access overseas to that kind of money.

_______________

The Democrats drew blood last night.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards were hitting with closed fists during the debate, sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and CNN.

Most of the notable blows were exchanged between Hillary and Obama. Edwards spent a good deal of time drinking from his mug, trying to look busy.

Hillary was fighting like a professional. She used a relentless, rapid-fire technique. Obama seemed like he was having trouble maintaining his footing, and he was getting angrier and angrier at Hillary. Edwards seemed happy when he was able to get in a jab or two.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama accused each other of repeatedly and deliberately distorting the truth for political gain Monday night in a highly personal, finger-wagging debate that ranged from the war in Iraq to Bill Clinton's role in the campaign.

Obama told the former first lady he was helping unemployed workers on the streets of Chicago when "you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart."

Moments later, Clinton said that she was fighting against misguided Republican policies "when you were practicing law and representing your contributor ... in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."

Obama seemed particularly irritated at the former president, whom he accused in absentia of uttering a series of distortions to aid his wife's presidential effort.

"I'm here. He's not," she snapped.

"Well, I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes," Obama countered.

It's interesting that AP writer Nedra Pickler chooses to omit the name Tony Rezko and opt for "your contributor ... in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."

Even funnier is CNN's transcript of the debate.

(Excerpt)

CLINTON: Well, you know, I think we both have very passionate and committed spouses who stand up for us. And I'm proud of that.

But you also talked about the Republicans having ideas over the last 10 to 15 years.

OBAMA: I didn't say they were good ones.

CLINTON: Well, you can read the context of it.

OBAMA: Well, I didn't say they were good ones.

CLINTON: Well, it certainly...

OBAMA: All right, Wolf.

CLINTON: It certainly came across in the way that it was presented, as though the Republicans had been standing up against the conventional wisdom with their ideas. I'm just reacting to the fact, yes, they did have ideas, and they were bad ideas.

OBAMA: I agree.

CLINTON: Bad for America, and I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Resco, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: No, no, no.

BLITZER: Hold on one second. Hold on.

Senator Edwards -- Senator Edwards has been remarkably patient during this exchange. And I want him -- I don't know if you want to get involved in this, Senator Edwards.

EDWARDS: What I want to say first is, are there three people in this debate, not two?

Wouldn't you think that the transcriber would know that "Rezko" is the correct spelling?

What's "Resco"? Is that intentional? If it is, it's pretty lame.

In case the transcript is altered later, here's the screenshot:



The Washington Post is using the same transcript, including the misspelling. It's provided by CQ Transcripts Wire.



That's a major error -- RESCO.

REZKO. REZKO. REZKO.


Antoin "Tony" Rezko



Hillary, Tony Rezko, and Bill -- Well, I'll be darned!

This was a really weird exchange.

To be fair, it was in response to a weird question.

JOE JOHNS: Senator Obama, appreciating what you said about the media's preoccupation with race, there is...

OBAMA: Here we go.

JOHNS: Right. The Nobel Prize-winning African-American author, Toni Morrison, famously observed about Bill Clinton, "This is our first black president, blacker than any actual black person who could ever be elected in our children's lifetime."

Do you think Bill Clinton was our first black president?

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Well, I think Bill Clinton did have an enormous affinity with the African-American community, and still does. And I think that's well earned.

Like John, one of the things that I'm always inspired by -- no, I'm -- this I'm serious about. I'm always inspired by young men and women who grew up in the South when segregation was still taking place, when, you know, the transformations that are still incomplete but at least had begun had not yet begun. And to see that transformations in their own lives I think that is powerful, and it is hopeful, because what it indicates is that people can change.

And each successive generation can, you know, create a different vision of how, you know, we have to treat each other. And I think Bill Clinton embodies that. I think he deserves credit for that.

Now, I haven't...

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I have to say that, you know, I would have to, you know, investigate more of Bill's dancing abilities.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: You know, and some of this other stuff before I accurately judge whether he was in fact a brother. But...

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: Let's let Senator Clinton weigh in on that.

CLINTON: Well, I'm sure that can be arranged.

Of course, Obama was joking about making a judgment on Bill being "a brother." He's making fun of a stereotype.

However, do you think that a Republican, or a white Democrat for that matter, could have joked about black people being able to dance and white people being rhythmically-challenged?

Can you imagine if Hillary said that?

Al Sharpton would be demanding an apology. He might even call for her to drop out of the race. After all, it seems that he'd be happier if Bill Clinton would drop out of the race.

Barack Obama and Tony Rezko

UPDATE, January 28, 2008: Bond for Tony Rezko revoked

A federal judge Monday revoked the bond of Antoin "Tony" Rezko at least until a court hearing tomorrow.

The action by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve came after Rezko was arrested at daybreak at his Wilmette home and prosecutors raised concern about a $3.5 million wire transfer to Rezko from Lebanon.

Some of the money went to certain property owners who had posted their homes to secure Rezko's release, a move that removed their financial risk if Rezko fled, prosecutors argued.

St. Eve said she was most disturbed to learn that Rezko had access to funds from overseas after she was told just the opposite last year.

"I feel that the financial picture that was presented to the court in January '07 is obviously far from an accurate financial picture," she said in court.

The judge suggested she would not have released Rezko, a Syrian native, if she had known he had access overseas to that kind of money.

_______________

Saturday was not a good day for Barack Obama.

He lost to Hillary Clinton in Nevada.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Obama's campaign announced that he was returning money from the shady Tony Rezko.


Antoin "Tony" Rezko

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama is giving charity more than $40,000 in past political contributions linked to Chicago real estate developer and fast food magnate Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who is facing federal corruption charges, his campaign said Saturday.

The contributions are from seven individuals who contributed to Obama's House and Senate campaigns. None of the money was for his current presidential bid.

"Recent public information has called into question contributions to the Obama campaign from a donor and fundraiser," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement Saturday. "It is the policy and practice of the campaign to review all such new information and dispose of questionable funds such as the potential illegal 'straw donations' that campaigns, like other presidential campaigns this cycle, must address as new facts emerge.

"Our consistent practice in these circumstances is to give the funds to charity out of an abundance of caution," Burton said.

The decision to dispose of the money came after the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday that Obama is the unnamed "political candidate" mentioned in one paragraph of a 78-page prosecution document that outlines the case against Rezko.

Rezko, a longtime fundraiser for Obama, is charged with fraud, attempted extortion and money laundering. Prosecutors say he conspired to get campaign money and payoffs from firms seeking to do business before two state boards.

Read the Sun-Times exclusive.

Obama is not accused of any wrongdoing.

However, there still is that stench of corruption.

Rezko is one of Obama’s earliest political patrons. Long known as a prolific fund-raiser, the Syrian-born businessman helped raise money for Obama’s political campaigns beginning in 1995, when Obama was running for the Illinois Senate.

In 13 years in politics, Obama has gotten at least $168,000 in campaign donations from Rezko, his family and business associates. The Sun-Times reported that figure last June. Obama’s “best estimate” seven months earlier had been that Rezko had raised no more than $60,000 for him.

When Obama ran for the U.S. Senate, Rezko held a June 27, 2003, cocktail party in Rezko’s Wilmette mansion, picking up the tab for the lavish event. Obama’s campaign staff has said it has no records to show who attended that party, or how much it cost.

Obama’s relationship with Rezko dates to 1990, when Obama, then a Harvard law student, interviewed for a job with Rezko’s development company, Rezmar Corp. Obama turned down the job, instead going to work for a small Chicago law firm — Davis Miner Barnhill. That firm did work on more than a dozen low-income housing projects Rezmar rehabbed with government funds.

Eleven Rezmar buildings were in the state Senate district Obama represented between 1996 and 2004. Many of the buildings ended up in foreclosure, with tenants living in squalid conditions, the Sun-Times reported last year. In one instance, Rezko’s company left tenants without heat for five weeks. Obama said he was unaware of problems with the buildings and minimized the legal work he’d done.

Obama’s relationship with Rezko grew closer in June 2005, when Obama and Rezko’s wife bought adjoining real estate parcels from a doctor in the South Side Kenwood neighborhood. Obama paid $1.65 million for the doctor’s mansion, while Rezko’s wife paid $625,000 for the vacant lot next door. Obama’s purchase price was $300,000 below the asking price; Rezko’s wife paid full price.

Six months later, Obama paid Rita Rezko $104,500 for one-sixth of the vacant lot, which he bought to expand his yard. In November 2006, he expressed regret about the transaction.

“It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else,” Obama said, “to believe that he had done me a favor.”

I don't know.

Obama claims to be the candidate of change.

But this Rezko stuff doesn't make him seem like he's the one to usher in a new brand of politics.

Obama on Meet the Press

Tim Russert grilled Barack Obama on this morning's Meet the Press.

Russert kept asking Obama tough questions. He kept referring to articles critical of the candidate and throwing Obama's own words at him. Russert put Obama in a bad light.

I was reminded of Hillary Clinton's October 30 debate response, "You know, Tim, this is where everyone plays gotcha."

When Obama tried to dance around the issues and when he was inconsistent, Russert followed up in an attempt to get straight answers.

For instance, regarding Obama's claim that he has ALWAYS opposed the war in Iraq, Russert tossed up a series of quotes from Obama that didn't exactly express strong opposition to the war. The quotes revealed some flip flopping.

Obama said that one of the quotes came while John Kerry and John Edwards were running for office, although he didn't mention them by name. He said he couldn't voice his true opinion because he wasn't going to undercut the positions of the Democrat party's candidates.

That sounded pretty lame. Apparently, Obama is willing to compromise his principles, putting party before principles.

Russert even had the audacity to bring up Tony Rezko.

How mean!

I'm sure that Obama's camp thinks that Russert's questions were "an abdication of journalistic responsibility."

No doubt, Obama supporters believe that Russert "should be shot."

Obama won't be able to blame Russert's behavior as an outgrowth of "the all-boys club of presidential politics," because he's a boy, too.

I suppose Obama's campaign could complain that Russert was tough on Obama because he's black.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Obama's Ethics Reform Plan

Barack Obama's ethics reform plan is kind of like Bill Clinton being the keynote speaker at a seminar about remaining faithful to your spouse.

MANCHESTER, N.H -- Democrat Barack Obama on Friday vowed to institute ethics reforms if elected president, including tough restrictions on lobbying by former political appointees.

The first-term Illinois senator, who has backed legislation to reduce the influence of big money and special interest in lawmaking, offered several proposals. Most notable would be prohibiting political appointees in his administration from lobbying the executive branch for the remainder of his time in office.

Those who join an Obama administration would not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to their former employers for two years.

"When I am president, I will make it absolutely clear that working in an Obama administration is not about serving your former employer, your future employer or your bank account — it's about serving your country, and that's what comes first," he said in a speech at New Hampshire Community Technical College in Manchester, N.H.

..."In our democracy, the price of access and influence should be nothing more than your voice and your vote," he said.

Perhaps Obama thinks no one in New Hampshire is familiar with Tony Rezko.

You know Tony Rezko, right?

November 5, 2006

BY DAVE MCKINNEY AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters Contributing: Mark Brown

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama expressed regret late Friday for his 2005 land purchase from now-indicted political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko in a deal that enlarged the senator's yard.

"I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it," Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times in an exclusive and revealing question-and-answer exchange about the transaction.

In June 2005, Obama and Rezko purchased adjoining parcels in Kenwood. The state's junior senator paid $1.65 million for a Georgian revival mansion, while Rezko paid $625,000 for the adjacent, undeveloped lot. Both closed on their properties on the same day.

Last January, aiming to increase the size of his sideyard, Obama paid Rezko $104,500 for a strip of his land.

The transaction occurred at a time when it was widely known Tony Rezko was under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and as other Illinois politicians befriended by Rezko distanced themselves from him.

In the Sun-Times interview, Obama acknowledged approaching Rezko about the two properties being up for sale and that Rezko developed an immediate interest. Obama did not explain why he reached out to Rezko given the developer's growing problems.

Last month, Rezko was indicted for his role in an alleged pay-to-play scheme designed to fatten Gov. Blagojevich's political fund. Rezko also was accused of bilking a creditor.

"With respect to the purchase of my home, I am confident that everything was handled ethically and above board. But I regret that while I tried to pay close attention to the specific requirements of ethical conduct, I misgauged the appearance presented by my purchase of the additional land from Mr. Rezko," Obama said.

How clean is Obama?

Queen lib Maureen Dowd wonders about his judgment.

In a catty column taunting Michelle Obama, Dowd brings up Obama and his sleazy dealings with Rezko.

Michelle conveys the appealing idea that she will tell her husband when he’s puffed up or out of line. She aims high — she ordered her husband to stop puffing on cigarettes as he started campaigning. But then, why didn’t she see the red flags on the Rezko deal?

In order to get a bigger yard for their new house on Chicago’s South Side in 2005, the Obamas got into what the senator now confesses was a “boneheaded” real estate arrangement with a sleazy political dealmaker named Tony Rezko, who has been indicted on influence-peddling charges.

On Monday, The Chicago Sun-Times reported more shady Rezko news: “Obama, who has worked as a lawyer and a legislator to improve living conditions for the poor, took campaign donations from Rezko even as Rezko’s low-income housing empire was collapsing, leaving many African-American families in buildings riddled with problems,” from a lack of heat to no lack of drug dealers and squatters.

Mr. Obama riposted that “it wasn’t brought to my attention.” But isn’t that where a dazzling, tough, smart and connected wife could help a guy out?

Obama and ethics --- I think he has a lot to learn.

Maybe we still have a lot to learn about Obama and his ethics.
_____________________

An aside: The name Tony Rezko comes up in connection with Wisconsin's ethical, pure, untouchable Gov. Jim Doyle.

Dowd Taunts Michelle Obama

Maureen Dowd is like the junior high school girl with a crush on a boy who doesn't know she's alive.

Dowd desperately wants Barack Obama's attention. She desperately wants something.

How to get it?

Attack his wife.

In her column today, "She’s Not Buttering Him Up," Dowd expresses her discomfort with Michelle and Barack Obama's shtick on the campaign trail.

She writes:

Usually, I love the dynamics of a cheeky woman puncturing the ego of a cocky guy.

I liked it in ’40s movies, and I liked it with Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel, and Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis in “Moonlighting.”

So why don’t I like it with Michelle and Barack?

Tell us more, Maureen!

What are your insights on why you don't care???

I wince a bit when Michelle Obama chides her husband as a mere mortal — a comic routine that rests on the presumption that we see him as a god.

The tweaking takes place at fundraisers, where Michelle wants to lift the veil on their home life a bit and give the folks their money’s worth.

At the big Hollywood fund-raiser for Senator Obama in February, Michelle came on strong.

“I am always a little amazed at the response that people get when they hear from Barack,” she told the crowd at the Beverly Hilton, as her husband stood by looking like a puppy being scolded, reported Hud Morgan of Men’s Vogue. “A great man, a wonderful man. But still a man. ...

“I have some difficulty reconciling the two images I have of Barack Obama. There’s Barack Obama the phenomenon. He’s an amazing orator, Harvard Law Review, or whatever it was, law professor, best-selling author, Grammy winner. Pretty amazing, right?

“And then there’s the Barack Obama that lives with me in my house, and that guy’s a little less impressive. For some reason this guy still can’t manage to put the butter up when he makes toast, secure the bread so that it doesn’t get stale, and his 5-year-old is still better at making the bed than he is.”

She said that the TV version of Barack Obama sounded really interesting and that she’d like to meet him sometime.

Dowd goes on to cite a litany of other instances of Michelle Obama tweaking her husband -- the god-like, messiah candidate.

What's weird about the column is that Dowd never gets around to really explaining why she's uncomfortable with Michelle Obama's comments.

Dowd does bash her for failing to rein in Obama's dealings with the sleazy Tony Rezko.

...Michelle conveys the appealing idea that she will tell her husband when he’s puffed up or out of line. She aims high — she ordered her husband to stop puffing on cigarettes as he started campaigning. But then, why didn’t she see the red flags on the Rezko deal?

In order to get a bigger yard for their new house on Chicago’s South Side in 2005, the Obamas got into what the senator now confesses was a “boneheaded” real estate arrangement with a sleazy political dealmaker named Tony Rezko, who has been indicted on influence-peddling charges.

On Monday, The Chicago Sun-Times reported more shady Rezko news: “Obama, who has worked as a lawyer and a legislator to improve living conditions for the poor, took campaign donations from Rezko even as Rezko’s low-income housing empire was collapsing, leaving many African-American families in buildings riddled with problems,” from a lack of heat to no lack of drug dealers and squatters.

Mr. Obama riposted that “it wasn’t brought to my attention.” But isn’t that where a dazzling, tough, smart and connected wife could help a guy out?

So what is the point of Dowd's rambling column?

Is it to expose wife Michelle as slimy?

Is it to draw attention to candidate Barack's dirty side?

Like so many of her columns, this one is a weird, personal, PSYCHOanalytic piece with just a bit of news tossed in to lend it an air of credibilty and purpose beyond her own navel-gazing.

Since Dowd can't seem to understand why she doesn't like Michelle Obama's comments about the "real" Barack, I'll offer some amateur analysis of my own.

Dowd doesn't like the fact that Michelle Obama has a successful career, and a husband and children.

Michelle Obama has it all and Dowd can't stand it.

Yes, that works.

Jim Doyle and "Individual B"

"Have the checks arrived from Individuals L, M, N, O, and P?"


The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been running a series profiling the Wisconsin gubernatorial candidates.

In "Doyle Profile, Part 4," Greg J. Borowski writes:

[Doyle]can play hardball.

And he can take a punch.

Most of them have centered on his ethics, raising questions about how he raised his massive war chest, about a state procurement official found guilty of steering a travel contract to Doyle campaign contributors.

For friends, the charges and allegations do not ring true.

Alan Zussman remembers when Doyle was part of a group that played basketball in the noon hour at "the shell," a cavernous gym on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

At one point, Zussman - a UW athletic department official - arranged for them to play at the Fieldhouse. Zussman said Doyle, just elected attorney general, wouldn't play until he ran it past the state Ethics Board.

"No one ever questioned his integrity," he said. "Never."

If that's true, then Doyle has had a personality transplant since becoming governor, or he's a Jekyll and Hyde-type.

One has to be completely uninformed in order to be free of legitimate doubts about Doyle's character.

Spivak and Bice have just added to the steaming pile of doubts that already exist regarding this supposed man of impeccable integrity.

U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, of Valerie Plame fame or infamy, introduces us to "Individual B." (Ooooh. Very mysterious.)

Fitzgerald indicted Antoin Rezko, a Dem fund-raiser for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Individual B is Christopher Kelly. Spivak and Bice identify him as "Blagojevich's top money man."

S & B ask, "And what's Kelly's connection to the Wisconsin governor?"

Enquiring minds want to know.

S & B write:

Kelly gave the maximum $10,000 donation to Doyle's campaign on June 24. Kelly was, according to news accounts, under investigation when he made the donation and remains under the federal microscope today.

Betcha Doyle isn't quite as grateful for that money today as he was when he received it from Kelly, a central figure in what Fitzgerald dubbed "a pay to play scheme on steroids."

With the election just weeks away, Anson Kaye, Doyle's hired mouthpiece, tried to brush off questions about the donation and the governor's relation with Kelly, a rich roofer and political insider from the Chicago suburbs, by tossing out a several campaign clichés.

No surprise there.

"This is exactly the kind of false connection that the Republicans are going to try to draw in the waning days of the campaign," Kaye said Thursday. He added that Doyle, a former prosecutor, has no intention of returning the 10 grand to Individual B.

As for the governor's relation with Kelly, Kaye implied that there was none, though he did not say it point-blank. He declined to say whether he even bothered to ask Doyle this key question, instead replying repeatedly, "They may have been in the same room together."

That's not Doyle's only tie to the players in the growing Illinois scandal, which is big even by flatlanders' corruption standards.

S & B then delineate more of Doyle's questionable Illinois connections.

Read the complete article here.

Individual B flies in the face of one of Doyle's campaign promises when he ran for governor in 2002. He promised to restore Wisconsin's reputation for clean government.

Before his inauguration in 2003, Doyle said:

"If Wisconsin used to stand for anything, it was open, clean, responsible government, with clear public accountability. As governor, I will make it a top priority to return our great state to its proud, progressive tradition of open and responsible government.

"To restore people's faith and trust in government, we need to open up the legislative and budget process, set high standards for our elected officials, work together with legislators from both parties, and hold elected officials accountable for their actions."

So where do Individual B and Patrick Fitzgerald fit into that picture of clean government?

They don't, not at all.

When you go to vote on November 7, keep Individual B in mind.

Do you want an open, responsible, clean government?

Vote for Mark Green.