Chicago Tribune's Obama endorsement: It's about keeping subscribers

If they haven't done it already, the Barack Obama campaign will make a big deal about the Chicago Tribune endorsement of the Democratic senator from Illinois for president--the first time the Trib has endorsed a Democrat--unless you count independent Horace Greeley, whom the Democrats endorsed after the Tribune made its choice.

Like most big-city papers, the Tribune is hemorrhaging subscribers, laying off staff, and cutting the size of the paper. Oh, it ended publication of its Midwest edition.

It's my belief that the Tribune editorial board endorsed Obama today to prevent an acceleration of the subscriber exodus.

About that editorial. Oh, I could "fisk" it, but I'm going to keep it simple. Forget Bill Ayers (whose father served on the Tribune Company board of directors a couple of decades ago), where, oh where in that endorsement is a mention of convicted felon, Antoin "Tony Rezko? Obama accepted campaign cash, performed legal work, and went into a bizarre property deal so he could afford that lovely house pictured on the top of this post.

The Tribune has been harsh, just as all of the other newspapers in Illinois, on Rezko. But now that the grifter is singing to the feds, who is Obama going to pull down with him? Governor Rod Blagojevich? Probably. State Treasurer Alex Giannoulias? Obama endorsed the then-29 year-old year old in the 2006 Democratic primary--even though the party refused to back him after winning that race.

But there is speculation in Illinois that Broadway Bank, which is owned by the Giannoulias family and has made loans to reputed mobsters, might get caught up in what will end up being called "the Rezko scandals." Rezko banked at Broadway, so did Barack Obama.

But none of this was worth mentioning within the twenty-nine paragraphs of the Tribune endorsement. But it will make readers feel better, some of them at least.

Remember: Barack Obama's first political sponsor was Tony Rezko. The ramifications of Obama's damage to Illinois are will be felt well within what could be Obama's first term in in the White House.

No mention of Rezko in your endorsement? Shame on you, Chicago Tribune.

UPDATE 10:00pm CDT: The Chicago Sun-Times also endorsed the guy from Chicago's South Side, but it had the audacity to mention Rezko.

Related post:

Obama's "sweetheart" mortgage: Was the competing lender Broadway Bank?

Technorati tags: politics Illinois Election Democrats Chicago Obama Barack Obama Rezko Alexi Giannoulias organized crime crime Blagojevich Chicago Tribune