Ill. Senator Barack Obama may not have much of a Senate voting record, but he has one--and Morris thinks a recent vote of his may come back to haunt him.
Says Morris...
Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL, made his first misstep a few days ago when he joined only a handful of Democrats in opposing a Senate reform banning the increasingly widespread practice of legislators hiring their family members on their campaign or PAC payrolls. Obama has not heard the last of this vote. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, who opposes wives cashing in on their husbands' positions, voted righteously in favor of the reform and will probably use the Illinois senator's vote against him in the presidential primaries.
When a legislator hires his or her spouse on the campaign or PAC payroll, he is effectively converting contributions to his campaign committee into personal income that flows into the family’s checking account, blurring the line between contribution and bribe.
More...
Obama’s inexplicable pro-nepotism vote may have been cast in sympathy with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-IL, whose hiring of his wife, Sandi, to work on his campaign prompted an FEC ruling allowing the practice. Jackson might be afraid that the Senate action will catalyze a similar reform in the House, which could cut way back on his disposable family income.
But whatever the reason for his vote, Obama has screwed up. The public will not take kindly to a senator who pledged to clean up the political process voting to allow wives to be hired with special-interest campaign funds.
Of course the large family of the Reverend Jesse Jackson is no stranger to the practices of nepotism.
UPDATE Jan. 18: Dick Morris has retracted the story on Obama's nepotism vote, so I have no choice but to do the same. However, I'm sticking with what I wrote in the above paragraph about the family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
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