Barack Obama was interviewed then on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," and my senator was asked if he had a "soft spot" for disgraced political insider Tony Rezko.
From Sweet's blog:
Obama: "Well, you know, I think that, you know, we had bought a house for the first time and, you know, we were trying to figure out how to set the whole thing up and, you know, this is somebody that I had known for some time. It was an aboveboard legal transaction. I paid more than the price of the property that I purchased and so the assumption was that this was all aboveboard."
Well said, except that this was not the first time Obama went through the process of buying a residence. Obama and his wife bought a condominium in Hyde Park before purchasing their mansion in Kenwood. Perhaps Obama was making a distinction between buying a condo and a stand-alone home. But Obama was not the first-time residential purchaser he portrayed in the interview.
Later on the show, Sweet mentions Obama's so-called high-and-mightiness about lobbyists, as the junior senator from Illinois said, "I'm very proud of my ethics record. I mean, I was famous in Springfield for not letting lobbyists even buy me lunch."
Of course while a state senator, Obama performed legal work for Rezko, who among other things is a former slumlord.
More from Sweet:
However, Obama had a healthy appetite for money from lobbyists and political action committees while a state senator. Just looking at one of his state senate campaign cycles, in 2001-2002, Obama's state war chest accepted donations from, among other sources, the Manufacturers PAC; the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association; the Illinois Education Association; the Illinois Hospital Association, and the Credit Union PAC. A good place to check out Obama's campaign contribution record as a state senator is www.ilcampaign.org.
Obama also used lobbyists and PACs to help him raise money for his U.S. Senate run and his Hopefund. Obama experienced a conversion once he decided to run for the White House, changing his policy and declining to take money from currently registered federal lobbyists and PACs. He does take contributions from lobbyists with state clients and from individuals with government affairs jobs.
Here are some other notable names and organizations that I found on the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform site. John Rogers, who I discuss in my previous entry, but here is the relevant link. Rogers' Ariel Capital Management was an Obama donor as well. Mr. Rogers (Sorry, at times I feel that I have to prove I'm not a "bot") is married to Desiree Rogers, current CEO of Peoples Gas and Energy, and the host of last night's Obama fundraiser at the Rogers' Gold Coast home. She was the chief markeing officer for Peoples Gas when its PAC donated money to the Obama campaign.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois, the Professional Insurance Agents
The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform notes that the man former presidential candidate Joseph Biden called "clean" didn't sign the Code of Fair Campaign Practices. However, neither did a majority of candidats in the nation's most politically-corrupt state (We're number one!) didn't sign it either.
On the expenditure end, the Obama campaign donated $3,000 to the campaign fund of likely-to-be-indicted Governor Rod Blagojevich.
No Quarter has a lot more.
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