Just like Blago: Ex-Congressman Kennedy says there's quid pro quo for White House access

The Obama campaign is selling access to the White House, the New York Times says this morning. Yes, the New York Times:

More broadly, the review showed that those who donated the most to Mr. Obama and the Democratic Party since he started running for president were far more likely to visit the White House than others. Among donors who gave $30,000 or less, about 20 percent visited the White House, according to a New York Times analysis that matched names in the visitor logs with donor records. But among those who donated $100,000 or more, the figure rises to about 75 percent. Approximately two-thirds of the president's top fund-raisers in the 2008 campaign visited the White House at least once, some of them numerous times.

And now a surprising revelation from an unexpected source. Again from the Times:

But Patrick J. Kennedy, the former representative from Rhode Island, who donated $35,800 to an Obama re-election fund last fall while seeking administration support for a nonprofit venture, said contributions were simply a part of "how this business works."

"If you want to call it 'quid pro quo,' fine," he said."

Three days after Rod Blagojevich's arrest, his Republican opponent in the 2006 gubernatorial race, current comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, told WLS-AM that Blago wouldn't see anyone who hadn't contributed at least $10,000 to his campaign fund.

Related post:

Blago's 2006 GOP opponent appears on WLS-AM

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