Political Punch

Andi posted: "The latest reports on the Rezko trial again state that there was no wrongdoing found by Senator Obama. No wrongdoing - that's what matters."

Andi, if a person has a lot of friends are criminals, but he is clean, do you still want to make a friend with him? That's what matter - Obama comes from a corrupted Illinois political network where 4 of last 7 governors were convicted.

I watch Obama's rallies as jokes whenever he said he will change Washington and honesty is a powerful tool. I laughed out loud. :D

Another story that's just beginning for Obama...Does anyone care that Obama lied about going to the Iraqi fixers party? Or do you really believe he can't remember 2004?

Poor Obama! He made 4.2 million in 2007 and still does not see that he is an "elitist"..Poor Obama..ABC did not give him a pass tonight...he was on the defensive all night and had to comment after Hillary on most everything she said. I bet Chris Matthews was really feeling his pain..right up the leg. He always has to have the last word. Poor Obama..not reponsible for his associations with Rev Wright, Bill Ayers, Rezko, etc. He still has NEVER answered why he stayed in that church for 20 years..even after Rev Wright and Farrakhan went to meet with Qaddafi. And remember when he said he only did 5 hours of work for Rezko? He actually has had a 17 year association with Rezko. The part he tells may be true enough he just doesn't tell the whole truth. Auchi? Can't remember. I bet he is working overtime to explain that away. He uses "speech" to skirt the truth for his own advantage.

Auchi..This is one more thing waiting to fly out of the Obama closet. Auchi...google him..direct ties to Saddam Hussein.

Come November we will have no choice..

Hoosier Sue,

Now Obama throws Pres Carter under the bus for doing exactly what he said he would do in the debates talk to leaders we normally ignore.

His excuse for critizing Carter is that Hamas is not a state, but a terrorist group. Nevermind the fact they were elected into power, or the fact that he was in front of a Jewish group so he lost his stones.

He doesn't really stand for anything, and he is always evading responsibility.

More hypocrisy from Obama, so when he does it, no probelm. Pres Carter who wrote a book standing firm in his opinion of promoting peace in the Middle East, is doing what he has done for years. But now there is a probelm, when Carter continues to walk the walk.

One set of rules for Obama another set for everyone else.

Kevin,

Like others have said more eloquently Obama often denies something before he admits the truth. How many times did he have to give more money to charity that had ties to Rezko?

He revises his truth as much as needed, and since the press isn't pressing him on anything, why would he?

If you guys think that the Republican machine is going to be quiet during the general election, then I have some nice investments for you to buy. They are being quiet now, but it will gear up and they'll be picking through skeletons. With an electorate that is largely ignorant of such scandals, and McCain's scandals decades ago, combined with his Maverick persona. Obama is going to look like the emperor with no clothes, and McCain is going to look like a Senator who was trying to solve such probelms long ago and reaching across the aisle to get it done.

Pavlov's politician exploiting 45 years of tv clips expecting people to drool support isn't impressive either.

I expect more in my President AND Harvard grads than being lazy intellectually by stealing MLKs tone....JFKs words....and Ceasar Chavez' battle cry.

rs 12:33:03pm. Unfortunately when you connect the dots is gets closer to the REAL reason Obama said he was against the war. Auchi was reported in the Chicago Sun Times as being a moneyman for Saddam Hussein. I think Hillary Clinton knew about this. I think this and the Wright/Farrakan is what she meant when she told Richardson Obama is unelectible. Rev. Wright trashed her months before it came out. Because of the media bias and the Dem. Party she was in no position to say anything because it would have been turned around on her. The Rezko thing would take care of itself. Scandals?- there's more to come. So, for all the Hillary haters, Barack Obama is not above it all and paybacks are a b##ch.

a spokesman for Obama said that he had "no recollection" of the April 2004 event at Rezko's Wilmette home. Obama recently acknowledged stopping by the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago on another occasion when Rezko was hosting a small private dinner for two Qatar bankers in February 2004. At the time, Obama was in the middle of his U.S. Senate race …………..Obama also can't remember ever hearing Pastor Wright saying hateful/racist things in the 20 years he knew him. So what else is new?

The latest reports on the Rezko trial again state that there was no wrongdoing found by Senator Obama. And you can be sure that a lot of people were fishing for it.

No wrongdoing - that's what matters.

The rest is same old Obama bashing by racists and right wingers who dress up as Hillary supporters in the blogs all over the Internet.

Is is not amazing that Senator Obama can not remember meeting VIP's on special occasions when his best friend and fundraiser Rezko was trying to con more money from them. Investigative reporters have said that Obama always rushed to Rezko's side when he was trying to impress PEOPLE WITH MONEY AND POWER. That was called pay-back time. I call it corruption when the money transaction is illegal. Case in point: Shaking hands and dining with Auchi and others. Did you know that Rezko made 20 trips overseas in two years making big money business deals and I bet Obama was informed of everything that when on even if he says he can not remember any of it
Anyone who believes the wonderful Senator Obama is absolutely honest has been drinking too much tainted Koolaid or just wants some sort of pay-back.

A voice of reason: The only way the democrats will capture the white house is together. I will not vote for Barack because of his thin resume, but if he added eight years as vice president, no one could claim that he was inexperienced and I think this would all but assure the democrats of 16 years in the white house. This is sound reasoning and Barack could end this all now and fill in the gaps and probably make a wonderful president. If democrats came together and made this the sound that both candidates could hear, maybe we could get this done.

The witness testified under oath, I presume. Whereas, Mr. Obama's spokesperson did not have to.
Mr.Obama has banked on charming people with empty rhetorics and pleasant, albeit insincere, posturing. As a defensive mechanism, long before the Bosnia incident he has been calling Mrs. Clinton deceptive and misleading. One wonders why? He is also the same. Mrs. Clinton has her husband, but Mr. Obama has lot of reporters, journalists, liberal "out-of-touch" professors, and on his side. They will all defend him even if committed an egregious act. So anything negative that you bring up about him will fade and the blame will be put on Clintons. But only till August!
His nomination will make moderate (shall I say, the happy non-elite) democrats to move toward republican side. Perhaps, this will be further aided by hard-core conservatives deserting the republican side.

Preposterous, this is the typical example of "elitism".  Obama goes to a dinner to honor and IRAQI BILLIONAIRE but he is to elite to even acknowledge the person that the dinner is in honor of.  In essence it Obama in the room, forget about the honored guest.  It's either that scenario or anyone expected to believe that BS is just a plain idiot and incapable of adding 2+2.  Well I know the answer is (4).  The writing is on the wall.  Precisely whyK. Rove picked this candidate to dupe the Democrats. Wake up before we end up in a Republican depression. Because if McCain wins that's where we are headed.

Alsamarrae has been convicted in Iraq for stealing millions of dollars for the government and defrauding them with the bogus contract scam. But he is in Chicago, living fat. Nuri al-Maliki tried to get him extradited, but the US government won't send him to Iraq--perhaps because he is going to be a witness in the Rezko trial. Fitzpatrick, the attorney general prosecuting the case, has already taken a deposition from Alsamarrae. I don't know whether he will take the stand or not.
At least Hillary Clinton's friends aren't manipulating the chaos and war in Iraq to defraud the American people and the Iraqi people.

It's not just that Obama and his wife were there...they both lied and said they werent...Kind of like the Rezco deal...Why would Rezco do $300,000 favors for Obama if he had not been getting something or expecting something in return?

Whitewater was a failed real estate development that some friends sold to the Clinton's...They did nothing illegal ..and after millions of dollars and years of Republican investigation they still did nothing wrong...

Obama was in a real estate deal which was the only way he could buy his house...Rezco did it in his wife's name with borrowed money because he was under very public investigation. During that time period Rezco owned 11 slums in Obama's state Senate district (Obama had written him letters of recommendation). In those slums people went without heat in the Winter while Rezco raised and bundled money for Obama's US Senate campaign. Obama is on record with at least 6 lies...He apparently cannot remember events in 2004 or 2005.

If Obama gets the nomination all the garbage comes spilling out.

SOME PEOPLE DO NOT BELIEVE THIS BECAUSE THE MSM REFUSES TO COVER THE STORY!

Mark my words: Auchi indirectly paid for Obama's mansion and the lot next door. Auchi gave money to Rezko, who then passed it on to Obama. And Auchi got a lot of his wealth by stealing from the U.N. Oil for Food Program that was meant to feed the people of Iraq and send basic medical supplies for little children during the sanctions regime, during which millions of children died unnecessarily.
Auchi is not the only Iraqi crook with whom Obama and Rezko did business. There is Aiham Alsamarrae who was appointed minister of electricity. He is also a US citizen. He and Rezko orchestrated a scam: they set up some corporate entities, awarded Iraqi contracts to build power plants to themselves and one Chicago ex-cop, pocketed the money and nothing ever got built in Iraq. Obama had meetings and dinner with Alsamarrae to help schmooze the right people and get the deal passed through.

re Mrs. Obama on Colbert Report: Clinton is scheduled for Thursday, but candidate Obama, no Annie Oakley when it comes to unscripted appearances, is sending in the spousal surrogate for the "Colbert bump"-by-proxy. (Whatta chicken.)

"Does nobody see who is pulling Obama's strings? Notice how quiet she has been for some time now? Very suspicious indeed."

LOL! Maybe you should check the Obama site more often. Let me see... 5 events in PA scheduled for MO on April 15 and 16. And I guarantee you, this woman ain't gonna be quiet during these events, she's a helluva speaker.

Plus, today:

"Michelle Obama will make her first late-night television appearance this Tuesday. Mrs. Obama, "direct and plain-spoken, with an edgy sense of humor uncommon in a political spouse," according to a recent Newsweek profile, will go head to head with another direct-talker, Stephen Colbert."

A suspicious quietness, did you say?

cindyct... kevin...
.""GET BACK TO THE ISSUES AND CUT THE CRAP.""

These ARE the issues you morons!!! Stop being SO NAIVE!!!

Adlai Stevenson

Not to worry -- it was simply a bone-headed mistake. (Something that any innocent person could do)

"Rezko's wife paid full price for the vacant lot which the Rezko's never used. Rezko's wife later sold part of the lot to the Obama's for $104,000.00. Most people would call that Rezko deal a kickback to Obama."

The Obamas "bought" part of the lot, but had the use of ALL of it, as well as the only entrance INTO it, until news of the arrangement became public.

MAYBE Obama's really everybody's socialist brother, but his lifestyle and associates, for years and years, don't seem particularly to support this interpretation.

kravitz

How about his actions, shady associates and complete lack of solutions to any issue?

Hillary Clinton makes a mistake about something that happened years ago and it was on the front page, and yet this is buried in the blogs. People, wake UP! The red flags on this guy are all over the place.... take off your blinders.

Tired of his words. Don't matter to me anymore. I am burned out hearing his sermon like words on TV.

They are hate phrases, political attacks, lies, and elitisms. This guy will say ANYTHING at ALL COST to win. Point me to me Oabama's good actions reverend Wright, Oparah, Rezko, Farakahn!

It all starts to come together as the Rezko trial progresses..We are still waiting for Obama to produce his 8 years of Senate calendars, voting records and other documents. Is it possible Obama is not making them available because they document his frequent meetings with Rezko and other implicated politicians in the kickback trial now going on? Obama seems to really enjoy hobnobbing with Arabs at parties...the Republicans are going to have faaabulous time publishing the various pictures of Obama with various suspected and known, well, you know....Obama won't recall meeting any of them!!! It will be interesting to find out if Obama's voice is on any of the tape recordings that the prosecutors have...maybe that's why Obama is looking so sickly lately,

Whose supporter spent millions of dollars funding a school in Africa when children in her hometown live in squalor and poverty. We know where Mr. O & Ms. O's priorities lie.

Does nobody see who is pulling Obama's strings? Notice how quiet she has been for some time now? Very suspicious indeed.

People have lost interest in OBama. Only losers will support him, he is no general election candidate material.

Get down OBAMA

kravitz,

I have problems with much about Obama, outside his "words."

Also, I was not speaking of words having two different meanings. Rest assured that any statements on Rezko by Obama or Auchi have been flown by an attorney. The fact that both say "I do not recall" is significant, legally.

I don't mean to sound so caustic to you, personally. It is not personal at all. Sometimes I reread my posts and am surprised. I think it is easy to forget that there are real people behind the posts who strongly believe in their candiates.

With "I don't recall," I stand my ground. This was purposeful. There is enough verification that both men met and Obama attended. It was a dinner to honor Auchi. It was not happenstance that Obama attended.

Timesonline Headline, Feb., 1, 2008:

"Obama bagman is sent to jail over $3.5m payment by British tycoon"

Pretty strong headline from the Times.

Have I just "misread" something in this article? Has someone here compared obama to the pope visiting here? Is the pope coming to visit with his holiness obama? Is this trip to the USA to meet with the second coming? Is the pope here to bless the Golden Boy? Oh I get it - the pope has arrived to bless the Reverend Wright, Louis Farrakhan and to give his support to the Golden Boy and perhaps arrange for a set of angel wings. Obama followers must be getting dizzy from hearing all this - more kool aid please.

countallthevotes, it's true words often have two meanings. it's also true that lawyers don't use the same lingo as bartenders. unless they're ordering booze. I find Obama's critics usually have issues with his word choices, and rarely his intent or ideas.

"The response, "I don't recall" is often used to evade perjury charges."

True. It has been counted that Hillary has answered "I don't recall" to judges about a 250 times in her life. IN COURT. Yes, she was the first First Lady to be indicted, as WE recall well.

In short, so far it's 250 for Hillary to Obama's ZERO statements of that kind in court. She's finally leading!

But let's shift to the relevant stuff.

Hillary Clinton said she opposed the Dubai Ports deal... -- Her husband was getting paid tens of thousands of dollars to support it.

Hillary Clinton said she opposed Colombian free trade agreement. -- Her husband was getting paid tens of thousands of dollars to support it.

But, the latest Clinton controversy is the most outrageous:

Hillary Clinton said she opposed the slaughter of Tibetan protesters. --Her husband received hundreds of thousands by the company that posted the photos of the Most Wanted Tibetan activists on their internet page.

Timesonline Headline, Feb., 1, 2008:

"Obama bagman is sent to jail over $3.5m payment by British tycoon"

Pretty strong headline from the Times.

A major speech is on its way. Oprah will purchase obama time on all, repeat all the TV media available worldwide and obama will begin a new, enlightening, dazzling speech, telling everyone what they should be thinking, not what they actually heard. And he will be praised, and all will shout hallelujah, and the world will stop turning, and we will all kneel and prone ourselves to this all powerful and divine messiah that Teddy Kennedy, John Kerry, Joe Biden and MSNBC and Keith O and Chris M have created. Please throw rose petals as this magic one speaks. Please record this magnificent speech of words that have taken on new meanings that the Golden Boy has told us to hear. Listen only to the Boy make his words magic. This will again be hailed as the speech of the century and if you don't believe every word he tells you to believe, then you are a bigot and a racist and you will go to hell for your sins. You sinners.

Obama regarding:
Rev.Wright --- uh uh I don't think he said anything controversial...uh uh ...no no I have not heard these remarks..... uh uh I might have heard these remarks....
Rezko ---- uh uh... I did 5 hours of work for him.... uh uh I sorta know him.... uh uh he might have helped fund my campaigns...uh uh... ok I might have known him for 17 years.... uh uh my house?... uh uh boneheaded..... uh uh yeah he might have toured the house with me before I bought it uh uh....
Auchi --- uh uh .... haven't met him.... uh uh at a party?.... he was there?.... uh uh what party?... uh uh I was there?.... uh uh Iraqi Billionair?....uh uh....CAN WE GO BACK TO THE BITTER THING?.... UH UH

I would like to withdraw my vote for Obama..

kravitz,

The response, "I don't recall" is often used to evade perjury charges. You cannot say someone lied if that person says he/she does not recall. In fact, it is incredibly difficult to disprove.

Also, while I am not suggesting a direct quid pro quo between Auchi, Rezko and Obama, because the evidence is just not there thus far. HOWEVER, just the shear appearance of a US Senator at a dinner to honor Auchi wreaks. Whether or not Obama ever intended to repay a "favor," it gave the appearance that Rezko could help Auchi by the coterie of friends Rezko had assembled. That was the favor Obama did for Rezko.

Jake,

Would you please look into the story about the Obama campaign talking with Hamas? If true, I think America needs to know about this ASAP!

http://rezkowatch.blogspot.com/2008/04/one-degree-of-separation-klein.html

"Following their conversation with Dr. Yousuf, at approximately the 8 minutes, 15 seconds mark, Batchelor and Klein discuss the possibility that someone speaking on behalf of the Obama campaign has already been in contact with a representative for Hamas. However, to date, that person has not been named."

Link to audio of interview (8-9 minutes):

http://dmm.broadchoice.com/__2f28/on_demand/jerusalem_archives/

THANKS!

Why does change and hope get a vote? Please answer, this is a serious question.

To Kravitz: Do you think you are "protesting too much"? Don't look behind that curtain, there's no corruption there, no connections to Auchi there, no connections to Khalidi and the PLO there, no connections to Said there, no connections to Hamas there, Obama must be paying those networks lots and lots of money for them to all look the other way....

hopesprings52: "First we heard Rezko was just an acquaintance."

Actually, it's even worse. First he said in a debate with Hillary that this guy was someone he did about five hours of legal work for as a young law clerk. Didn't even say his name, like he didn't know him.

This even as his true relationship with Rezko was widely reported by Chicago papers. He seems to think that no one outside of Chicago will find out about him and Rezko and Auchi.

And with CNN and MSNBC and other official Obama sponsors, we won't.

Thanks goodness for some good reporting from ABC and Fox.

Hillary '08

People have lost interest in OBama. Only losers will support him, he is no general election candidate material.

Get down OBAMA

Your claim 'seems to undermine' is unsupported. The testimony does not support the claim, because the complete testimony does not support your rephrasing.

We're so tired of rehashing vague innuendo from a desperate press in endless gotcha/gotta sell a paper or get eyeballs on a tv screen or I'm out of a job mode.

We're so done with stories that try so hard to lump a minor event in with so many major events. Help us understand why this matters at all, given the connections of the Clintons or McCains to several even more strange and mysterious folks in their past, including Giustra and Abramoff. Shady folks who want to hitch their wagon to a star, even if it's just to be in the same airspace? Help us understand how these connections distort the abilities of the Clintons, McCains and Obamas to do the people's business. Otherwise, the press is wasting our time.

It is so very common for these power seekers to seek out elected officials. And not every one of these transactions is much more than they attended the same function. A/K/A so what, he was or was not there. If I'm staying in a hotel with a visiting dictator, by the current standard I'm party to his crimes. Even worse if it's the same men's room.

However, I understand the idea is to take Obama down a few pegs, because there are many who don't understand how a guy like him can motivate and energize an election when they clearly cannot. Nor can they argue policy without notes or earpieces because they actually understand the policy or problems without notes or 42" prompters.

Obama was cleared by a republican department of justice investigation, and Auchi has acknowledged not meeting Obama. "On the 20th anniversary of his business in 1999, Mr Auchi received a greeting card signed by 130 politicians, including Tony Blair, William Hague and Charles Kennedy, who were then leaders of their respective parties. Defence lawyers said that Mr Auchi lent the $3.5 million for legal and family expenses. Most of the money had gone directly to law firms and there had been no attempt to flee. “While the Government attempts to besmirch Mr Auchi’s character,” they said, “he is one of Britain’s wealthiest men, has been a guest at the White House and met with two of the last three presidents, was Co-Chair of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, is President of the Anglo-Arab Organisation, and has received numerous awards and honorary positions from heads of state, including Queen Elizabeth II, Pope John Paul II, and King Abdullah II of Jordan.”" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3284825.ece

And what, you forgot Ben HackJob Stein at Politico? How? Anyway, let's go over this one again. I adore how you use the term 'not to mention' like it's a fashion statement about a hollywood starlet!

Auchi actually said he does not recall meeting Obama. The New York Times omitted that. Everyone else likes to use the terms like 'denied meeting' because they want it to be true. And if you don't recall meeting someone, isn't it usually because they didn't make an impression or the passage was uneventful. Because to look at it as a skeptic, there's no transaction between Obama and Auchi of interest either.

"Auchi couldn't be reached Monday. His lawyer, Alasdair Pepper, told the Sun-Times in February his client "has no recollection of meeting Senator Obama." At least the SunTimes included that. And "Obama is not accused of any wrongdoing." Just being on the same planet works for those hunting for juicy gossip. Last night, their post was headlined "Obama Bomb Drops." However, you could hear a pin drop.

In the Chicago Tribune piece, and culled together, Obama appears no more than a guest invited by Rezko, since it's Rezko's house. Where's the illicit deal making in making an appearance for what was only a social call. There is also no sense of whether the two men actually met, or how long each stayed, or whether paths crossed, or were even at the event in the same time frame.

The AP piece simply notes there are no accusations of wrongdoing. And "Auchi's attorney, Alasdair Pepper, has said his client doesn't remember meeting Obama."

Much ado about nothing. But a lot of energy and money spent on making all politicians look equally corrupt. Which serves what purpose, what master?

rs,

I would call it a kickback, especially considering that the subsequent sale of the strip of land (10ft) then put the development of the adjoining lot in jeopardy. There are very strict zoning laws in that locale so that the size of the lot was no longer enough for builing a home. So, in effect, the "sale" of the 10-ft strip of land, after the original sale of the two pieces of property, markedly decreased the market value of Mrs. Rezko's lot.

questionshere

What changes is he proposing. He talks about change and hope but I see zero evidence of anything specific.

All air.

Count All the Votes: the $3.5 million loan transferred from Auchi to Rezko via SYRIA in April 2007, was what landed Rezko in jail for bond violation. Rezko transferred some of that money to his wife, because creditors were looking for payment from Rezko and he could not hold any assets, and Rezko's wife proceeded to make the $650,000.00 purchase of the vacant lot next to the Obamamansion, closing the same day as the Obamas. The Obama's received a $300,000.00 discount off the asking price of the mansion, Rezko's wife paid full price for the vacant lot which the Rezko's never used. Rezko's wife later sold part of the lot to the Obama's for $104,000.00. Most people would call that Rezko deal a kickback to Obama.

I will have to tune into Keith Olbermann and the Situation Room so I can NOT see this. MSM is so in his pocket.

Those voting for obama, why? What change do you want?

Junir, the list is on the web. Google it as "Obama Lies."

From Timesonline, Feb. 26, 2008:

The spotlight fell on Mr Rezko's ties to Mr Auchi last month when the Chicago businessman was thrown in jail for violating his bail terms by failing to declare a different $3.5 million loan from the British billionaire, made in April 2007. Prosecutors feared Mr Rezko, who travels widely in the Middle East, might flee to a country without an extradition treaty such as his birthplace of Syria.

Mr Auchi was convicted of corruption, given a suspended sentence and fined £1.4 million in France in 2003 for his part in the Elf affair, described as the biggest political and corporate scandal in post-war Europe. He, in a statement from his media lawyers, claims he is appealing against the sentence.

Mr Auchi founded his Luxembourg-based General Mediterranean Holding (GMH) in 1979, a year before he left Iraq. He says that he did business with his native country when it was considered a friend of the West but ceased to trade with the late Saddam Hussein's regime once sanctions were imposed after the invasion of Kuwait.

Mr Rezko has told a court that Mr Auchi is a "close friend." Mr Auchi's lawyer told The Times: "It is untrue that my client and Mr Rezko are 'close friends'. Mr Auchi first met Mr Rezko after the 2003 Iraq war and they have a business relationship."

Mr Rezko and Mr Auchi have been partners in a pizzeria business in the Mid-West and a major 62-acre land development in Riverside Park in Chicago.

According to court documents, Mr Rezko's lawyer said his client had "longstanding indebtedness" to Mr Auchi's GMH. By June 2007 he owed it $27.9 million.

Under a Loan Forgiveness Agreement described in court, Mr Auchi lent Mr Rezko $3.5 million in April 2005 and $11 million in September 2005, as well as the $3.5 million transferred in April 2007.

That agreement provided for the outstanding loans to be "forgiven" in return for a stake in the 62-acre Riverside Park development.

A posting last week on a GMH-owned website, middle-east-online.com, portrayed Mr Auchi as a Middle Eastern "Donald Trump" with a global business construction empire.

Mr Auchi visited the United States in 2004. Pictures show him meeting Emil Jones, the president of the Illinois state senate, an ally of Mr Obama, a former state senator.

Both Mr Auchi and Mr Obama say they have no memory of meeting each other. But, according to a source, the two may have had a brief encounter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago where Mr Auchi’s visit was being honoured with a dinner attended by the Governor when Mr Obama, coincidentally in the hotel, dropped in.

An aide to Mr Obama said he did attend an event at the Four Seasons at which Mr Rezko was present but does not remember meeting Mr Auchi. "He shook a lot of hands and met a lot of people," the aide said. "We do not remember individual people."

Prosecutors say that, after Mr Auchi was unable to enter the United States in 2005, Mr Rezko approached the US State Department to get him a visa and apparently asked "certain Illinois government officials to do the same." Mr Obama denies he was approached. Mr Auchi's lawyer has emphasised to The Times that it would be entirely false to imply that money had been lent by GMH to Mr Rezko in return for Mr Rezko seeking to assist Mr Auchi to obtain a visa. The two men's relationship, the lawyer stressed, was a busines s one.

Mr Auchi's lawyer said the purpose of the Fintrade Services loan was to "assist the financial position" of a pizzeria company called AR Pizza, in which GMH held a shareholding. He said the loan had since been repaid in the form of a greater stake in the Chicago 62-acre land project.

constantia

You make Hillary sound like an angel compared to Mr. Duplicitous.

If Obama gets the nomination, the media and the right are going to have a field day! Think about it.

Jeremiah Wright. He does not know how to shut up. He is back on the pulpit inflaming Fox with his "stuck on stupid comment." WHO is stuck on stupid, Jeremiah?? Go home and watch your greatest hits---I'm sure we will be subjected to them again and again. 527s in heaven.

William Ayers, Obama's friend and fellow board member, who AFTER 9/11 said he did not regret setting bombs in DC back in the 70s.

Tony Rezko, who was involved in the purchase of Obama's home, now on trial for corruption.

Michell Obama, who has never been proud of this country until just now, who has said that America is "mean" and has a "broken soul." Who is bitter? But has anyone figured out why she is bitter?????

Obama's own comments about small town America, lapel pins and "typical white people." Has anyone suggested to him that it is not a good idea to lump people into groups and judge them? Seems sort of like stereotyping to me. Obama in particular comes off as arrogant when he does it.

You get my point. Kind of makes the Clinton's Whitewater look like a toddler amusement ride, doesn't it. And this is just the beginning.....

Will someone tell me what they individually want from each candidate and why. What are your hot button issues?

"What exactly is the suggested charge or illegal/unethical action here? How's about a little relative comparison? Let's put things in perspective... Obama association with one indicted person versus the Clintons' laundry list of shady associations...

Chinese Dishwashers anyone? Marc Rich? Norman Hsu? John Huang? Sant Chatwal? Vinod Gupta? Jorge Cabrera? Dan Lasater? Hugh Rodham? Roger Clinton? Aaron Tonken? Peter Paul? Johnny Chung? Jeffrey Epstein?"

You're totally right of course. Take ONLY Norman Hsu for instance, and his Bernard Schwartz connection... We're not talking a house in Chicago here, but nuclear arms deals with China among other things. Bernard Schwartz, who worked for the Chinese shell company that the Clintons gave ballistic missile technology to after Bill's heavily paid for re-election, put Norman Hsu on the Board of Trustees of the New School in New York. And Hillary? Hillary ear-marked 750,000 dollars to this new school as a pork barrel project. We're talking MAJOR crimes here that are in conflict with America's national security.

All this has been left out of the MSM I'm afraid, though the GOP has all that information filed and ready in case Hillary would win the nomination.

Just wait, there will be another big speech come from obama defending his lie.

countallthevotes

Good post. Long but good.

This is typical Obama. "I don't recall meeting Auchi", then it will be "We may have met but did not speak", then it will be "well, we may have met and spoke since Auchi bought $200 million worth of real estate in my district with Rezko, but I don't really recall". The European press has been reporting for MONTHS that Obama's connection to Auchi is the REAL REASON Obama spoke out against the war in Iraq. The war was bad for Rezko/Auchi business. How much longer is the press going to continue the Obama adulation? MSNBC is the Most Not to be trusted News Network these days...

Barry Obama sure does have a faulty memory.
Should we allow someone who can't remember going to a big party less than four years ago to be President?
I mean, a President's term is for four years and you'd "hope" he or she would be able to remember things he did during his first year in office.
Barry Obama doesn't seem like he has that capability.

greg, you need to check your sources...McCain was cleared, both by judicial and legislative investigations, from any wrong doing in the Keating schandal. Being the only Republican in that meeting, he and DEm John Glenn were the only ones to be exonerated and proven to have received little to NO MONEY from Keating. So take your liberal-a@@-whitey-tighties and run to Obama-mama and all his shady dealings. That avenue will ensure you never get sunburned.
A racist times two (Michele O) even on National TV or a liar times two....hmmmmm, doesn't take a rocket scienctist to figure that one out!

What exactly is the suggested charge or illegal/unethical action here? How's about a little relative comparison? Let's put things in perspective... Obama association with one indicted person versus the Clintons' laundry list of shady associations...

Chinese Dishwashers anyone? Marc Rich? Norman Hsu? John Huang? Sant Chatwal? Vinod Gupta? Jorge Cabrera? Dan Lasater? Hugh Rodham? Roger Clinton? Aaron Tonken? Peter Paul? Johnny Chung? Jeffrey Epstein?

If the Clintons eliminated those people charged or convicted of illegal activity, they could not see most of their friends, business associates or even go to a family reunion.

IF Hillary had been connected to the people that Obama has connections to, her campaign would have been history!

It's time for Obama and his campaign to go away!

S: I know Obama's issues, I found this article and would like to know more about it. It can not be old news if it has not even gotten a trial date as yet... You must be a Hillary voter. Which is fine with me, I just would like to know the TRUTH on both before I vote.. Does anyone know about this and where it stands today???

Will the media ever report on the upcoming Clinton vs. Paul trial?
By Kathy Miller | The Hillary Project

Posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago email to friend

A status conference hearing is scheduled for April 25, 2008 in Los Angeles to set a trial date in Paul vs. Clinton. The court delayed setting a trial date back in February, but a new trial date is expected to be announced three days after the all important Pennsylvania primary.

California Superior Court Judge Aurelio N. Munoz ruled Paul's legal team can begin seeking depositions from a host of big names – including Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton – that allegedly were witnesses to an effort by the Clintons and top Democratic leaders to extract millions of dollars from Paul in illegal donations and then cover it up.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is on the witness list in Paul v Clinton. He is a key witness and is going to be asked questions about money he failed to report.

HOW MANY RED FLAGS DO WE NEED????

Prediction: When Obama gets crushed in Penisylvania because of his bitter remarks and the press realize that this will create a by-product in other states, at that time they will reach into their pockets and pull these kinds of stories. Only then will Obama get his due reward.
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Let's make sure Obama gets paid.

The Democratic party is headed for a train wreck in November while Hillary and Bill are trying desperately to save them from themselves.

I don't know why they bother.

She should jump ship and launch an Independent bid.

I'm just curious, has anyone done an article on all of the lies, misstatements and exaggerations of Obama's in this primary? Would be interesting.

Why doesn't Obama parade his mother around like he used to?

Just one more lie by Obama that the rest of the MSM will probably ignore.

Obama: Show me the money!

So many of these comments are absolutely true where the MSM is concerned and their adoration of Obama. Chlarie Rose even went out of his way to dig up some archival footage of Obama so that he could explain his "bitter" comments. I can't imagine him doing that for Clinton. In the same way they keep running clips of Obama chiding Hilary for having a shot and a beer; none of them repeated his bowling or cow feeding or beer drinking trips with Casey. Then there was the Tanya harding theing and the Annie Oakley thing and on and on but SHE is negative! I'm sick of the MSM attempting to insult my intelligence. Rose gave almost the entire hour last night to Obama supporters to dig him out of his hole and kept throwing in "poll" numbers to even say that Obama and Clinton were neck-and-neck in PA. Since when?

Why doesn't Obama deserve to get his pockets filled? At least he's more open about it than other politicians. As far as America should be concerned he deserves bucket loads of money. Somebody has to get it, might as well be Obama. Let's not make Obama bitter too.

Obama is not perfect, I think people see that, but the Clintons are the biggest liars out there, check the records, NAFTA alone should not get Hillary a vote from any unions, she said she will fix her husbands mistakes! what happened over the last 20 years? I guess it was okay, now that they have all that money, she wants to "fix" NAFTA, what a pile of *rap, she lies has been lying and will keep on lying....

S-
I guess my point is, why is the Obama story news if the other is ignored. Hillary is on video committing fraud. To the tune of 1.2 million dollars. These two stories are, outside the realm of "News" mutually exclusive. But once the MSM decides to report one story and not the other, they have relevance to one and other.
If we started reading about all the shady friends the Clintons keep, well that'd just be a whole newspaper unto itself.

Important to note that it was Rezko's attorney who specifically asked the star witness for the prosecution Levine, "was Senator Obama at the party", "was his wife there with him". Why would Rezko's attorney go out of his way to bring this up, when the prosecution went out of their way not to bring up Obama's name? Does Rezko want pay-back now???