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Why this photo matters
Friday, Jan 25, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller * I posted this photo earlier this morning for a reason…  * In reality, this photo means nothing. Hillary Clinton is absolutely right that she’s taken thousands of photos with people over the decades. She’s also right to point out that, unlike Obama, she never had a longterm relationship with Tony Rezko. * That being said, however, the leak of this pic is precisely the same thing that Hillary and Bill Clinton have been doing to Obama for weeks. For instance, here’s a story from the AP…
What a crock. * The Clintons have flat-out lied about Obama’s “Present” votes on abortion bills to make him somehow look anti-choice. They have twisted his comments on Republicans and Ronald Reagan beyond recognition to make him look like a traitor to his party. They even leaked opposition research to a gullible LA Times reporter about how Obama had changed his vote on a few bills. * So, I got a big chuckle when I received this e-mail from the Clinton campaign this morning…
* None of those Clinton attacks really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. And neither does the above photo. The only thing it proves is that Rezko was everywhere. He’s like a toxic political Zelig. * All that being said, I totally agree with Mark Brown that it’s past time for Obama to come completely clean about the one Rezko issue that truly does matter, at least as far as I’m concerned. Who set up the deal with Rezko on the house and land purchase? Obama and Rezko were both the top bidders on those properties, but that, to me is not the issue. What I want to know is how - exactly - did this thing come about? Did Obama call Rezko and ask for help? We know that the property owner wanted to sell both pieces at the same time. Obama didn’t have the money to buy both. What was the deal? And, frankly, what was he thinking? * I was looking for a new place to live about the same time Obama was. I remember seeing an ad for Rezmar townhomes on the Chicago River. I checked the website and thought, “Wow, these are perfect.” Then, a little voice inside my head said, “Miller, you’re gonna wind up on the front page of a newspaper if you buy one of those, no matter how much you pay. Don’t be an idiot.” So, the idea was immediately flushed from my brain. I knew better than to do any kind of deal, no matter how above-board it might be, with Tony Rezko.. Obama didn’t. I can’t get past that problem, and no pimpy little photo of Rezko with Hillary and Bill are gonna make up for that. Come clean, Barack.
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- wordslinger - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 10:50 am:
The house is the whole ballgame. It won’t go away. Frankly, I suspect that if there were satisfactory answers to the questions that have been raised, we’d have heard them by now. And one more — what did Tony get out of it?
- Snidely Whiplash - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 10:53 am:
Obama CAN’T come clean. It is established that he at least ATTEMPTED to exert his influence on Rezko’s behalf with respect to some of Rezko’s real estate developments. He then (obviously) asked Rezko for help, or at least “coyly” mentioned his plight in order to plant the bright idea into Rezko’s head … how ELSE could it have happened?
As bad as what many Illinois pols pull? No. But, it certainly puts a cloud over both his judgment and his integrity, doesn’t it? I think Obama could get better play if they laid off this Mr. Perfect Messiah routine when most informed people know better. Then again, the politically uninformed far outnumber the former, which translates into more (and easier to sway) votes. Sigh …
- amy - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 10:55 am:
well, the house is a huge deal, but it is
not the only troubling part. Rezko was
well known in the housing development
community as being problematic. If small
people knew he was a problem, how could
a lawyer working on deals that involved
Rezko not know. Allison Davis, Vince Lane,
Tony Rezko….lots of problems. come clean
indeed.
- Snidely Whiplash - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 10:58 am:
And no, I don’t think that the leak of that pic is akin to what Clinto has done. Obama knows full well that was just a quickie photo op for Rezko at some fundraiser, and that before Obama declared for POTUS, neither Clinton would even recognize his face or name.
For Clinton to have done something this bad, she would have had to leak a pick of Obama with Monica Lewinsky in an intimate moment. Obama and his followers profess to be above this sort of thing … gee, guess he’s not perfect on that front, either, huh?
- lake county democrat - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:05 am:
To me the quid pro quo with Rezko was that senate internship he asked for, and received, from Obama on behalf of a (powerful) friend’s son. People, including the Trib, pooh-pooh this, but I don’t: I’ve been asked to write recommendations for students and it’s a huge deal — great experience and a resume eye-catcher. “You worked for Barrack Obama?! What’s he like?” That alone could snag an interview. It’s not the biggest favor, but that fits the scale of the land deal.
- Ha - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:05 am:
I love that you posted the dial-in number! Jump on folks!
- wordslinger - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:07 am:
I don’t know that the Obama campaign put out the Hillary/Rezko photo and, in all honesty, I don’t think it would be in their interest to do so. Now, Hillary and everyone else has another reason to talk about Obama and Rezko. “Well, I never did work for him on his buildings, I didn’t socialize with him, I didn’t arrange to buy property with him, etc.” Obama needs to kill the Rezko story, not find ways to allow others to point out the depth of their relationship.
- Truthful James - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:13 am:
Sorry, but…
If Harry Truman were running today his relationship to the KC machine would have been brought up by Henry Wallace and Strom Thurmond and today’s reporters would have trashed him.
Our loss.
Gone would have been his great record as a Senator chairing the Truman Investigating Commission and his record as President after FDR had died.
The problem is the two mopes running do not come within a football field’s length of what good Truman did before the 1948 campaign.
Our politics is the worse for it.
We have turned it into warfare, probably because of the thin record every one has, the attack dogs hired as campaign managers, and the whole extreme expense and long time period during which — instead of carefully articulated positions and an eventual sense of trust — we are induced to vote against on the basis of a series of single issue appeals.
It is all to the bad.
- ZC - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:14 am:
What national-level politician doesn’t have at least a few donor-skeletons in his closet? I have no problem believing that Rezko was trying to sink his tendrils into Obama, and Obama - young, ambitious pol on the make - used poor judgment. This is a story that has been told like a thousand times in our money-and-politics system. But I don’t think it shows much about Obama’s comparative youth and lack of experience, since Hillary is still making mistakes like this with donors like Norman Hsu.
The key for me is what did Rezko get out of this relationship. So far, the evidence for any real quid pro quo is fairly penny-ante stuff.
Obama is a pol with national ambitions. There’s always gonna be a certain amount of smoke. Nobody to my knowledge has yet produced the fire.
- blagoman - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:15 am:
Not as bad as John Wayne Gacy being photograph with Mrs. Carter.
- Snidely Whiplash - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:18 am:
No one has “produced the fire” because in reality, only Rezko and Obama know what was said between them and in their own minds at the time. So, unless Rezko sings about it to lighten his sentence, we’ll probably never know.
- wordslinger - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:25 am:
Truthful, Truman did take his licks on Pendergast throughout his entire career. I don’t buy the argument that the media creates these issues — there’s just 24-hour media now, In their times, Alexander Hamilton had to answer questions about a mistress, Jefferson was accused of fathering children with his slaves, Andrew Jackson was accused of bigamy, Cleveland had to answer about an illegitimate child, etc., etc., etc.
Since the Republic began, if you aspired to power, you had to take the heat. And like Harry said, if you can’t take the heat…
- Snidely Whiplash - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:29 am:
I couldn’t help but sneak this one into the caption contest: “Senator Obama, if you don’t stop laughing so hard, you’ll NEVER be able to get this picture centered!”
- He makes Ryan Look like a Saint - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:35 am:
In a lot of cases you have to shell out $$ for these pictures, did he contribute to Clinton? That would be an interesting tidbit.
- Anonymous45 - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:37 am:
wow Rich, I thought you’d never back down in your
lovefest with Barack…you’re right to say that he needs to explain the land deal adjacent to his house with Tony…it showed extremely poor judgemnt on Barack’s part…I don’t think he and the family were living on the street and had to put together this deal to put a roof over their heads…the whole Rezko thing just screams naivete, and/or worse, insider and typical pol to me…
- Anonymous - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:42 am:
You are absolutely right, Rich to insist Obama tell the whole story. If there is dirt, it will come out sooner or later in full detail. If there is dirt, what makes this man of “judgement” think he will somehow skate by? If he is clean, then what withholds him from full explanation?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:44 am:
Anon 45, you haven’t been reading very carefully. I’m sick of the goofy attacks on Obama that mean nothing. As pointed out here yet again.
But I first demanded an explanation on this very Rezko topic early last year in the Sun-Times. This isn’t new.
- Anon - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:53 am:
How does a pic with Borat hurt Hillary?
- Stan - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 11:59 am:
This was well leaked by Axelrod, he’s good. And yes the photo means nothing, but given the Clinton’s history of lies, shady deals and scandals, they’re unable to take the high road in anything. Hillary will end up being the nominee, but in the end, they’ve made a former president look like a fool and that was enough for them.
- Anonymous45 - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:02 pm:
ha great quip Anon…LOL
Rich, your indignation at folks questioning BO’s transpaency on this issue has been on display for all to see in recent weeks…don’t get p.o.’d if I don’t remember something you wrote in an article in an edition of last year’s Sun Times…
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:05 pm:
Anon45, I think you should at least point to things before you whack away. Also, perhaps you should look at the full record before you jump to conclusions.
But, that’s just like the rest of the Clintonistas. Twist it your own way and insist you’re right.
- Moe - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:06 pm:
Whatya wanna bet that Rezko got Federal HUD loans and grants after this photo was taken? The Clintons may have also sent him a thank you note[s]. I think we’re just scratching the surface. The Clintons are very smart - and have been playing hardball for a long time - they knew who they were helping and why. Denying a relationship here is only going to make it much worse. The Repubs have probably already researched their relationship with Rezko. It’s best to just come clean rather than deny and let it trickle out.
- Snidely Whiplash - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:07 pm:
Moe,
I hate Hillary Clinton as much as (probable more than) anybody, but these photo ops are standard practice at fundraisers. Seems like you’ve never been to one … actually, good for you!
- Anonymous45 - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:14 pm:
ok Rich, this Clintonista (is this a word?) is awaiting a poignant, truthful discourse from the Obama folks on this subject…something tells me it won’t be forthcoming until after the SC primary, if ever…Excuse me for beleivng in my candidate’s ability to govern as well as yours…
- VanillaMan - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:14 pm:
When you take away Obama’s virginal purity, what do you have left? I KNOW!
Let’s ask John Wayne!
Hey Duke! - Suppose Ringo Kid had to decide between two girls to settle down with and build that ranch in the wilderness…
The first girl, let’s call her ‘Alice’ has a ‘past’ as a saloon worker. She is divorced. A lot of townies like her, but civilized folks consider her a tramp. She’s tough.
The second girl, let’s call her ‘May’ is new in town and the civilized folks are charmed her beauty, poems, and educated air. She scoffs at Alice and continually reminds you who her first husband was.
Then one day you discover that when May was younger, she had to do a ‘favor’. She won’t talk about it except to tell you that it was a mistake that a lot of girl make, but usually not her. She is above that normally, and it was an ugly, stupid one-time affair. She tells him she is ashamed of it and he should just forgive and forget and focus on her charm, eloquence and beauty instead.
Who would Ringo settle down with, Mr. Wayne?
“Well VanillaMan, it must have been a while since you saw my 1939 masterpiece, ‘Stagecoach’. I recommend you stop watching ‘Baby Einstein’ DVDs and refresh your memory.”
“Ringo would settle down with Alice because she knows the ugliness of the real world and knows that deals have to be made to survive. Unlike May, Alice isn’t pretending to be virginal and basing her appeal on fake purity.”
“Ringo would know that if she knew enough about her appeal to keep some things secret from him, she was able to keep other things secret. Ringo prefers grit to dreams when building that ranch because life has a way to chew up fakers and dreamers.”
So are you saying that you should vote for Hillary?
“Over my dead body - pilgrim!”
- Moe - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:17 pm:
Yes, but how do you call someone a “slum lord” when they built their housing stock with money lent by the you (or your husband)? the Repubs will have a field day with this in November. That’s the problem with running a scorched earth primary - the attacks often come full circle in the general election.
By the way, I think that it’s now fair to lump Bill and Hillary together given his major role in her campaign and, most likely, her administration if she were to win the nomination and general election.
- The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:18 pm:
Delete this post if you want, but you still ran it to stir the pot.
- amy - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:21 pm:
clinton campaign website says Rezko not a
contributor. Rezko got money from the City of
Chicago but it was probably federal money which
the city controls, tax credits. Maybe the photo
was from a Gutierrez fundraiser. Luis the link….
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:27 pm:
Moe, I wonder why both Clintons haven’t been asked about Bill’s 1992 promise that when you elect him you elect her. They were supposed to be a team back then and somehow govern together. That didn’t happen, of course. She didn’t even have a security clearance.
But it’s still a question that I haven’t seen specifically asked. Will they govern as a team?
- Garp - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:34 pm:
I am glad Obama got his hand burned by Rezco before he got fully torched. Hopefully, he has learned what kind of snakes are nesting throughout Illinois and how to avoid them.
The money guys were getting their hooks into him. The Rezco deal was probably a pay it forward favor. Guys like Rezco always have an agenda and Obama is lucky if he escaped being a pawn of these crooks.
- Snidely Whiplash - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:40 pm:
H.R.C. would likely diplomatically reply that, as a former president, she’d be foolish not to accept her husband’s counsel, but in the end, the decision will be hers, and hers alone.
Actually, as long as Bill kept his hands out of foreign affairs (remember how he screwed up by having no foreign policy during the Yugoslav breakup?), I’d be very comfortable with him as far as the economy is concerned. After all, he did balance the budget and greatly strengthen Social Security. I really don’t blame NAFTA on Bill Clinton specfically; practically everyone on both sides of the congressional aisle wanted it (too much money to be made by contributors).
Hillary running domestic policy independently scares me. She honestly strikes me as a neo-socialist of sorts.
- Dimmiecrat - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:41 pm:
State senate districts are not so large that
the incumbents are not aware of community problems; while not having to address every
pothole, most good State Senators are well aware
of community issues, whether coming directly from
their constituents or from the Aldermen or State
Reps in their district. Especially if they are in
the Senate for more than a few years.
Doesn’t it, then, require a “suspension of disbelief” that a State Senator, whose forte was community organizing and low income housing, would be unaware of the foreclosures and housing
court problems of buildings in or around his own district — projects that he promoted and were developed by his own mentor and patron, represented by the Senator’s own law firm? (Although the Senator may only have directly billed 5 hours on the projects,remember this was not a huge law firm. And didn’t the developer’s having a client relationship to the law firm have something to do with his long standing relationship to the Senator? It could not have been random selection.) Didn’t the church groups,
or community groups, or housing activists ever
bring to his attention that these were problem
buildings? Did the local papers ever cover any of these housing project problems? Again it is very hard to believe that such a State Senator was
unaware. The earlier Sun Times articles last year
mapped numerous Rezko related problem buildings throughout his district and nearby. He never saw or heard of those problems? Did he ever call Rezko and privately try to get him to clean up his
act in his own district? “Hey, Tony, you are making me look bad” (And if he didn’t, why not!!??) Did the associated church group ever contact the Senator for help with the troubled
buildings? Can one imagine they wouldn’t??
If you think this through in terms of how this might have actually played out, it is hard to believe that the Senator was not more involved or aware than the ignorance of Rezko that he professes. It just doesn’t happen that way in Chicago politics.
The issue of the vacant lot may have involved
questionable ethics or appearances, but it was a personal business deal that did not involve the public per se.
This issue of the Senator’s relationship to
the developer of bad buildings in his own district is a matter of messing with the public good, and could be a real conflict of interest in terms of his State Senate duties. This is really the blank page that has to be filled in with questions AND answers; and this could prove to be an even bigger story. The old, what did he know and when did he know it?
- Moe - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:44 pm:
Rich - great question. Any chance of you being a panelist at a debate between now and Feb. 5th?
- Moe - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:46 pm:
amy - is HRC trying to chuck da Mayor under the bus on Rezko?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:46 pm:
Moe… No.
lol
- Vole - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:50 pm:
Rich, the Clintons will govern as a team. Dedicated Dems don’t seem to think this is a problem. But will it sell to independents? As one less than dedicated democrat who was sick of both of them by the end of Bill’s second term it definitely does not buy my vote. NO MORE DYNASTIC RULE IN AMERICA!
- Moe - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:50 pm:
America’s loss….I’ll stop now.
- ItsTonyTime - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:50 pm:
Connection? How about 2 words. Card Games
The better story is who gave the snapshot to the media….Clinton WH, Uncle Tony.
Maybe Capt. Fax can shed some light
- Anonymous45 - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 12:58 pm:
Vole, I guess I’m a dedicated Dem cuz I don’t have a prblem with this scenario–let’s see when Bill left office, the US economy was humming along, US had a surplus, we enjoyed respect internationally, the middle class was in good shape, and we weren’t in a six year unwinnable war–good God, we can’t let the Clintons do this to us again!!!
- Huh? - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 1:37 pm:
Let me see about the clinton’s:
Rose law firm files disappearing and reappearing
white water
monica
$10,000 turned into $100,000 in suspect commodities transaction
impeachment
lying to federal officials
“depends on your defination of “is”"
is that enough?
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 1:44 pm:
Shouldn’t Obama just be calling Clinton a hypocrite?
She just returned nearly $1 million in contributions bundled together by Norman Hsu, a fugitive on fraud charges from California?
Didn’t Hsu also raise big money for all the folks endorsing Clinton now?
Yes, she did.
Every time Clinton says “Rezko” or pushes a reporter to call Obama about it, Obama should say “Hsu.”
After awhile, she’ll stop saying Rezko.
- Vole - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 1:44 pm:
Anon45, how exactly did Bill influence the US economy? The US surplus? If you factor in their absconding of the social security trust fund then the deficit might have been zeroed out in the unitary budget, otherwise it was bogus. And it is extremely bogus for Bill to now say they were on track to produce projected surpluses of over 5 trillion dollars! As Bill likes to say, GIVE ME A BREAK! At a time of relative prosperity, the opportunities to work on the mega issues were largely squandered under Clinton. And how about Hillary’s vote on this 6 year unwinnable war? No, I can’t let the Clintons be ring master in the biggest show on earth again. I don’t wish to relive the fairy tale. As a middle class grunt, I am going to be humping no matter who gets into office.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 1:52 pm:
===Every time Clinton says “Rezko” or pushes a reporter to call Obama about it, Obama should say “Hsu.”===
Gesundheit.
- Anonymous45 - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 2:07 pm:
Vole–revisionist crap…yeah like welfare reform was an opportunity squandered…Barack is running up against the Clintons who have resources deep and wide…get over it whiners…
- jwscott72 - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 2:17 pm:
Man, I hope the feds can find a better fitting suit for Tony.
- North of I-80 - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 3:01 pm:
Last Dem debate, Obama would have been perfect opening for Hsu and contributions from the busboy/waiters in China Town….. probably worse than Rezko (??) and would have steered it away. Releasing the Rezko/Clinton photo was a mistake… keeping Rezko in the news again, front page of Drudge.
To Anonymous 45; Clinton had Republican Senate + House to deal with. Clinton did nothing about 93 WTC attack, Kobar Towers USS Kole etc and left economy falling towards recession.
I don’t understand why Rezko “slumlord” stuff is sticking to Obama…. did he assist Rezko getting $$$ for his slums? Was it Obamas IL Rep District where Rezkos slums went unheated in winter? Did anyone address it with Rezko or was there any ‘looking-the-other-way’ ? Or has any of this been examined & dismissed already?
The take from many here is that greatest concern is on the “present” votes: nobody here seems to care WHY the votes because it Sounds and Looks bad. It smells like indecision… I don’t think that there is a yellow “present” button on the President’s desk. I am just as concerned about the high number of missed votes in US Senate as the ‘present’ ones.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 3:13 pm:
I just can’t believe the ridiculous myths about those Clinton years.
Boom years? The recession in 2000 began in 2000, and Mr. Clinton was in office - remember?
US respect overseas? You obviously weren’t overseas when Clinton was in office or you wouldn’t say that either. Anti-America sentiment was rampant during the Clinton years when he authorized bombings in Serbia against their wishes. They considered him an ignorant hillbilly meddler and after the Monica scandal, they had a field day. Nope - Bush can’t be blamed for what happened before he became president, can he?
Middle class squeeze? You are nuts! It depends on who you want to believe regarding the US economy anymore. If you are a Democrat, you think we are forever on the verge of an economic meltdown, even when every sign clearly pointed out that the US economy has NEVER been bigger than it is now. Shut up!
Unwinnable war? You idiots have been saying that since 2003, yet it is obvious that the new democratically elected governments in Iraq have built a government in a shorter time than it has taken us to even begin rebuilding at Ground Zero. You demand that they replace two generations of dictatorship in a shorter time than it takes us to build a building? Who’s crazy? Unwinnable? You don’t even hear that crap coming from anyone running for president anymore since REALITY started invading our partisan world.
Go ahead and justify a vote for Hillary based on your fictional account of Mr. Bill’s White House escapades. You are a partisan because you do not want to know anything that could contradict your narrow minded view of the world. The rest of us are what you would call, “open-minded”.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 3:15 pm:
Tone it down, VM.
- Pardon Me - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 3:50 pm:
Look, whats done is done. Going forward BO needs to tell us how he will handle a Rezko presidential pardon request. Especially if TR keeps the details re. Michelles little cottage to himself.
- Poli-Sci Geek - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 3:50 pm:
I don’t remeber the Clinton economy as “good” where I lived in Illinois. All I remember is NAFTA and closing factories, unemployment, etc. AND Hillary’s mishandling of national healthcare went a long way to fueling Newt’s takeover of the House. Some record.
- Arthur Andersen - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 4:55 pm:
FWIW, AA attended a fundraiser for “W” (don’t hold it against me, folks)severalyears ago with the photo op line. Believe it or not, Rezko was two people ahead of me in line. Nice foto and his suit was much more finely tailored. The Clinton pic is obviously also from one of those quick shot events.
- Bud Man - Friday, Jan 25, 08 @ 5:21 pm:
Anon 45 -
Welfare reform was only signed by Clinton after he was brought kicking and screaming to the table by Republicans and they put the pen in his hand with a gun to his head. He did not want to sign that bill and fought hard against it, but he knew his veto would get overriden, so he signed it to take credit for it instead of getting burned when he got overidden. I think you are spewing revisionist crap.
Rich, I couldn’t agree more that Obama needs to conme clean on this deal. All of the other aspects of the relationship are small potatoes, but this house is huge. In my mind, the hosue deal leads to guilt by association. There uis just know way this happened by accident, and the fact the previous owners and real estate agents refuse to talk about speakes volumes for the whole affair.