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* You may have seen this story today…
The government’s star witness at the fraud trial of Antoin “Tony” Rezko testified Monday that Sen. Barack Obama and his wife attended a party in 2004 at the home of the indicted political fundraiser. Stuart Levine said the party took place in April 2004 and was held to honor Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born, London-based billionaire visiting the United States
* Obama’s spokesman implied to the Sun-Times that Obama may not have attended the Rezko party…
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said: “As he has said previously, Senator Obama does not recall meeting Nadhmi Auchi at any time or on any occasion, and this includes any event that may have been held for Mr. Auchi. Senator and Mrs. Obama have no recollection of attending any such event.”
* LaBolt gave a slightly different explanation to the Tribune…
“Sen. Obama does not recall meeting Nadhmi Auchi at any time or on any occasion, and this includes any event that may have been held for Mr. Auchi,” LaBolt said.
* The Sun-Times reports that two sources contend that Obama was, indeed, at the Rezko event, but rehashed this response from Auchi’s spokesperson…
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.”
* So, I sent an e-mail this morning to Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn’s spokesperson. Levine testified that Quinn attended the party. The spokesperson confirmed that her boss was there. When asked whether Quinn remembers Obama being present, this is the response I received…
He believes so, but Quinn was there rather briefly — came late, left early to watch the NCAA final four. So Quinn wasn’t taking attendance.
Now we have to go through this Rezko goofiness all over again because Obama’s operation wants to play cute instead of just saying, yeah, he was there, but barely remembers it, or something like that.
Oy.
It seems like every time the Obama campaign comes close to nailing an issue down, or finally putting Clinton in a corner, it goes off track.
* By the way, Quinn now says that Blagojevich should have steered clear of Tony Rezko. From today’s Tribune…
“After some of the things we are hearing at the trial from Mr. [Stuart] Levine, I don’t think [Rezko] should have ever, ever been appointed to anything. And I think the governor owes the people an apology for that.”
* More Obama/Rezko stuff, compiled by Kevin…
* Sneed hears rumbles Kathleen Sebelius, the two-term Dem governor of Kansas, may become Barack Obama’s veepmate.
* Witness At Rezko Trial Says Obama Attended Billionaire’s Party
* A meeting and a fiery exchange
* Rezko defense tries to plant seeds of doubt
* State hospital panel worries Rezko trial gives it a bad image
* Deputy Republican Senate Leader Radogno w/Berkowitz on Obama-Ayers and the Budget; Cable and Streaming
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 8:12 am
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I think the Sebelius for veep rumor is credible.
She is in her late fifties, meaning she would appeal to the women of Hillary’s generation who might be so annoyed by the removal of Hill from the political stage that they stay home. And she might also appeal to younger women. Also, she is unlikely to run for president since she would be
in her late sixties at the end of an Obama presidency, so she wouldn’t be setting up a little
political operation a la Al Gore as soon as she
got the job. Sort of like an Obama-Hillary ticket without the Clinton baggage downside.
Hopefully, McCain will feel the pressure to find a
strong woman candidate as well, if Sibelius is
chosen.
Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 8:40 am
Wait, Blagojevich should have steered clear of him, but Quinn of course has free reign to party at his house?
Comment by problem Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 8:46 am
Although I am (usually) a Republican, I initially looked upon Barack Obama favorably like many other Republicans and Independents did. I thought that “here at last” was an individual that people could believe in and that would serve as a “uniter” rather than just another self-serving politician.
As time has gone on, I have found myself questioning my early “snap judgement” of the man. There have been inconsistencies that Obama has come out with that are making me question whether he is truly a politician that is looking out for the good of the nation rather than the good of himself, his family, and his friends. Is Barack Obama simply “more of the same”? I don’t know but I am starting to wonder. Are the inconsistencies in some of his public statements simply the “goofs” of well-meaning but over-exuberant young staffers? I sure wish I knew. The end-result is that each mis-step that he makes is making me (and others) more inclined to step off of the “Obama Express” and more likely to step onboard the “McCain Straight Talk Express”. Then, I can only hope that McCain’s “straight talk” is really straight talk. It reminds me of the Johnny Carson game show, “Whom do you Trust” of many years ago. “Rich Miller For President”, anyone?
Comment by Beowulf Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 8:49 am
Why is he lying. His strength has been his ability to be open and deflect any controversy. We all know he was assisted greatly by Rezko, just admit you were there and be done with it. People don’t seem to care much about Rezko anyway (for some reason), so be open.
Comment by Wumpus Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 8:58 am
Why can’t Obama say “Yes, I was there.”? Or “Yes, I said that.”?
The initial denials, the ducking and bobbing, the blustering does not bode well for his reputation. This goes all the way back to Tony Rezko helping Obama buy his house.
Just say “Yes, I am his friend.” “I, like many others, are very disappointed with him.”
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 8:59 am
Geez y’all. “Problem” nails it.
A guy who was coked out of his mind half the day says someone was there and a guy who came late & left early in order to watch the Final Four says maybe he kinda sorta thinks that same someone might’ve been there….
Sure, folks want to believe — and it may just be a fact — but great sources ya got there.
And even if he was there, Obama’s already said he was friends with Rezko and made some boneheaded agreements with him. Where’s the damage with this party?
Comment by Rob_N Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 9:04 am
PS: Wumpus, et al… I understand your concerns, but the question was asked of a spokesman who likely didn’t know whether or not Obama was at some party the night of Final Four games. His non-answer is just a politely coy way of glossing over that he doesn’t know where the guy in charge was every moment of every day for the past few decades…
(Seems to me, being the sports fan he is, Sen. Obama would’ve wanted to ditch out early to see those games too. Maybe I’m wrong.)
Comment by Rob_N Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 9:09 am
I agree that Obama needs to address this straight up and move on. Just because he was at the party does not mean he is secretly working for questionable factions in the Middle East. His problem is that he has already been tied by some to the Muslim faith and this has made innuendos about his loyalties an issue. Case in point the picture of him in Middle Eastern garb, and the questions about his father’s political leanings. Isn’t this a form of racism, and a comment by those making the innuendos that Muslims are inherently not good? He needs to address this point. Why isn’t someone questioning Pat Quinn’s loyalty for being at the same party? I wonder who else was there? Those questions aren’t being ansked because they are not running for anything right now and because some have linked Obama with Muslims in the Middle East. The other reason that this is an issue is because Obama has ridden the “change” wave and the “I am the good candidate” wave so people have come to believe he is above all of this. He is not a god, he is a candidate. albeit a good one. His problem here is his own PR. I do not think anyone would be surprised if Hillary attended the party because that is what we have come to expect of her and Bill. Which brings us to the question of why hasn’t anyone investigated the picture that Rich uncovered of HillBill getting their picture taken with Tony Rezko? I suppose the explanation probably is in one of the redacted portions of her economic statement.
Comment by Irish Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 9:15 am
“As he has said previously, Senator Obama does not recall meeting Nadhmi Auchi at any time or on any occasion, and this includes any event that may have been held for Mr. Auchi.” –Sun-Times
“Sen. Obama does not recall meeting Nadhmi Auchi at any time or on any occasion, and this includes any event that may have been held for Mr. Auchi,” — Tribune
I don’t get it. How are those statements inconsistent? I’m all for cynically grilling politicians — even *gasp* Obama — but isn’t it at least possible that he just doesn’t remember whether or not he attended the event?
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 9:23 am
===How are those statements inconsistent?===
I wrote that they were slightly different.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 9:26 am
Pat Quinn - who has spent a career playing footsie with the corrupt Bill Banks organization on the West Side - is now criticizing the governor for his choices in friends? That’s rich.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 9:32 am
=== I wrote that they were slightly different. ===
It hardly seems fair to say they gave two slightly different “explanations” or that his operation is “playing cute” when it seems entirely possible that they told both papers the exact same thing and one of them chose to omit portions of the quote that didn’t really change its meaning.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 9:51 am
I should give kudos to Quinn’s spokesperson for not being a spokesbot. I bet myself that they’d duck the question entirely. I lost.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 10:00 am
Regardless of the difference in the answers, they played it cute. Go back and figure out if you were there. Own up to it. He’ll have to do it eventually anyway. That’s what was cute.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 10:02 am
They did play it cute. The event Rezko sponsored was to honor Nadhmi Auchi. Now Obama is suffering from memory loss (again)?
Tomorrow his answer will be different. The next day it will be even more different.
This is a pattern with the guy.
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 10:09 am
Louis, I’m not sure it’s a pattern with this guy, anymore than it’s a pattern with politicians in general.
It is possible that when asked they really didn’t know if he was there. There are lots of possible answers to it.
It might be easier said than done to put the Clinton machine in a corner Rich. I think the guy and his campaign deserve some credit for achieving he success hey have.
Comment by YNM Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 10:27 am
Last year I wrote that Obama will have to explain Chicago politics to voters unfamiliar with it. I explained that he shouldn’t let other control the introduction of his political friends, that he should be the one in order to control his message.
But someone who is comfortable with Chicago-style politics and not shocked by it seem to be taking control over these outings. Obama needed one of his Hawaiian connections or one of his Kansan friends to do this in order to measure the shock and disgust Barack’s buddies would have on the US electorate.
Obviously it didn’t happen and someone decided to just ‘go for it’ and hope the skeletons in Obama’s closet would stay silent until 2009.
I don’t subscribe to the ‘guilt by association’ reaction. I consider each of Barack’s political friends with my native Chicago cynicism and usually give him the benefit of a doubt. But for how long can I keep this up?
Blagojevich - Obama can’t help he is the governor, and they are not friends - so I give him a pass.
Ayers - It seems that a Chicago professor who was a political terrorist and civic activist in Hyde Park would be someone Obama would know. Another pass.
Wright - He’s not Farrakan, but mighty close. And Obama needed a political church anchor, but sitting there for 20 years and then claiming to be a racial healer? That stinks! Strike one.
Rezko - He threw money everywhere, and money is dirty. So no biggie, but I think the entire house deal stinks. Obama obviously did a deal with a guy he’s known a long time. Thats strike two.
Auchi - What! This guy?! PLEASE! Let’s hope there is nothing here! Auchi is more than dirty money. Auchi is the guy who loaned Rezko the cash to do the Obama real estate deal. I don’t like this at all, but I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop - if there is one.
How many more Chicago pols are waiting behind Obama’s curtain? How many more dirty hands will be shown being involved with this supposed Messiah? How can Obama make the claims, but do these deals with these people?
Obama is no Clinton, but he is definately not a saint. The Senator needed to come clean a whole lot sooner if he wanted to keep that aluminum halo.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 10:52 am
So what if he attended a gathering. We again have to see the evolving story and parsed words. Another case of a simple yes being the best answer.
Politicians are in an interesting position where they are asked to attend gatherings and later on are accused of associating with unsavory characters.
Since this involved Rezco, the lingering question remains of what was in this for Rezco and did all the politicians who attend this gathering lubricate the cash pipeline for future campaing donations?
Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 11:17 am
Obama’s people should have supplied a definitive answer. If he was there, it’s easily defensible — politicians meet lots of people. He tends to let things linger. Now people will be chasing it down for another day at least. If he was there, now they’ll be asking why he wasn’t forthcoming.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 11:24 am
All of this is making me wish that Obama would have stayed in the Senate awhile longer and accomplished something of genuine note there.
In retrospect his speech at the Democrat convention gave him too much adulation too soon. A full Senate term or wo and he is still a young man, and he would have made nationwide converts. As well, he would have distanced himself from the Rezco experience and the whole Chicago machine stuff. People like Bill Ayres carry political baggage with them that he could have distanced himself from.
At the end of his second term, Prsident Hilary will have served her second term, and he would be ready to move up.
Instead we have this grisly campaign season to go through
Comment by Truthful James Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 11:34 am
Dear YNM:
I get “political” invitations all the time. When there is an “honored guest” the name is listed and folks go out of their way to shake his/her hand. If the invite said the party was to honor Auchi, then the Obama memory loss rings false.
Why the denials then? As I indicated earlier tomorrow will bring a new spin on the story by the Obama camp.
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 11:43 am
The Kathleen Sebelius issue is just so telling.
Clinton does not deserve a place because she is just her husband’s wife? Sebelius is the daughter and daughter in law of pols.
but, in Obama’s world, do as I say, not as I do.
many of us are still working very hard to make sure the VP choice is Hillary’s task.
Comment by Amy Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 11:57 am
===Clinton does not deserve a place because she is just her husband’s wife?===
Um, when did Obama ever say that?
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 11:59 am
I am finding this very entertaining…when Barack first announced his candidacy, I told some friends of mine we didn’t need to export Chicago style politics to DC…pretty much on the mark, doncha think?
Comment by Anonymous45 Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 1:12 pm
Amy,
The last I heard was that HillBill wanted Barack to be their VP. At least they showed good judgement for once.
Comment by Bill Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 2:29 pm
Louis … I must have missed the part where it said this was an official political gathering with invitations and all. I’m sure, then, someone can simply produce the invitation and the guest list and be done with it.
Otherwise it is possible it was an informal party, sans invitations highlighting the honored guest, and the possibility would remain that out of all of the events Obama attended, he (or the staffer who was asked) didn’t recall if he was at that particular event.
Have you seen the invitation and guest list, Louis?
Then maybe we’re continuing to make more of this than there is.
Original point, as I understand it, from Rich is well-taken. If there was a definitive answer to be given, it should have been.
All the other assumptions aren’t getting us anywhere.
Comment by YNM Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 2:48 pm
Assumptions? The fact remains that Barack has a very selective memory…Rezko’s home isn’t a place just anyone can saunter into for a meet and greet…Obama folks love their koolaid…
Comment by Anonymous45 Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 3:06 pm
I guess I’m just finding it hard to understand why it is so unreasonable for Obama to say that he does not remember. Most candidates have someone else planning their schedules, being at Rezko’s home was nothing special for him, candidates go to hundreds of events every month and I would imagine that they all look the same on the inside, especially if, like most, they don’t stay in one place for very long. And how exactly is he supposed to “go back” and make sure? Look at his “schedule”? He was a state senator and a candidate for U.S. Senate. It’s not like he can ask the national archives to haul out some old records so he can find out where he was, assuming his campaign ever kept detailed records of his previous whereabouts to begin with. It wasn’t even his own fundraising event so why would anyone else have that kind of information either?
Honestly, there are plenty of shady things in Obama’s Chicago past that raise real questions about his judgment or even his character — Ayers, Wright, his willingness to call on Rezko when he obviously should have known better. But his failure to remember attending some seemingly unremarkable event four years ago in the middle of running in a statewide campaign hardly points to some pathologically dishonest attempt to hide information that he has no motivation to conceal since he has to know that it would probably come out anyway if it’s true. I certainly have no interest in drinking the “Obama koolaid.” But people really need to focus on the real issues and not keep throwing back the “cynicism Tang.”
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 4:03 pm
“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.”
What’s he going to say?…
“I used Rezko as a conduit to launder funds so Barak Obama could buy a house he couldn’t afford so I can get access to the possible future president of the United States?”
http://rezkowatch.blogspot.com/2008/02/follow-money-auchis-money-rezkos-lot.html
____
C’mon folks, IF the EXACT SAME fact pattern existed between Bush - a Bundler- a Saudi Sheik, (in fact it probably does), everyone would know exactly what was going on.
This is no different.
Comment by Bruno Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 4:10 pm
All hail Bruno!-remember that Barack is distantly RELATED to the Bushes (just kidding)…nice try anon 4:03, from what I hear, the Rezko abode does NOT “look like all the others”…it would be quite memorable…more koolaid? (not kidding)
Comment by Anonymous45 Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 4:20 pm
– “the Rezko abode does NOT “look like all the others”–
As I said, Obama acknowledged being at Rezko’s home more than once, so being there for him was nothing special. The “look like all the others” was a description of events in general and not Rezko’s home. I don’t know why being at Rezko’s home for this event (assuming he was) would be particularly memorable for Obama if he had been there before.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 4:30 pm
Obama’s surrogates do most of his dirty work for him, but he has said enough boardroom sexist stuff to make quite an impression on people who are not even Clinton supporters. Melissa McEwan who used to work for Edwards and who helms the blog Shakesville is very good at pointing out the sexism, including from obama. and she is not a Clinton supporter.
Comment by Amy Tuesday, Apr 15, 08 @ 5:30 pm