B Merry's Rezkowatch details the Obama-Rezko relationship

If you're interested in further exploring the relationship between Senator Barack Obama and Antoin "Tony" Rezko, check out B Merry's blogspot blog, Rezkowatch...
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Tony Rezko and Senator Barack Obama: Cozy relationship? "Boneheaded" or borderline criminality?

According to the Sun Times columnist Carol Marin, the Tony Rezko story is not just going to go away [ed note: it will not go away as long as the press smells blood, and still has a heartbeat]:

"Tony Rezko is a story that is just not going away. This was made abundantly clear Tuesday night when Sen. Barack Obama announced that his U.S. Senate campaign is now returning almost double the money it had already given to charity from its former, now-indicted fund-raiser, Tony Rezko. The grand total of returned cash now stands at about $150,000.

"There is no suggestion that the Democratic presidential contender is connected to the kind of illegal dealings for which Rezko will stand trial next month. But his judgment with regard to Rezko is distinctly in question.

"Obama has admitted it was "boneheaded" to enter into a land deal with Rezko that allowed the senator and his wife to buy a $1.65 million mansion on the same day Rezko's wife bought the lot next door. But there are a host of unanswered questions. Here are just a few:

"Exactly how were the terms and timing arrived at that allowed Obama to buy the house at a $300,000 discount, while Mrs. Rezko paid full price?

"Given that Rezko was already publicly known to be under investigation, what persuaded Obama to still deal with him?

"When did Obama realize that Rezko, a low-income housing developer, had 11 failed properties in Obama's state Senate district alone? Or that Rezko was defaulting on taxpayer-funded deals at the same time he was still an Obama political benefactor?

"Was there, at the least, the appearance of a conflict of interest between Obama's legal work for low-income Rezco-connected developers and Obama's responsibilities as a state senator?"
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Obama says Let's get baked! Bring on the Frankenstein, Brown Bomber, The Bling Blong, The Green Monster, The Frankenstein, and Zimbabe Deer Weed

"Everybody must get stoned," said Senator Barack Obama in the not so distant past. Well, not quite. Barack is no Jeff Spiccoli or Dante from Grandma's Boy. But he has come out in favor of decriminilazation of marijuana. No one actually comes out and says "legalize it." In the current political climate, of course, any sane person couches their argument in the habliments of decriminalization. Anyone in favor may actually argue for government control if push came to shove (e.g., having the government sell and collect taxes on marijuana). It's not likely a candidate would support legalization--at least not because people have the inalienable right to get twisted.

As a U.S. Senate candidate four years ago, Obama told Illinois college students that he supported eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana use or possession. This is according to a videotape of a little noticed debate that was recently obtained by The Washington Times.

"We need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws," Mr. Obama told an audience during a debate at Northwestern University in 2004. "But I'm not somebody who believes in legalization of marijuana." (Jump here to see a video of that debate).

However. . .Last fall in a televised debate, Sen. Obama hesitantly raised his hand and joined with most of his Democratic rivals to declare that he opposed decriminalizing marijuana. (Jump here to watch the video). Has he changed his position or "flip-flopped?" Or was he baked at that very moment?

Asked about the different answers, Obama's campaign said he has "always" supported decriminalizing marijuana as he answered in 2004. And that upraised hand was a mistake. . .a momentary lapse on the campaign trail.

This leaves Senator Obama as the lone presidential candidate among the four real survivors who supports eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana. Mr. Obama's final Dem rival Hillary Clinton, opposes decriminalization, according to a Clinton campaign spokesman.

From Grandma's Boy:

Mr. Cheezle: "You know, I had a dream last night. I was a snake slithering through the grass until I came upon a dead elk. And I climbed... into his soul. And it's there I stayed until morning. Which meant that I will... underestimate someone very close to me."

Dante: "Wow! Where do you get your weed?"

Mr. Cheezle: "From you, Dante."

Dante: "Oh, yeah! What's up, Mr. Cheezle?"

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Attorney General John Edwards

I have never even considered this prospect. . .but it is a tantalizing one. John Edwards would be an incredible ass-kicking attorney general. In my booklet, he'd be way up there. . .with the likes of Ramsey Clark, and Bobby Kennedy. He would be pro-labor, and pro La Raza, and a genuine force to be reckoned with who would not shy away from the tough fights.

According to Robert Novak: "Illinois Democrats close to Sen. Barack Obama are quietly passing the word that John Edwards will be named attorney general in an Obama administration. Installation at the Justice Department of multimillionaire trial lawyer Edwards would please not only the union leaders supporting him for president but organized labor in general. The unions relish the prospect of an unequivocal labor partisan as the nation's top legal officer. In public debates, Obama and Edwards often seem to bond together in alliance against front-running Sen. Hillary Clinton."
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"He's being mean!":::::Obama Hits the Ex-Prez Over 'Troubling' Attacks

Sen. Barack Obama says he's ready to confront former President Bill Clinton, calling his advocacy on behalf of his wife's presidential campaign, "troubling."

Jump here to read more about Barack's snipes at President Clinton.
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Kerry endorses Obama (which may be enough to drop him another five points)

I wonder if you can decline endorsements from a fellow Senator? Why didn't Kerry just give him the kiss of death ("it was you, Fredo.")?

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Huckabee & Obama take the Iowa contest

click the winners to enlarge

Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama took the Republican and Democratic caucus votes in Iowa on Wednesday, and in the Democratic race, left Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd on the sidelines, as they dropped out of the race. Mitt Romney is sweating. Hillary Clinton "the electable one" is really sweating. John Edwards feels OK. He survived another day. Rudy? McCain? Richardson? The rest of the pack? Hanging on by their fingernails, or mired in the back where they've always been...

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Obama climbing...with one day to go to the Iowa caususes

click to enlarge Obama, Edwards, and Clinton

Barack Obama pulls in 32 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers, up from 28 percent in the Des Moines Register's late November poll, while Hillary Clinton, held steady at 25 percent and Ex-Senator John Edwards held at 24 percent. This leaves Hillary with a fair shot at coming in third. The poll reflects continued insanity and volatility in the contest, even now the year of campaigning In Iowa is over. One third of likely caucusgoers say they could be persuaded to choose someone else before Thursday evening!!!
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John Edwards takes a final swipe at Sen. Barack Obama, who he says may be living in never-never land

click to enlarge

Yesterday morning at a forum for undecided voters in Independence, Iowa—and there must be plenty of undecideds, the way the polls swing back and forth—Ex-Senator John Edwards repeated his criticism of Barack Obama, saying that any candidate who thinks he or she can invite corporate America to the table and achieve real results for Americans "is living in never-never land."

In a wide-ranging interview with ABC News Friday afternoon, the former North Carolina senator labeled as "ridiculous" the comments made by the Obama campaign linking Ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination to Sen. Hillary Clinton's vote to authorize the use of force against Iraq. On the other hand, he did embrace Sen. Barack Obama's politics over Clinton's, and said that an anti-Obama flier from a pro-Clinton union was "misleading" and "deceptive."

I like Obama, but I like him best for Vice-President paired with (in descending order) Joe Biden, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, or Bill Richardson. On the other hand, he's not a bad senator, missing plenty of votes this election season notwithstanding...
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Are Obama and Huck in a tailspin?

In what has to be her best Christmas gift this year, an ARG poll released this week seems to show Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton with a comeback double-digit lead over Senator Barack Hussein Obama among likely caucus-goers.

Clinton and Obama were in a dead heat in last week’s American Research Group poll. In the new survey (December 20-23), she leads the Illinois senator by 15% (34 to 19). If you account for sampling errors, Obama is now in a statistical tie for second place with Ex-Senator John Edwards, who has 20 percent of the vote.

Last week, Mike Huckabee was ahead of Mitt Romney by an 11-point margin. . .but the new poll puts the two back in a statistical tie, 23 to 21 percent, followed by John McCain at 17%, Rudy Giuliani with 14 percent, and even Ron Paul has climbed to 10 %, up from 4 % last week. Man, if Ron Paul is doubling his numbers Huck, Mitt, Crazy John, and Rudy "Queeg" Giuliani must really be blowing it!
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Painting: Obama makes a point

Click Obana to enlarge...

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Huckabee Apologizes to Romney Over Mormon Comments/Clinton Apologizes To Obama Over Aide's Drug Remarks

Huckabee Apologizes to Romney Over Mormon Comments

Clinton Apologizes To Obama Over Aide's Drug Remarks

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Clinton Hints Obama Drug Use::::::maybe Kev was right & I should switch my allegiance to the guy I liked in the first place: Senator Biden

I have, of late, been dodging some the barbs hurled my way by Kev, claiming the Clinton campiagn is coming apart at the seams and devolving into a jumbled one-ring circus of mud-slinging, obfuscation, innuendo, outright prevarication, and cheapjack skullduggery launched like a desperate Hail Mary as the campaign drifts downward in the polls.

Maybe he's right. She may have crossed the line on this one. Maybe it's just hardball, but I don't think so. This one kind of has an air of savage desperation. Remember when they floated ominous and unsubstantiated rumors about something dark in Barack's past? The Associated Press reported from New Hampshire yesterday that the Clinton campaign has once again begun dropping sinister hints about Obama remarkable for their lack of proof and specificity:



"A top adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign said Wednesday that Democrats should give more thought to Sen. Barack Obama's admissions of illegal drug use before they pick a presidential candidate.

"Obama's campaign said the Clinton people were getting desperate. Clinton's campaign tried to distance itself from the remarks.

"Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman of Clinton's front-runner campaign, raised the issue during an interview with The Washington Post, posted on washingtonpost.com.

"Shaheen, an attorney and veteran organizer, said much of Obama's background is unknown and could be a problem in November 2008 if he is the Democratic nominee. He said the Republicans would work hard to discover new aspects of Obama's admittedly spotty youth."

Kev would have me switch allegiances to Senator Barack Hussein Obama. I'm not ready for that yet. If I had to vote my heart, my choice would be Senator Joe Biden. But I am a pragmatist, and if Clinton falters I'm not quite sure which way I should turn. Not that it matters much in this heavily front-loaded primary season. By the time my caucuses roll around, the matter will have been decided. All the contestants want from me is a check.


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Obama's Dirty Secret, Part 2

Earlier this week (Obama's Dirty Secret), we talked about the Obama skeleton-in-the-closet rumor allegedly floated by the Clinton campaign. In New Hampshire yesterday, Presidential hopeful Senator Obama told high school students that when he was their age he was experimenting with illegal drugs and drinking alcohol. Admittedly, he wasn't encouraging the kids to follow in his footsteps ("what the hell you doin' sitting in here on a sunny day like this!? When I was your age...").

Obama stopped by a study hall at Manchester Central High School and answered students' questions about the war in Iraq and his education plan.

An adult asked about his time as a student, and Obama said: "I will confess to you that I was kind of a goof-off in high school as my mom reminded me," said the Senator. "You know, I made some bad decisions that I've actually written about. You know, got into drinking. I experimented with drugs," he said.

While Obama has discussed this before, you have to wonder if he wasn't prompted to bring it up one more time after the rumors the Clinton campaign may or may not have floated.
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Barack Obama's Dirty Secret

This didn't take long. The mud is being flung in the 2008 presidential race, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama trading sound bytes over rumours of a secret scandal and, now, Republican rivals of Mitt Romney, shocked by his sudden surge, are being forced to deny they are behind a nasty push-poll attack on his Mormon faith.

It is the Hillary/Obama tilt that is most fascinating, of course, since it looks like they have the most to lose. There has yet to be any speculation on exactly what skeleton may or may not be in Obama's closet. But we can guess, can't we? It has to be cocaine or pot, an affair (with either a man or woman), or some sort of payoff or bribe. Anything else can almost be laughed off. Hillary's camp, of course, can deny any involvement.

Obama can whine about the politics of personal destruction or that he is being "swift-boated." But in the end, he takes on a little water doesn't he? And his pathetic performance in the last debate doesn't help. Coming out of the previous debate, he had Senator Clinton on the run. But his answers to the (red herring) question on driver's licenses for illegals made him look like just like one of the boys. He couldn't give a straight answer.

Suddenly, Barack Obama has to deal with these vaguely alluded to personal scandals, without the benefit of an accuser. . .or even a specific charge against him! He has to deny unspecified transgressions, or go on the counterattack. However, it is hard to counterattack when your accuser denies ever floating the rumors. Yesterday, Obama demanded the Clinton campaign--or anyone at all--bring the charges out into the light of day. Remember when Senator Gary Hart dared reporters to air the charges against him? About two days later all we saw were pictures of him with Donna Rice on his aptly named boat, The Monkey Business. It will be interesting to see if this imbroglio fades away or picks up steam.
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Alien Lore No. 117: Dennis Kucinich in Democratic debate: : I saw a UFO

In the bizarre finale to last nights Dem debate, Congressman Kucinich responded to a question by Tim Russert, saying yes, he has seen a UFO.

To make it even better, it happened at Shirley MacLaine's house! Kucinich quickly tried to clarify that it was [not a flying saucer, but an "unidentified flying object."

Barack Obama did not bite when asked about life on other planets. "I believe there is life here on Earth," he said, and went on to propose ways of helping the people we know actually live on earth.
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Obama vows to hector Senator Clinton to the very end

In an interview in Ohio with the New York Times, Senator Barack Obama says he will now begin hectoring Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton more forcefully. He told the reporter that she had not been candid describing her views on critical issues. Obama is desperately trying to convince his spooked supporters that his lack of assertiveness can be overcome and that her domination of the presidential race is merely temporary/

Obama’s vow to go on the attack comes just over two months before the first votes for the Democratic nomination. This vow follows lame showing previously this year, where has not exhibited the aggressiveness demanded by presidential politics and has so far allowed Hillary to storm to the top of the rockpile.

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Jesus Obama Christ?

A sculpture depicting Senator Barack Obama as Jesus Christ is on display at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Unfortunately, the only link I found to the story was here, at Fox News.
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The Hillary "1984" Ad: Sen. Obama v. Sen. Clinton

The Sen. Barack Hussein Obama campaign claims it has nothing to do with the ad attacking Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Of course. The San Francisco Chronicle says:

"It may be the most stunning and creative attack ad yet for a 2008 presidential candidate -- one experts say could represent a watershed moment in 21st century media and political advertising."

You might need to click twice to get the video to play...

So far, the author of the mash-up of the old Apple Computer "1984" ad has not come forward. The ad is only available on the internet (like, YouTube, and a few thousand blogs or so...).

What we do know now, early in the Presidential sweepstakes, is that campaigns no longer control their supporters. On the other hand, we don't know the Obama campaign isn't behind this in some fashion. If this is the opening salvo, this is going to be a fascinating capaign. . .
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Barack Obama Calls John Edwards "kind of cute," and "good looking"

Will it come down to a slugfest between the two cuties?

Sen. Barack Obama slipped in a compliment about the compteition during two appearances in Iowa last weekend, according to The Hill.

“I want to wait and hear what John Edwards has to say, he’s kind of good-looking,” Obama pictured the rank and file in this battleground caucus state saying. At another appearance, he said the same thing, more or less, this time calling Edwards “kind of cute.”

Some of us were puzzled by these comments, since Sen. Barack Hussein Obama often says that he is rising above petty politics and has said before—about his own handsome visage—that looks do not matter!

A poll on the issue (holy moly, they poll on this kind of s***?) by Nerve.com, found both Senators Obama and Edwards running behind former President Bill Clinton on the hot-or-not scale.
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