David Brooks, Writing As Charles Krauthammer

Charles Krauthammer takes up the very effective attack line that I first noticed a while back from David Brooks, the gist of which is, where is the evidence of Barack's transcendence and bipartisanship?  From Krauthammer:

What makes [Barack] different from the other candidates, from the "old politics" he disdains, is the promise to rise above party, to take us beyond ideology and other archaic divisions, and bring us together as "one nation."

It's worked. When Americans are asked who can unite us, 67 percent say Obama versus 34 percent for Clinton, with McCain at 51.

     How did Obama pull that off? By riding one of the great non sequiturs of modern American politics.

It goes like this. Because Obama transcends race, it is therefore assumed that he will transcend everything else -- divisions of region, class, party, generation and ideology.

...The problem is that Obama's own history suggests that, in his case at least, it is not. Indeed, his Senate record quite belies the implication.

The Obama campaign has sent journalists eight pages of examples of his reaching across the aisle in the Senate. But these are small-bore items of almost no controversy -- more help for war veterans, reducing loose nukes in the former Soviet Union and the like. Bipartisan support for apple pie is hardly a profile in courage.

On the difficult compromises that required the political courage to challenge one's own political constituency, Obama flinched: the "gang of 14" compromise on judicial appointments, the immigration compromise to which Obama tried to append union-backed killer amendments, and, just last month, the compromise on warrantless eavesdropping that garnered 68 votes in the Senate. But not Obama's.

Who, in fact, supported all of these bipartisan deals, was a central player in two of them, and brokered the even more notorious McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform? John McCain, of course.

This was David Brooks from Feb 19:

How is a 47-year-old novice going to unify highly polarized 70-something committee chairs? What will happen if the nation’s 261,000 lobbyists don’t see the light, even after the laying on of hands? Does The Changemaker have the guts to take on the special interests in his own party — the trial lawyers, the teachers’ unions, the AARP?

The Gang of 14 created bipartisan unity on judges, but Obama sat it out. Kennedy and McCain created a bipartisan deal on immigration. Obama opted out of the parts that displeased the unions. Sixty-eight senators supported a bipartisan deal on FISA. Obama voted no. And if he were president now, how would the High Deacon of Unity heal the breach that split the House last week?

Hmm, Krauthammer even cited the same three issues - immigration, FISA, and the Gang of Fourteen (why wasn't that the "Magnificent Seven x Two"?  Nevermind...)  I at least tossed in McCain's efforts on the regulation of carbon dioxide as an example of McCain's desire to be a bipartisan breath of fresh air in the Senate, although presumably Barack would support something similar.

It's a good attack line, so I expect we will see it all summer and fall.  Krauthammer slides by the obvious problem with it, of course - every time McCain mentions these "accomplishments" he is nearly drowned out by teeth-grinding from the right.  We need to move on, my fellow righties - we can win with McCain or lose to Obama.  Or Hillary!

MORE:  My own guess at attack lines from last Feb missed out on Rezko, but the scales have fallen from my eyes.

BONUS LAUGHER. MAYBE:  Per this story, Obama couldn't manage to work with John McCain himself on a bipartisan ethics bill.  Jiminy - if you can't work with McCain on ethics reform, who can you work with?

Comments

[clarice]

I,too, thought the Krauthammer piece today compelling,TM.
Love that quote from McCain in today's NYT article--One could argue that the Dems are making way too much of God's annointing them for the task, but , as Francis U would say,"One could say that, but it would be wrong..."

[anduril]

This long story, Barack Obama and Me, linked on Hugh Hewitt's blog, gives a personal view of Obama's rise in Illinois politics. It begins:

It's not quite eight in the morning and Barack Obama is on the phone screaming at me. He liked the story I wrote about him a couple weeks ago, but not this garbage.

Months earlier, a reporter friend told me she overheard Obama call me an asshole at a political fund-raiser. Now here he is blasting me from hundreds of miles away for a story that just went online but hasn't yet hit local newsstands.

It's the first time I ever heard him yell, and I'm trembling as I set down the phone. I sit frozen at my desk for several minutes, stunned.

This is before Obama Girl, before the secret service detail, before he becomes a best-selling author. His book Dreams From My Father has been out of print for years.

I often see Obama smoking cigarettes on brisk Chicago mornings in front of his condominium high-rise along Lake Michigan, or getting his hair buzzed at the corner barbershop on 53rd and Harper in his Hyde Park neighborhood.

This is before he becomes a U.S. senator, before Oprah starts stumping for him, before he positions himself to become the country's first black president.

He is just a rank-and-file state senator in Illinois and I work for a string of small, scrappy newspapers there.

[Jane]

This, also from Hugh's blog is interesting. A reader sent it. I don't know squat about real estate, but I know I am among the brilliant.

'm a lawyer who lives in Chicago and has been reading your updates about this Obama/Rezko situation. I did a bit of digging myself on the local government websites to see if I could find the sellers' names or lenders. Ironically, or rather not so ironically because this is Chicago and the Chicago machine, afterall, there are no records available for a lot of this. I took the tax returns of Obama from the Powerline website with the address and plugged it into the Cook County Assessor's website (Cookcountyassesor.com) to obtain the property index numbers (PINs) for Obama's house (and apparently there is a second smaller lot behind it) as well as Rezko's lot next door. I then went to the recorder's website to look at the deeds (ccrd.info) and lo and behold, it stated that the records were not available or my request had timed out! Time wasn't an issue because I did it right away so I have to conclude that they have been purged! I then went to the treasurer's website (cookcountytreasurer.com) to see who receives the tax bills and what the txes are. Obama's lots are registered to two different people: [*******] for the large lot with the house and a [ ] for the smaller lot. [HH Note: Neither is registered to Obama or Rezko] Generally, the prior year's tax bills also are available just under the tax bill for this year and they were not available in this case. As a real estate lawyer in Chicago, I review a lot of tax bills and I have NEVER seen a situation where the prior year's tax bill was not available. When I plugged in Rezko's PIN to obtain the tax information on his lot, it said that there was no such property. This is VERY unusual.

If you want to do your own digging, Obama's PIN is 20-**-***-***-0000 for the smaller lot and 20-**-***-***-0000 for the lot with the house. Rezko's PIN is 20-**-***-***-0000. Of equal interest is the fact that there are maps on the assesor's website that will provide you with information if you input the PINs. When I tried to pull up information about these 3 different lots, it read that there was no information available.

Something's going on and I thought perhaps you would put this information to good use.

[anduril]

Steve Sailer re the economy:

"I won't pretend that I understand what all those terms like FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac mean, but I think the gist of the following Business Week story is that we Californians aren't going down alone. We're taking the other 49 states down with us. See you in taxpayer bailout hell!"

[Neo]

Meanwhile back at the ranch ..

The air force originally chose Boeing to supply it with 100 tankers. But Congress cancelled the deal after it emerged that Darleen Druyun, a former top air force acquisitions official, had held illegal job discussions with Boeing while still negotiating the deal. Ms Druyun admitted boosting the value of the deal to help Boeing.

Mr McCain has pointed to his aggressive investigation into the Boeing deal as evidence that he is willing to stand up to powerful corporate interests.

.. but now that the contract goes to EADS ..

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, said Boeing had been on course to supply the US Air Force with tankers until Mr McCain "intervened".

.. so let's sum this up.

Contract going to corporate outlaw .. bad .. except when breaking the law is trumphed by domestic interests.

Nancy Pelosi is a jerk.

[anduril]

Hugh Hewitt says he got the following email:

I'm a lawyer who lives in Chicago and has been reading your updates about this Obama/Rezko situation. I did a bit of digging myself on the local government websites to see if I could find the sellers' names or lenders. Ironically, or rather not so ironically because this is Chicago and the Chicago machine, afterall, there are no records available for a lot of this. I took the tax returns of Obama from the Powerline website with the address and plugged it into the Cook County Assessor's website (Cookcountyassesor.com) to obtain the property index numbers (PINs) for Obama's house (and apparently there is a second smaller lot behind it) as well as Rezko's lot next door. I then went to the recorder's website to look at the deeds (ccrd.info) and lo and behold, it stated that the records were not available or my request had timed out! Time wasn't an issue because I did it right away so I have to conclude that they have been purged! I then went to the treasurer's website (cookcountytreasurer.com) to see who receives the tax bills and what the txes are. Obama's lots are registered to two different people: [*******] for the large lot with the house and a [ ] for the smaller lot. [HH Note: Neither is registered to Obama or Rezko] Generally, the prior year's tax bills also are available just under the tax bill for this year and they were not available in this case. As a real estate lawyer in Chicago, I review a lot of tax bills and I have NEVER seen a situation where the prior year's tax bill was not available. When I plugged in Rezko's PIN to obtain the tax information on his lot, it said that there was no such property. This is VERY unusual.

If you want to do your own digging, Obama's PIN is 20-**-***-***-0000 for the smaller lot and 20-**-***-***-0000 for the lot with the house. Rezko's PIN is 20-**-***-***-0000. Of equal interest is the fact that there are maps on the assesor's website that will provide you with information if you input the PINs. When I tried to pull up information about these 3 different lots, it read that there was no information available.

Something's going on and I thought perhaps you would put this information to good use.

[anduril]

Hey!

[anduril]

Years ago I used to do that kind of stuff (by hand, not online). I think he has a point.

[clarice]

Well I don't know about HH's lawyer correspondent but yesterday's UK Times article had a great deal more info on the properties than we've seen elsewhere, including the fact that Ms Rezko dols the remaining lot to her husband's lawyer who know has it on the market for $995k (a figure I think unreasonable and just given in order to refute the obvious--the lot minus the part sold to the O's at a bargain price is now worthless.)

As to Neo's point--It seems preposterous to me that Boeing should loose this impt contract and EADS which is desperate, on the rocks, and the brain child of those Euros who did everything they could to undercut us would profit.
Surely there was another way to deal with the problem--like a big fine to Boeing or something.

I think giving this contract to EADS is ridiculous.

[clarice]

**sold**

**lose this impt contract***

[anduril]

OT

Good column by Kathleen Parker: Crime and Punishment for Reading.

WASHINGTON -- If an author can't make the Oprah cut, the next best thing may be getting censured by a university.

Ever heard of Todd Tucker?

Didn't think so. Obviously, some have because he has books and readers. But he's not Michael Crichton or John Grisham.

Yet.

Tucker's name recently surfaced beyond Amazon's pages when one of his books sparked an investigation at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) because a janitor was reading it.

So you're thinking, this book must have been pretty bad. Something like "Poached Puppies and Other Pet Recipes" or "What's So Wrong With Necrophilia?"

[anduril]

Headlines from the WSJ--Google Reader version:

US Payrolls Shrink Dramatically

Stocks Crumple on Jobs Report

Housing, Bank Troubles Deepen

DOW Falls Amid Escalating Problems in the Bond Market

I hope McCain is getting an economic plan together, and isn't going to try to ride the Bush-Bernanke one.

[Appalled Moderate]

Here's the link to andruil's story above. You can take it, and be relieved that Obama is not the naive choirboy that's often portrayed. You can take it as a reporter's sour grapes. Or you can conclude that this is someone who can play the game as well as Hillary, and may not be afraid of getting in the mud.

Interesting.

[PMII]

Peggy Noonan has a nice article in the WSJ.

[Ranger]

Here's the link to andruil's story above. You can take it, and be relieved that Obama is not the naive choirboy that's often portrayed. You can take it as a reporter's sour grapes. Or you can conclude that this is someone who can play the game as well as Hillary, and may not be afraid of getting in the mud.

Interesting.

Posted by: Appalled Moderate | March 07, 2008 at 10:32 AM

Is that an admission that "Hope and Change" and the call for a "new politics" are just lies on Obama's part to con the voters with?

[Rick Ballard]

"Obama's lots are registered to two different people: [*******] for the large lot with the house and a [ ] for the smaller lot. [HH Note: Neither is registered to Obama or Rezko] "

This why I didn't write this up for AT. Hewitt's correspondent professes to be a real estate attorney yet did not do the requisite research to determine the status of the small lot adjacent to BHOs which has the same address but not the same PIN. Had he done appropriate research he would have found that the "buried" lot had been split off in another transaction, prior to the Docs purchase.

There had to have been an easement granted for access to the buried lot, as you can see that cars park on the north side of the house (which was probably servant quarters for BHO Manse at one time). The attorney also didn't note that the subdivision of lots 2,3 and 4 (site of BHO Manse) also created a fourth lot also owned by the person who owns the buried lot. It is adjacent to the buried lot on the south (Hyde St) side and has a Hyde Street address.

Per the original subdivision there were only two lots (8 & 10) which were subsequently divided into four and renumbered 1,2,3,4 which were then furter subdivided into six "parts" with letter descriptors P and E added to the lot numbers. BHO Manse sits on all of 2 and a slice of 3 (less the western part), Rezko is a slice of 3 and all (but the western part) of 4 and BHO's neighbor to the north has lot 1 with no subdivision.

Pretty simple, right? The "I've never seen..." comment by HH's correspondent may indicate a certain lack of experience, 'cause I'm no real estate attorney but I've seen botches worse than this.

What I can't find are the last two revisions to the plats. The one that further subdivided 2,3 and 4 into east and west and the division which created BHO's Rezko Sliver. Perhaps they're just misfiled?

[Porchlight]

You can take it, and be relieved that Obama is not the naive choirboy that's often portrayed. You can take it as a reporter's sour grapes. Or you can conclude that this is someone who can play the game as well as Hillary, and may not be afraid of getting in the mud.

Hmm, or I could take it as evidence that Obama's relatively-newfound preacher-man saintly persona is just a tad unconvincing. But YMMV.

Speaking of that phenom, has anyone seen this YouTube response to the will.i.am/Dipdive videos? Set to "Building A Religion" by Cake. I thought it was great.

Obama - Building A Religion

[Ranger]

What I can't find are the last two revisions to the plats. The one that further subdivided 2,3 and 4 into east and west and the division which created BHO's Rezko Sliver. Perhaps they're just misfiled?

Posted by: Rick Ballard | March 07, 2008 at 10:46 AM

Or maybe Obama and Rezko just never got around to doing the paperwork? It is Chicago afterall, and no little formatlity is going to get in the way of a "deal" getting done.

[Sue]

Barack Obama and me...

...what is it with men whose hands tremble and their bodies shake and why on God's green earth would you admit it?

Anyway, good article about Obama.

[Appalled Moderate]

Anyone who thinks they can change a system had better have some ability to operate in the old system. If Obama is really the well-spoken lightweight many here believe him to be, he will not survive the next few weeks. Hillary's abttalion of wronged feminists and Bill's gang of slime artists will demolish him-

I figured that anyone who has operated successfully in Cook County politics was going to have the side to him shown in this article. It's necessary for survival.

The question is whether said pol has any sense of the public good. That's the risk...

[Sue]

Rick,

I wouldn't trust their websites either. A trip to the records office would probably clear it up or at least back up his claims.

[anduril]

Thanks, AM. I could try to blame typepad, but obviously it was me that goofed with the link (n.b., "it was me," not "it is was I").

[Ranger]

Appalled Moderate,

So, in your view, it is ok to lie to people to conceal your "schooling" in politics so you can achieve the level of power required to actually acomplish change?

[Appalled Moderate]

Ranger:

For the moment, I am simply not accepting your premise. I don't see aything the article that has to be inconsistant with what Obama has said. The reporter has had a bad experience with the guy; I would imagine other reporters have, too. The one thing I've noticed is that Obama clearly does not like the press.

[Porchlight]

I figured that anyone who has operated successfully in Cook County politics was going to have the side to him shown in this article. It's necessary for survival.

True. I don't at all begrudge a politician the ability and willingness to jab a sharp elbow when needed. I guess what bothers me is the enormous difference between this reality and his public persona.

And as Ranger pointed out, the fact that he is now staking a claim to purity with his call for a "new politics." When in fact he is a product of the old politics just like Hillary.

[Ranger]

Also, the issue with the Rezko deal on the house is more than just about learning to do politics, it is about enjoying the payouts of doing politics that way too. It's one thing to learn the game, quite another to personally benifit from it.

[Jane]

Obama clearly does not like the press

No worries because he makes them all atingle!

[RichatUF]

Jane-

Rick, GMax, and Ranger among others had a thread about a week back with all the PIN numbers and link rich that went through the real estate transaction.

Rick-

MO left the Landmarks Board in March 05. I dropped a link in a previous thread to a page at MyDD which went through the process that the doctors had to go through to list the house, with the implication that MO had to have known about the house well before March. Also, the author at the link claims that for the lot to have been divided as it was it would have required more than 1 public hearing because it would have had to go through more than the Landmarks Board. FWIW.

Another rich area to mine might be the sale of the Obama's condo in late 2004.

Porchlight-

The video is creepy. I'm glad that B♥O steers clear of corporate interests, except those that are sycophantic to his campaign. Too bad that the FEC doesn't have a quorum...

[clarice]

charlie's latest--http://pajamasmedia.com/2008/03/todays_health_insurance_aint_i.php>Health insurance

[anduril]

Rick, can I bother you to provide a link to the best summary of your earlier research? I confess I wasn't paying attention to the R/E details, but this business of subdividing the lots and buried lots, seems strange to me given the settled nature of the property and all. This is a neighborhood of mansions and I, at least, wouldn't have expected this kind of stuff. Can you relink the aerial view--for continued reference? I'll understand if you don't want to go to the trouble.

BTW, I think you're a little unfair to the lawyer. He's not claiming to have done a thorough historical research of this R/E. He's simply making the point that these properties appear to be treated differently on government websites than is very much the standard:

"As a real estate lawyer in Chicago, I review a lot of tax bills and I have NEVER seen a situation where the prior year's tax bill was not available. When I plugged in Rezko's PIN to obtain the tax information on his lot, it said that there was no such property. This is VERY unusual."

[Sue]

He is running on the politics of change & hope and how he has the better judgment. When things tend to show he is the same old, same old, and his judgment is being questioned, the thin veneer he is wearing won't last through November. Hillary played this wrong. She should have played to type and taken him down with her. Somehow the scum rises to the top and the Clintons always seem to rise.

[Ranger]

Well, the lack of a property tax bill may not be that strange in this case, given that the new owners get an 8 year abatement if they agree to maintain the house and property in its historical condition. Now, I don't know how Chicago does that, but if the abatement is a full waiver of the tax bill, then they may not even generate a bill for the property until the 8 years expires.

[Ranger]

An interesting point that just occured to me is that in that MyDD posting, one of the final comentators (who apparently lived in the house at one point) said the lot had been split back in the 80s, so the issue of how that got approved for the Docs while MO was on the Historical Board was moot. But, for the Rezko's to sell the strip of land would also requre a lot change needing the same approval would it not? If that is the case, then it seems to have gone through rather quickly and quietly. Did Obama get favoratism in the consideration of this action? Was he moved to the head of the line? Did the lot change requested conform to the required guidlines? Where the required public hearings held? This is a completely new set of questions that no one seems to be asking at the moment.

[anduril]

Ranger, are you suggesting that the lot split for the Rezko strip was a necessary preliminary to the sweetheart deal for Obama?

[Sue]

Samantha Power has resigned from the Obama campaign. I guess the truth really does set you free.

[GMax]

I dont think Rick was being unfair at all. The shallow level of understanding of the "real estate attorney" troubled me quite a bit too. Maybe he just plays an RE Attorney on the internet? Most Real Estate attorneys would have enough connections to get a title commitment on the property which would pull every single document out of the title plant, and whether or not Cook County were trying to hide stuff on their website would have zero effect, cuz all the large title companies have their own plant which is updated constantly. Thus its pretty impossible to have "misfiled" docs for any significant period, somebodies plant will notice and point it out, its one of the ways they never have the kind of problems that require title insurance actually having to pay off.

[Rick Ballard]

Sue,

Whose claims? There are four separate tax parcels covering portions of three lots. The BHO/Rezklad lots were assigned new PIN numbers just prior to their sale by the Docs.

I certainly agree that it would take a trip to the recorder's office (or a title search) to follow the actual lot line changes but the statement that "When I plugged in Rezko's PIN to obtain the tax information on his lot, it said that there was no such property. This is VERY unusual." simply doesn't reflect the fact that the PINs with 34,35 (BHO, Rezko) identifiers had previously been identified as 26,29. It's unsurprising that new PINs don't have prior tax records, what's surprising is that the old PINs don't show up in the database either. Maybe a change in PINs is unusual but it had happened once before with the same parcels when the "buried" lot and the "new" Hyde Street lot were created.

The PIN for the buried lot is 2011115270000 and you can access the tax records for it here, including a mapping and photo selection which lets you pan the other lots (but does not return tax info on BHO/Rezko).

Eventually someone will follow the trail back to this transaction and start speculating.

My point concerning the attorney had more to do with the difficulty in writing about what appears to be a "simple" transaction in a manner which provides for clear understanding of facts. I may be picking too small a nit but anyone who writes about this will be sure to be shredded unless all i's are dotted and t's crossed.

Anduril,

The link to the assessor's office map function allows you to pan back and forth between lots and to zoom in and out. If you look at the three lots to the north of BHO Manse you can determine the "original" size of the lots in question.

[Sue]

Sue,

Whose claims?

The supposed real estate attorney who doesn't know that there is nothing unusual about documents and records not appearing on the websites but are in the record books. Happens here all the time. Which is why I have to make a trip to the courthouse, appraisal office, tax office, to confirm something really isn't there. The website is a tool, but it isn't official.

[anduril]

Thanks, Rick.

Right--it was only an email. Maybe you SHOULD try to do a more thorough account of this. It's beginning to look less "simple" than at first sight.

[Porchlight]

Ranger,

I don't think the MyDD commenter was saying the lot was split up in the '80s. I think he was saying that when he lived there in the '70s, it was a double lot. Then it was sold in the '80s. No mention of a split back then, although he does offer what I think is his opinion that it would make sense to divide the property.

Unless I'm reading wrong? Here's the comment, tell me if I'm missing something:

Re: How To Buy A Mansion You Can't Afford (none / 0)

I lived in this house for a number of years in the 70's. So, for the record, 5046 S. Greenwood was a double lot on the corner of 51st and Greenwood, across from KAM Isaiah Israel. The 51st St side of the lot was just fenced lawn...wrought iron fence standing on a cement base a foot or two high. The driveway was on the north side of the house, going from Greenwood and heading directly west, past the port cochere, to the coach house. It makes lots of sense to divide the parcel into two, as that huge lawn was plenty big for a second home.

A bit of history, as an aside. The house had been owned by the uncle of Leopold (Leopold and Loeb murdered Bobby Franks. Bobby's house was on 51st St, a couple blocks west of this property. After the scandal Uncle Leopold gave the property to KAM, and supposedly left town in shame. I can't vouch for that. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod purchased the property, intending to tear it down and build a large church structure. In the meantime, they used the first floor as a church and the staff lived on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The Lutherans sold the home to a private party sometime in the early 80's, as I recall.

It's a great building, and the purchase price doesn't seem out of line for similar homes in the neighborhood. Although you can't park across the street in from of the KAM entrance, there's plenty of street parking, the garage/coachhouse, and a very long driveway.

Just wanted to correct some misperceptions about the property.

by Chiboy on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:10:30 PM EST

[Neo]

I think giving this contract to EADS is ridiculous.

I think so too, but blaming McCain for exposing bid-rigging is the wrong way to frame this.

It shows Pelosi eager to "by-pass" the law when politically necessary. Quite typical of a "bad" or corrupt politician.

[anduril]

A LOT less "simple". (pun intended)

[Other Tom]

"Hillary's battalion of wronged feminists and Bill's gang of slime artists will demolish him-"

But what if they do? He still cannot fail to arrive at the convention with a majority of the pledged delegates, and the only way he can be denied the nomination is by action of the superdelegates. And if that happens, I'm not sure he would accept the VP position; I'm not sure Hillary would even offer it; and I have some doubts that the blacks and the young crazies would be satisfied with it if he did accept it.

The only way out I can see for the Dems--and I'm not sure it's a way out--is a unity ticket with him at the top. I have real doubts about whether that's a winning ticket.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Thanks, Clarice!

[Ranger]

Ranger, are you suggesting that the lot split for the Rezko strip was a necessary preliminary to the sweetheart deal for Obama?

Posted by: anduril | March 07, 2008 at 12:08 PM

Not exactly (I don't think). What I am wondering about is the fact that a lot of effort seems to have focused on the split between the house plot and the Rezko empty plot, which appears to have required a lot of effort to make happen at some point. But, there is now someone saying that this split seems to have happened in the 80s, so that the Doc who sold the house to Obama were stuck with that situation when they bought the house. Fair enough, but if that is true, it still doesn't answer how the subsequent lot split on this historical property was approved so that Obama could buy the 10 by 150 strip from Rezko.

Given all the hoops that the MyDD post discussed for this type of aproval, it seems that it would have required quite a bit of lead time.

So, here are the questions I don't see being asked about the Rezko "sell back":

Was aproval from the Historical Board required to approve such a lot split for sale?

If so, when was the aproval process started?

How quickly was the plot modification approved and was that speed normal for such requests?

Did the request meet the minimum threashold of justification for approval?

Were all the required steps followed?

If the process was speeded up or if steps were skipped, why did that happen?

These are just questions that occure to me in looking at this story. It would be interesting to see when the process started also to see if it was part of the land deal all along that Obama would eventually buy back the strip of land (which would further dent Obama's claim that there was "no co-ordination" between the Obamas and the Rezkos on the deal).

[Ranger]

Porchlight,

I may be confusing that post with one that GMax or one of the other JOM researchers laid out listing the plots and when they were registered. For some reason I was thinking we had (at some point) established the plot was split earler than the MyDD author proposed, thus limiting the abuse of power charges.

[Jane]

The only way out I can see for the Dems--and I'm not sure it's a way out--is a unity ticket with him at the top. I have real doubts about whether that's a winning ticket.

It's all quite fabulous isn't it?

[Porchlight]

Thanks, Ranger. I'll go back and look. At any rate, clearly this all needs to be hammered out - a timeline would be great. I wonder if any of the Chicago reporters covering Rezko are working on it. Not much love lost between them and Obama at this point.

[anduril]

Right, there must be a timeline somewhere at this point, with an accompanying narrative of what was going on.

[GMax]

The hits just keep on coming, Sam Powers resigns from the Obama campaign after being told " NO, no you cant."

This guy is in a bit of a slump for being a Messianic candidate, isn't he?

[GMax]

This from the folks at Real Clear Politics who link to an article by Steven Stark. The bloom is coming off the rose? Read his analysis, here is a portion:

But if Obama emerges as the nominee, it's now clear his campaign is headed into the autumn homestretch with some enormous holes.

Foremost among them is that Obama has yet to win a major state other than his own (Illinois) because he's still having trouble appealing to both Hispanics and working-class Democrats --those so-called Reagan Democrats. As early as this past November, the Pew Forum was picking up signs in its polls that Obama was running significantly worse among Catholics than he was among virtually any other demographic group in the electorate.

That's still true. Unfortunately for Obama, Hispanics and working-class voters are two groups with some affinity for John McCain. In recent head-to-head polls, for example, McCain handily beat Obama by double digits in Florida -- a state once considered a key toss-up. In another poll, the presumed GOP nominee is slightly ahead of Obama in New Jersey, a blue state in which John Kerry defeated George Bush by seven percentage points in 2004.

Color by numbers

These are worrying signs for the Democrats, should Obama be the nominee, especially now that it appears the Obama-Clinton contest could drag on for months, further weakening whoever emerges as the Democratic candidate. Michael Barone, the ace principal author of The Almanac of American Politics, recently wrote that an Obama-McCain race would redraw the red-state-blue-state map of the past few elections. But a more accurate analysis is that while McCain would be competitive in many states -- even California -- once considered safely Democratic, it's hard to see as many comparable states where Obama might do the same.

In addition to California, McCain has a reasonable shot at winning blue states Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and maybe even Wisconsin and Michigan, not to mention the key swing state of Ohio. Obama, on the other hand, has a shot at red states New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia. McCain has the better hand to play.

This general-election weakness for Obama is sure to be an argument pressed by the Clinton forces in the days ahead. True, she probably wouldn't have a chance in any of the red states that Obama might contest, either. But in her favor is the fact that, while her appeal to Independents is limited, she'd be far likelier to run stronger against McCain in Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California.

Should we tell the Democrats that the US electorate does not like lefties for President?

[Jane]

Sheesh GMax be careful or you will bring on a resurrection!

[Porchlight]

One benefit of a unity ticket - regardless of who's on top - is that if it loses, the Dems and media won't find it as easy to cry foul because "America is racist." They'll have to acknowledge the Anybody But Clinton vote. Which is precisely what they've feared about a Hillary nomination all along.

[anduril]

Here's a timeline of sorts: Obama and Rezko: TPM's Timeline. The only reason I can come up with off the top of my head for Obama's purchase of the 10 foot strip is if the "Rezko lot" was zoned for commercial development--which I think I read somewhere that it was. I'm sure someone here has already gone into that. However, the Rezko involvement still looks like doing Obama a favor. When you combine that with all the other connections it does look fishy.

[GMax]

The lot was zoned R-5

[anduril]

John Kass' bottom line on the deal:

The sellers split the parcel in two, one a vacant lot and one with a home. Obama got a $300,000 discount on the house. The Rezkos paid the full asking price for the lot next door. Obama, who keeps insisting he's told us everything, until something new comes out, admitted recently that he toured the home with Tony before that magical sale. So the real estate fairy sprinkles the magic fairy dust on the Obama dream home. Obama becomes the reform candidate for president, to change American politics as we know it -- except of course in Chicago, where the Daley Machine runs things.

Makes sense to me.

[Rick Ballard]

Sue,

Thanks. I sure wish you were in Cook County, Il., because I know that a nice overlay could be created if I could get my hands on the actual plats. I can make an informed guess as to what happened but without the detailed plats it's just speculation.

[anduril]

Sorry if this has already been linked (it's old news):

Today’s Rezko Trial Scoops (and prosecutors on $20K kickback to Obama)

The reference to kickbacks TO Obama is a little misleading, but it is interesting and can't be helpful to Obama at this juncture of his campaign:

Here are the references to Obama from the Chicago Tribune’s “gavel-to-gavel” coverage of the Rezko trial:

Defense lawyer Joe Duffy is portraying Antoin “Tony” Rezko as a victim of Stuart Levine, not a schemer who tried to rob state boards blind as the government has alleged.

Duffy mentions Levine’s close political ties to the late Mayor Harold Washington, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill), former Gov. Jim Edgar and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago) as examples of how connected Levine was.

::::::::::::::

She [U.S. prosecutor Carrie Hamilton] also did not mention Sen. Barack Obama, another Rezko friend. The government alleges that $20,000 in alleged kickbacks arranged by Rezko found its way into Obama’s 2004 campaign treasury. The Rezko connection has dogged Obama on the presidential campaign trail in recent weeks and is the reason why the national media is swarming over a court case, which has almost nothing to do with the Illinois senator.

Hamilton told jurors about the government’s star witness against Rezko, Highland Park businessman Stuart Levine, who has pleaded guilty to charges that he helped Rezko rig the state boards and scheme to siphon off millions of dollars. Levine has admitted to heavy drug use, and the defense claims that has clouded his memory and led him to invent situations and schemes that never happened.

::::::::::::::

Hamilton finished remarks after an hour. She did not mention the name of Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, whose U.S. Senate campaign in 2004 allegedly was the beneficiary of $20,000 in campaign cash from intermediaries in the kickback schemes the government says were orchestrated by Rezko.

[GMax]

I would be careful of a TPM analysis of anything. While they seem to be sceptical, there are things in article that make it look better for Obama than if everything known is presented. For example, it regurgitates an Obama talking point about staying off the property, but fails to mention that Obama has acknowledged paying to have the lot mowed. So besides those times, did you ever set foot or vehicle on that lot Barry? See what I mean.

[Jane]

Way ot - but I thought you might be interested in what passes for politics in the Bay State under the pre-Messiah Deval Patrick. From Howie Carr:

If you are a moonbat, there is only one place you can possibly be tomorrow - at Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown for the state Democratic Committee meeting.

The committee, which is of course controlled by Gov. Deval Patrick (because he controls the hack jobs), will be electing 94 “add-on” members from the following categories:

“Male Youth; Female Youth; Male College; Female College; Female Affirmative Action; Male Affirmative Action; Male Veteran; Female Veteran; Female Labor; Male Labor; Gay Male; Lesbian; Male Disabled; Female Disabled; Female French-Speaking; Male French-Speaking; Male Portuguese-Speaking; Female Portuguese-Speaking; Female Senior; Male Senior; Gender Balance.”

What, no transgendered category? I’m sure that oversight will be remedied soon enough. But here’s the really special part about tomorrow: Every candidate gets to make a speech.

Don’t you wish you could be there in Ward 2 tomorrow?

Even John Walsh, the “chair” (as opposed to chairman) of the party, shudders at the train wreck this produces. In his letter to the, uh, real members of the committee, he totes that this election in the past has “taken the entire day - stretching eight to 12 hours.”

His italics, not mine.

So this year, in what I’m guessing will be a futile attempt not to waste the entire day on this, Walsh has issued an “add-on candidates book,” in which the candidates can make a pitch for themselves.

Here’s a typical one, from a “gender balance” candidate from Cambridge named Laurie Leyshon, who includes a photo of herself with Barack Obama:

“I want to create . . . a Nation that is committed to Healing the Earth and All her People who have been so terribly harmed by our past and current transgressions.”

With so many categories in which to claim victimhood, some candidates admit that they had a difficult decision to make.

“I could have run,” says Paul Sousa of Cambridge, “as a male youth/student, Portuguese speaker or gay male.”

He chose the last, and now finds himself running against, among others, a “gay vegan idealist,” the “National co-vice-chair of the Lavender Caucus of SEIU” and a “successful state politics blogger.”

Everyone has to list their political experience, and what experiences they have:

“I have interned for Corporate Accountability International . . . I volunteered my time reaching out to the environmental community . . . Now on staff at the American Federation of Teachers . . . I met (Al Gore) while at Harvard Divinity School . . . I currently work for a non-profit . . . I currently work in human services as a program director for a non-profit . . .”

There are some garden-variety hacks, like Mary Oroszko, a $58,000-a-year Worcester coat-holder for Lt. Gov. Tim Murray. In a truly miraculous gesture of outreach, there are even a handful of candidates who have real jobs, in the Dreaded Private Sector. Very few. For instance, Gene Ring, of Medford, running for a “Veteran-Male” slot. He’s worked for a bunch of pols (good!) but then he did something very bad.

“I am now a small business owner, which is something I believe the Democratic Party needs more of in its ranks.”

Good luck, Gene. You’re going to need it.

Disabled - male? My money’s on William Wood.

“I have been disabled all my life . . . I understand the concept of hidden disabilities, becoming disabled and being disabled. I created the theory of phobic disabilities regarding anti-human development of the disability community. I have written plays about the subject of disability, have a Ph.D. focusing on disability . . .”

See you in Charlestown tomorrow - not.

Oh if you are worried about the lack of trans gendered delegate, Patrick has proposed a new law....

[Appalled Moderate]

OT:

The Clinton path to the nomination is through the superdelegates. And the only way Clinton wins them is:

Win Pennsylvania convincingly

Win somewhere else convincingly; AND

Convince superdelegates that Obama will lose states Hillary would win.

The Clinton approach to this problem is to demonstrate that Obama is powerless against attacks on his character -- that he has incredible baggage, and he's too snot nosed to cope with a press barrage. (See the whole NAFTA controversy) In other words, Clinton has to scare the superdelegates. The way to do that is make sure Obama is under pretty constant assault and hope he has no grace under pressure.

[GMax]

another article where Democrat journalists are starting to figure it out:

Obama enjoys his lead in delegates for one main reason: black majority congressional districts. Democrats are proportional so long as losing candidate gets 25% of the vote. But in black majority districts, Obama is winning north of 80%, so he gets them all. He also has big (2 to 1) leads in many low-turnout caucus states. His delegate lead among elected delegates is a much bigger percentage margin (6%) than his lead in the popular vote (2%). If you throw in Florida, his vote lead is 1%. It is surprising that Hllary Clinton has not made more of an issue of this yet -- since the popular vote is all but even. Super delegates continue to move toward him, suggesting that many had committed to do it after March 4, expecting his victory march to continue and did not change their minds despite his defeat in 3 of 4 contests that day.

Key operative word above? YET.

Boy is this going to be fun, anarchists in the streets outside of the convention hall, and pandomonium inside. Pass the popcorn.

[anduril]

I'm sorry again for working this out aloud, but combining this with the Timesonline story Boneheaded deal haunts house Obama built helps make some sense of it all.

The doctor owners of the two lots wanted to divide the lots (according to the Times). That seems to make sense, in that it makes the lots more marketable. However, they wanted to sell them both at the same time. That makes sense, too, if they want to be rid of the property. But that means the Obama's need a R/E fairy to help them get their dream home, and that fairy is Rezko. The question seems to come down to the market value of the lots, and that probably has to do with how they were zoned. The undeveloped corner "Rezko" lot, if it were zoned for commercial development, may arguably have legitimately sold at a higher percentage of the asking price than the "Obama" mansion lot, which is probably only zoned residential. I'm not familiar with these things, so I'm only speculating. At this point it seems hard to pin any wrongdoing on Obama, beyond the appearance of wrongdoing that has to attach to anyone associated with Rezko and Rezko's shady associates. There seems no question but that Rezko was doing Obama a favor by participating in a transaction that Obama couldn't have pulled off on his own, but that's not criminal. So I can understand why Fitz has laid off Obama. What this story does is highlight Obama's shady connections.

[Ranger]

But, if the lots were split for this sale, then the question of abuse of power by MO comes back into play, and if all the proper steps were followed in approving the lot split for the sale. Then again, the question of the follow up approval of the second lot split when Rezko sold that strip of land to Obama.

[Sue]

Thanks. I sure wish you were in Cook County, Il.

I could help you if it was in Texas. Our law firm does the legal work for one of our local title companies. Alas, we are a long way from Illinois.

[Rick Ballard]

Anduril,

That's not a bad analysis but we have no way of knowing whether the Docs insistence on a joint sale was applicable prior to the BHO offer. The Docs accepted "restrictions" on their deed when they purchased the lots (separately) in 2000. We don't know the nature of the restrictions but we do know that they applied to both lots (or PINs) and we know that they were lifted in April, 2005.

The property was never zoned commercial. It is (was?) zoned for townhouses.

My surmise is that the Docs were fiddling with the lot lines in order to accomodate setback requirements pertaining to the Hyde St frontage but I can't be sure without the plat and knowledge of the restrictions that were applied in 2000 and released in 2005.

Buy me a ticket to Chicago and cover my expenses (very modest) for a week and I'll fill in the holes.

Maybe.

I thought that's what "real" journalists were for? The question that I'm mulling is "who's feeding the Times of London (hi, RW!!) and what kind of intelligence test do you have to fail to get a job at the Trib or Sun-Times? Or is it a Chinese water torture story?

[anduril]

Yeah, but I've gotta assume Fitz looked at it.

On a lighter note, what could be more fun than a Hewitt/Mark Steyn conversation? Check it out (h/t bro):

Mark Steyn on Barack Obama's unwanted Tony award, and the Driving Miss Daisy Democratic campaign

Get it? Unwanted Tony award? Good?

A sampling:

HH: Well, you just increased by 200% my knowledge of Shakespeare in the theatre, so I salute you. Now to more mundane things. Tony Rezko. Had you before this week ever heard the name, Mark Steyn?

MS: I think I heard it last week, but this is Barack Obama’s Tony award, and it’s one he’d rather decline.

HH: (laughing) He declined…

MS: The fact is, of course, until, you know, a couple of years ago, Barack Obama was an Illinois state senator. And it would be hard to imagine a state senator in my state, New Hampshire, embroiling himself in anything quite as murky as this, but it is relatively routine in the part of the world he happens to hail from. And I think this is a potential problem for him. This murky Iraqi who is connected with Rezko presents potential problems, because in effect, this guy is unloading a vast amount of money on the Rezko guy who basically paid the Obamas’ mortgage. There’s enough murky connections here that what it does is it taints Obama. Obama’s whole shtick depends on being saintlier than thou. He’s this pristine hope for America. And that’s been his advantage on Iraq. And like John Edwards and Hillary Clinton, he doesn’t have to tangle himself up like a pretzel explaining why his views today are 180 degrees different from what they were five yeas ago. But the minute you get this murky Iraqi and Tony Rezko into the picture, then suddenly he looks less like a saint.

HH: You know, Hitchens was on yesterday. He couldn’t wait to bring up Nadhmi Auchi, the Iraqi who lives in London. And he spelled the name out for my audience. He said more to come. And it’s the sort of thing that Hitchens doesn’t do without warrant, and it seems to me that this is going to be, well, a long-running story in the six weeks that Obama doesn’t need a long-running story, Mark Steyn.

MS: No, I think that’s true. I mean, the Senator’s position is that he has no recollection of meeting this rather sinister Iraqi, which leads to the obvious question, well, how many sinister Iraqis does the average Illinois state senator meet?

...

HH: Mark Steyn, let’s get to the Dems. Was it a good idea for Republicans to summon the Mummy, to go to the undead and resurrect Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Ohio and Texas?

MS: I think so. I agree with Rush Limbaugh, who had a terrific line. He said if the Democrats in the media get to choose our candidates, what’s wrong with Republicans choosing theirs. And that’s a very good point. You know, when Democrats and independents vote for John McCain, we’re told that this shows he has great crossover appeal, and reaches out to moderates. Well, you know, a lot of Republicans voted for Hillary. That shows she has great crossover appeal, too. I’m happy to complicate the Democratic primary process for as long as we can.

HH: Now here’s my best argument against it, which is that Democrats are wrong about every matter of policy. They have nominated John Kerry and Al Gore. They traditionally make horrible choices. Don’t in any way interfere with the exercise of their bad judgment in politics.

MS: No, I think there’s a little more to it than that this time. In a sense, I think you’re weakening both candidates by keeping this race going. It’s a bit like some sort of, you know, particularly because the identity politics issue is so hopelessly confusing the Democrats…

HH: Yes, it is.

MS: It’s a bit like some psycho version of Driving Miss Daisy, this primary race.

...

HH: Now I have to ask with a minute left, I’ve been impressed with the way McCain is going about methodically pulling the party together, and organizing this campaign. What do you think?

MS: Yeah, I think he’s an unsatisfactory candidate that a lot of us would have preferred not to have. But you know, it’s a few weeks now since Mitt Romney stepped down, and people adjust, and people accept the reality of it. And quite frankly, when you look at Obama, and you look at Hillary Clinton, John McCain should be able to actually reconcile himself to at least part of the base between now and November.

HH: And do you think with the strong or at least decent possibility of replacing George Bush in the Oval Office?

MS: Well, you know, I think it’s clear that Obama is a weaker candidate.

HH: Yup.

MS: I think he’s weaker for two reasons. First off is this NAFTA-gate business of him having a quiet word with the Canadian government and basically saying pay no attention to my demagoguing on free trade and hemispheric alliances. I think if that’s true, it does just make him look like another slippery greaser of a politics as usual…

HH: Mark Steyn, we’re out of time. We’ll wait for part two next week.

[Other Tom]

I agree, AM, that that is one way for her to get the superdelegates to break for her. I wasn't suggesting that she couldn't do that, only that she will have to do it, because she is certain to arrive at the convention with a minority of the pledged delegates.

And if she persuades the superdelegates to "reverse" the delegate lead, she is going to enrage millions of Obama zealots. Some, but not all, of them would no doubt be bought off by his being given the VP position. But she will have done a great deal of harm.

[anduril]

My surmise is that the Docs were fiddling with the lot lines in order to accomodate setback requirements pertaining to the Hyde St frontage...

Looking at the photos, it appears that the setback on Hyde Park Blvd. is pretty minimal: it appears to be commercial/apartments (first floor store fronts?) abutting the sidewalk. Plus, if there were more substantial setback requirements, selling the ten foot strip could render the remainder worthless, as it would be too narrow to develop townhomes. As it is, it appears that's its only use now that the Obamas have the strip.

[Neo]

My choices for running mates for McCain ..

1) Chris Cox -CA -- he's relatively young and cleaner than clean ethics-wise.

2) John Kasich -OH -- sharp

3) Tim Pawlenty -MN -- comes off well on TV

All are from states that Obama may have trouble in.

[anduril]

No substantive mention of Obama in Rezko, Jesse Jackson, Blagojevich And Even More Real Estate? Oh My!, however the author is probably right that "Hillary wants to drag things out and have the media look at the Rezko trial."

[Rick Ballard]

Does anyone believe that the logic expressed by Krauthammer in his iteration of Brooks theses concerning BHO's total lack of any credentials as a "unifier" can actually be understood by the Obamatons? IMO - Obamatons and Ronulans don't exhibit any proof of possession of the mental equipment necessary to follow logical constructs.

They can hang onto illogical constructs with an unbreakable death grip but "we are the change we've been waiting for" is rather decent evidence of the intellectual depth involved.

RW is going to have to drag BHO through the mud for quite a while to knock the shiny patina off to the point where the Obamatons will drift away. Brooks and Krauthammer just point out why he would be much easier to beat than RW in the general.

[anduril]

Yes, since Obamatons didn't arrive at their commitment by rational means, it's a stretch to think that rational means can be used to argue them back to reality. The surest method will be a series of swift kicks to the posterior administered by Reality. The Rezko trial may be more effective in that regard than Nafta-gate.

[Jane]

I don't see any benefit in dragging the Obamatons back to reality. I look forward to the convention battle. I, of course hope there will be no violence.

[Rick Ballard]

"I don't see any benefit in dragging the Obamatons back to reality. They would obviously be lost there."

Minor edit for clarification.

[clarice]

I don't know, Rick.."We are the change we've been waiting for.." is the kind of thing that made Deepak Chopra ( and Oprah for that matter) rich, rich, rich.
The trouble may lie with us..idiotic linear thinkers.

Let me see now..maybe PUK can help me come up with comething as brilliant as WATCWBWF

[clarice]

**Something****

[Rick Ballard]

Clarice,

There is absolutely no doubt about the size of the potential market - it's huge. It's just that if you draw one of those Viennese Diaphragm thingies, the overlap with the actual voting population isn't any larger than it was for Algor or Magic Hat.

I've been looking at the unemployment rate in the runup to Presidential elections and trying to make some sense out what's going on. In the "It's the economy, stupid" election of '92 the rate in November stood at 7.4% and Bush lost. In the "Happy Days Are Here Again" election of 2000, the rate was at 3.9% and Algor lost. Today the rate is at 4.8% with an extraordinarily low probability of going higher than 5.4% by election day. I don't see how we get to "It's the economy, stupid" redux from here.

[PeterUK]

Change for changes sake.

Obama will give you Short change.

Democrats don't give change.

[PaulL]

The BBC interview with Samantha Power was wonderful. I sure wish there were one American TV host who could interview someone with that skill.

Samantha revealed way too much about what Obama would really do and really thinks. I think that's why she was fired, not for the Hillary is a monster comment.

My favorite part of the interview was when Samantha compared Obama to . . . wait for it . . . Cicero. LOL!

[PeterUK]

"My favorite part of the interview was when Samantha compared Obama to . . . wait for it . . . Cicero. LOL!"

Paul Cicero?

[Rick Ballard]

Mr Uk,

May I suggest that you lower your sights just a bit? Here in the colonies the applicable advice would be "Shoot low sheriff, those are midgets on Shetland ponies".

Perhaps a little more Mirror of Erised as well. I must admit that I'm having a bit of difficulty in coming up with anything at all. "Obama - feel the change" keeps popping into my head and I start giggling like a school girl.

Cicero is actually a small city in Illinois - and a noted mob hangout. Or maybe that old Romanian.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

2) John Kasich -OH -- sharp

Boy, he sure doesn't show it on Fox.

[clarice]

CICERO? Oh My God. I do not imagine I can survive all this idiocy for a great deal longer...I have stapled my gut-- busted from laughing-- so often, there's no room for another staple.

[PeterUK]

Mr Ballard.

"Where's My Change"?

[Bill in AZ]

Rick, this is OT and I apologize if you or someone has commented on this already - haven't been able to stay caught up lately... any thoughts on the oil bubble about to pop article at AT? Just seems to be artificially high to me lately, and sooner or later all of the full tankers bobbing around in the ocean with no place to unload will raise the sea level eventually... damn, maybe the Goracle is right... carbon, sea level rising

[kim]

I'll say it again, Obama should be thanking Powers, not axing her.
==============================

[RichatUF]

Rick-

You seem to be interested in this sort of stuff. Seems that FARC lost another. Don't know if you saw my other link regarding Viktor Bout either.

NYT graf-

...the world’s most notorious arms dealers was arrested in Thailand on Thursday as part of an American-led sting operation. He was promptly charged in the United States with conspiracy for trying to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to rebels in Colombia...

If this keeps up B♥O's brain trust (-Powers of course) won't have many negotiating partners left.

[Soylent Red]

With an eye to his likely tax policies, perhaps...

"Barack Obama. Change is all we have left."

or in regard to his generally socialist tendencies...

"Obama. Managing your change."

or maybe, as a return to the groovy sixties, the suitably vacuous...

"People are Change, when you're a Changer."

[Sue]

I'm trying to remember my Cicero. Wasn't he the one who had an inferiority complex because he wasn't born a Roman?

[Other Tom]

There's not much doubt she'll drag him through the mud, and indeed some portion of the faithful will drift away--but there's also no doubt that many millions of them will remain, and if the superdelegates take the nomination away from him, there will be hell to pay. (Unlike Jane, I'm not particularly averse to a little of the ol' ultra-violence--it's as American as cherry pie, and makes for great viewing.)

I said a week or so that McCain would get 300+ EV's against Obama, and I'm more inclined to believe that as each day passes. Between now and election day there is going to arise a huge unease about this fellow's readiness in the eyes of the non-maniacs.

As for the economy, I'm not nearly as optimistic as RickB. There's more to it than unemployment (which is not bad now, but it's getting worse not better). I think Bernanke is something close to a disaster, and while the president is in no way responsible for anything the fed does, nor for the mortgage fiasco, the fact is that the party in the White House always--always--is blamed for such things, and that fact is so well established that no one ever tries to avoid the responsibility even though they don't deserve it.

[hit and run]

Clarice:
"We are the change we've been waiting for.." is the kind of thing that made Deepak Chopra ( and Oprah for that matter) rich, rich, rich.

Oh that's so weird that you would bring up Oprah.

[Other Tom]

I'm pretty sure Ms. Power was referring to the town of Cicero, IL, formerly home to the Hon. A. Capone.

[PeterUK]

Obama,Changing your manager.

[Rick Ballard]

Bill,

Rich was floating the idea that oil futures are being manipulated. I'd have to see an extrapolation of the cost of doing so in order to let go of my idea that it's similiar to the Tulip Bubble with the Peaker clowns having convinced the rubes that there's no downside. The futures market is currently trading more than double actual delivery stocks. When the music stops there just won't be enough chairs.

Rich,

I lost a long comment I wrote in reply to that FARC/Bout business. The gist of it was a surmise that I hoped Chavez's payments to FARC were on the computer recovered when the FARC leader suffered his bout of premature detonation. Great entertainment these days.

Bush Unchained?

[hit and run]

Other Tom -- do you think McCain will get 300+ electoral votes AND the party in the WH will get blamed for a worsening economy?

[Elliott]

as Francis U would say,"One could say that, but it would be wrong..."

Francis Urquhart's signature line was "You might well think that, I couldn't possibly comment" (or some slight variant thereof).

This line seemed topical, given the state of the Democratic contest:

After the silly season comes the conference season. Opposition did rather well this year. Abandoned their usual tactic of squabbling in public and shooting themselves in the foot and had a go at us, in particular the Prime Minister, very unsporting of them.

[clarice]

Ellioot, thanks for providing the exact Francis U formulation--it is so lovely..Indeed, that was a marvelous series and fantastic character,

[PeterUK]

The last words of Ivan Rios,"Oh Farc!"

[Rick Ballard]

"but it's getting worse not better"

OT,

That's incorrect. The unemployment rate did improve in February. The total number of people employed dropped. That's a different matter and has to do with people retiring and not being replaced.

I'm not at all sanguine about the economy but I don't forsee a downturn even as light as that which occured in 2000. The retirement marker isn't glowing red yet. There was a very sharp increase in signups for SS beginning about six months before the recession in 2000. No such increase as of yet, although I certainly wouldn't be surprised if one happened.