"Writing is a skill, not a talent, and thus one's ability as a writer can be improved by thoughtful effort. The problem with some people is that they graduate college as good writers, experience early success on account of that, and thus never devote themselves diligently to the relentless quest for improvement that could make them great writers."
Me? I'm not worried either. Why? See, there's a guy named Dan working on the Doug Hoffman campaign. Dan's from South Carolina. Compared to a South Carolina GOP primary, this situation in NY23 is s Sunday school picnic. Dan's working hard, but he's not worried. And if Dan's not worried, why worry?
The Sarah Palin wing of the Republican Party could get a big boost if a far right, third party candidate wins a three-way House race in upstate New York. Election Day is Tuesday. Can you contribute to help Democrat Bill Owens pull out a victory?
The tea party crowd hopes to use Palin's endorsement in the NY-23 special election to send one of their own to Congress on the very first anniversary of President Obama winning the White House. And we can't let that happen. The inmates have taken over the asylum, and are abandoning the Republican candidate in favor of the extreme conservative.
Some other NY23 headlines: Mitt Romney punts, but we pretty much expected that, didn't we? Nothing to worry about. Don't worry. Just work.
UPDATE: OK, some people are buying the Scozzafava campaign's spin that Hoffman "ducked" the Plattsburgh debate Wednesday. In September, Hoffman challenged Dede to debate and she turned him down, instead arranging with her NPR friends to do this debate in Plattsburgh. (The NPR station's manager uses his blog to deny that he would be unfair to Hoffman -- and then attacks Hoffman.)
Hoffman's spokesman Rob Ryan told me the Plattsburgh NPR debate was "the perfect venue for Scozzafava and Owens to debate who's more liberal." And if Hoffman is "ducking" debates, how come he's appearing in a TV debate today in Syracuse?
Republican Dede Scozzafava, Democrat Bill Owens, and Conservative Party Candidate Doug Hoffman will all take part in a debate at the NewsChannel 9 studios Thursday night at 7pm on NewsChannel 9.
That's why I'm leaving this morning for Syracuse. It would help if some people would at least learn to make a phone call or two before jumping to the unwarranted conclusion that the liberal MSM spin is always true.
It's a two-carom shot: Scozzafava is identified as the liberal she is, and in a positive way, so as to draw "progressive" votes away from the Democratic candidate, Owens.
Get it? The whole point of the ad is to confuse liberals (as if liberals weren't already confused). Politico is freaking out, but this is one of the most fiendishly clever ad campaigns in American political history -- using Scozzafava as the "spoiler" for the Democrat.
[Audio recording static and telephone ringing sfx, male voice] 911, please state your emergency.
[Female voice, agitated] Yes, I work for Dede Scozzafava. A reporter just asked about her voting to increase taxes!
[911] I see the problem. Which of Scozzafava’s 190 votes to raise taxes did the reporter ask about?
[CALLER] I don't know, I mean, she’s been in Albany 10 years . . .
[911] Got it. Did the reporter say anything to Scozzafava about all the pork barrel spending she voted for?
[CALLER] No, people don’t know about that . . .
[911] OK, how about all the times Scozzafava voted for gay marriage?
[CALLER] I don’t know. She’s a professional politician! Who has the right to ask her questions? It was so . . . revealing, you know?
[911] We’ll get a unit out there. But there really isn’t a law to stop people from asking politicians questions.
[CALLER] Well, there ought be. Believe me, her campaign’s gonna get killed if taxpayers figure out how liberal Scozzafava is.
[CANDIDATE] I’m Doug Hoffman and I approved this ad.
[ANNOUNCER] Paid for by Hoffman for Congress. Doug Hoffman For Congress Dot Com.
That's pretty good. I think it would have had a bit more bite had the caller been a shaky male voice, perhaps with a Scozzafava sound-alike in the background telling the caller how menacing the reporter is and how he's threatening her with questions about her record. But I'm not paid to make radio ads...
That's the amount of money that Conservative party nominee Doug Hoffman raised online in the last seven days in support of his candidacy in the special election in New York's 23rd district, according to a source close to the campaign.
The source would not speculate on what Hoffman's total raised number would be when reports are filed with the Federal Election by midnight tonight. But, his Internet haul almost certainly means he will outdistance state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the Republican nominee, who, party strategists acknowledge, will post a very weak report. (Hoffman, Scozzafava nor Democrat Bill Owens had filed their reports at press time.)
However, it's clear that the MSM still hasn't gotten the message. Cilizza, and Politico's duo of Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen who he quoted to make his point, still think the Tea Party movement was solely a reaction to President Obama's policies. Obviously, they haven't been paying attention. While the Tea Party movement does strongly disagree with the freedom-strangling, wastrel policies of President Obama, their protests aren't aimed at him because most of the protesters have very clearly heard the Democratic Party's message that neither it nor the President are particularly interested in listening to them.
Instead, the protesters have been aiming their most pointed messages at the Republican Party that purports to represent them. Consider this week-long Hoffman money bomb the loudest message yet.
"We've seen over the last eight years how decisions by a president can have a profound effect on the course of history and on American lives; much that's wrong with our country goes back even farther than that." Then, while standing before a stately desk and an American flag, Mr. Obama, in a suit, says: "We've been talking about the same problems for decades and nothing is ever done to solve them. For the past 20 months, I’ve traveled the length of this country, and Michelle and I have met so many Americans who are looking for real and lasting change that makes a difference in their lives."
This is not a logical argument, but the Obama campaign is not about logic. Obama has no track record on which the voter can evaluate him or his policies. This is what annoys me when I hear people talk about Obama's tax plan as if it were a piece of legislation now being debated on the Senate floor. There is at least a 50% chance that Obama will never actually propose that plan to Congress, and certainly no guarantee that Congree would pass it, as now written. Washington doesn't work that way.
If you want to understand the wide gap between a presidential candidate's stated intentions and his actual policies in office, you ought to read David Stockman's The Triumph of Politics (about the Reagan administration) and William Greider's Who Will Tell the People (about the Clinton administration). Reagan really wanted to cut the federal budget; he just couldn't get the votes. Clinton really wanted to implement his promise of a middle-class tax cut, but his economic advisers told him it couldn't be done.
Whether you vote for Obama or McCain, we'll be electing our first president since Gerald Ford who hasn't previously been a governor. There's no record of either man in executive office, but at least John McCain has some meaningful record in Washington. Obama is a shot in the dark, and no one -- no one -- can predict what he'd actually do as president.
We know, however, that Obama is a left-wing Democrat. His most influential policy advisers will likely share the same outlook. So we'll have unfettered liberalism of a kind that we haven't seen since 1993-94. There is a reason Obama's strongest support comes from people under 30 -- they don't really remember that two-year period when Clinton had a Democratic majority in Congress. It was a freak show, an embarrassment. And you can expect even worse of an embarrassment if Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are in charge.
Obamaphiles may enjoy the $3 million infomercial. And it might sway voters with short memories or insufficient judgment. But I won't watch it. God bless Michelle Malkin for volunteering to watch it for us.
It is pointless for Republicans to bleat about media bias at a time when Obama is out-advertising McCain by more than 3-to-1 in Florida, and more than 2-to-1 in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Obama raised $150 million in September. That's $5 million a day, which means that in the first 17 days of the month, Obama had raised $85 million -- more than McCain received in federal matching funds to last him from Labor Day to Election Day. There is no Republican campaign "strategy" that could possibly overcome such a lopsided cash advantage by the Democrat.
Also, while you're handing out zillions, how about hitting the tip jar with a few bucks for me? "Spread the wealth around," like Obama told Joe the Plumber.
A check of advertising data at television stations shows Obama spent $5.5 million airing ads during the five weeks after Labor Day in Michigan. McCain spent $3.7 million for ads running during the same period.
In one month, Obama outspent McCain by $1.8 million in Michigan, running ads like this and this. And the same pattern is now being repeated all over the country:
Barack Obama spent $3.3 million on TV ads on Monday alone -- a remarkable one-day expenditure that more than doubled rival John McCain’s spending that day, according to the ad tracking firm, Campaign Media Analysis Group. . . . On Monday, the McCain campaign, combined with the Republican National Committee, spent less than half of what Obama did: about $1.5 million, according to CMAG data.
In state after state, the Obama campaign is simply burying McCain in terms of TV advertising. Combining the three key swing states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, Obama outspent McCain by 65% ($6.6 million to $4 million).
Every conservative blogger is complaining about media bias, but nobody seems to acknowledge the reality that McCain, the guy who pushed campaign finance reform to "get the big money out of politics," is being buried by an avalanche of big money. (Thanks, of course, to zillions of small donors like Jgtj Jfggjjfgj.)
Barack Obama's Relationship With Ayers "Went Much Deeper, Ran Much Longer And Was Much More Political Than Obama Said." CNN'S DREW GRIFFIN: "Barack Obama confirmed during a primary debate that he knew Ayers and when pressed, said they served on a charitable foundation board together. And Obama condemned Ayers support of violence. But the relationship between Obama and Ayers went much deeper, ran much longer, and was much more political than Obama said." (CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," 10/6/08)
Barack Obama First Met William Ayers In 1995 During His First State Senate Campaign, When Obama Held Event At Home Of Ayers And Wife Bernardine Dohrn, Which One Attendee Said Was Aimed At "Launching Him" In First Campaign For State Senate. "In 1995, State Senator Alice Palmer introduced her chosen successor, Barack Obama, to a few of the district's influential liberals at the home of two well known figures on the local left: William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. While Ayers and Dohrn may be thought of in Hyde Park as local activists, they're better known nationally as two of the most notorious -- and unrepentant -- figures from the violent fringe of the 1960s anti-war movement. ... 'I can remember being one of a small group of people who came to Bill Ayers' house to learn that Alice Palmer was stepping down from the senate and running for Congress,' said Dr. Quentin Young, a prominent Chicago physician and advocate for single-payer health care, of the informal gathering at the home of Ayers and his wife, Dohrn. '[Palmer] identified [Obama] as her successor.' ... Dr. Young and another guest, Maria Warren, described it similarly: as an introduction to Hyde Park liberals of the handpicked successor to Palmer, a well-regarded figure on the left. 'When I first met Barack Obama, he was giving a standard, innocuous little talk in the living room of those two legends-in-their-own-minds, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn,' Warren wrote on her blog in 2005. 'They were launching him -- introducing him to the Hyde Park community as the best thing since sliced bread.'" (Ben Smith, "Obama Once Visited '60s Radicals," The Politico, 1/22/08)
CNN: The Meeting Was Widely Considered As "Barack Obama's Political Coming Out Party And It Was Hosted By Bill Ayers." CNN'S DREW GRIFFIN: "Anderson, this meeting at Bill Ayers home has been classified in many different ways. What I can tell you from the two people who were actually there, is number one, former Senator Alice Palmer says she, in no way organized this meeting and she was invited and attended it briefly. And Doctor Quentin Young, a retired doctor, told us this indeed was Barack Obama's political coming out party and it was hosted by Bill Ayers." (CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," 10/6/08)
Barack Obama Led Education Foundation That "Poured More Than $100 Million Into The Hands Of Community Organizers And Radical Education Activists" And "Translated Mr. Ayers's Radicalism Into Practice." "Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists. ... The CAC's agenda flowed from Mr. Ayers's educational philosophy, which called for infusing students and their parents with a radical political commitment, and which downplayed achievement tests in favor of activism. In the mid-1960s, Mr. Ayers taught at a radical alternative school, and served as a community organizer in Cleveland's ghetto. ... CAC translated Mr . Ayers's radicalism into practice. Instead of funding schools directly, it required schools to affiliate with 'external partners,' which actually got the money. Proposals from groups focused on math/science achievement were turned down. Instead CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (or Acorn)." (Stanley Kurtz, Op-Ed, "Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools," The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/08)
From March Of 1995 Until September Of 1997, Barack Obama And Ayers Attended At Least Seven Meetings Together Relating To The Chicago Annenberg Challenge. (Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Board Of Directors Meeting, Minutes Of The Board, 3/15/95, 3/31/95, 4/13/95, 6/5/95, 9/30/97; National Annenberg Challenge Evaluation Meeting, List Of Participants, 5/24/95; Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Chicago School Reform Collaborative Meeting, Minutes, 10/23/96)
CNN: The Paths Of Barack Obama And Ayers "Repeatedly Crossed" At The Annenberg Challenge. CNN'S DREW GRIFFIN: "One place their paths repeatedly crossed, according to a CNN review of board minutes and other records, was Chicago's Annenberg Challenge project where a $50 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation matched locally raised funds to improve schools. According to participants and project records, Bill Ayers fought to bring the Annenberg grant to Chicago, Barack Obama was recruited as its chair. For seven years, Bill Ayers and Obama among many others, worked on funding for education projects, including some experiments supported by Ayers." (CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," 10/6/08)
Barack Obama "Served On The Board's Governance Committee With Mr. Obama, And Worked With Him To Craft CAC Bylaws." "The Daley documents show that Mr. Ayers sat as an ex-officio member of the board Mr. Obama chaired through CAC's first year. He also served on the board's governance committee with Mr. Obama, and worked with him to craft CAC bylaws. Mr. Ayers made presentations to board meetings chaired by Mr. Obama. Mr. Ayers spoke for the Collaborative before the board. Likewise, Mr. Obama periodically spoke for the board at meetings of the Collaborative." (Stanley Kurtz, Op-Ed, "Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools," The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/08)
Bill Ayers Was Asked To Help Barack Obama Formulate The Chicago Annenberg Challenge By-Laws. (Chicago Annenberg Challenge Board Of Directors Minutes, 3/15/95) Barack Obama "Was The First Chairman Of The Chicago Annenberg Challenge." "In the 1990s, Ayers was instrumental in starting the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which was awarded nearly $50 million by a foundation to help reform Chicago schools. Obama was the first chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge and Republicans have been highlighting his ties to Ayers through the group." (Pete Yost, "University Won't Open Obama-Related Records Now," The Associated Press, 8/19/08)
Chicago Annenberg Challenge: "Distributed More Than $100 Million To Ideological Allies With No Discernible Improvement In Public Education." "With Ayers directing the project's operational arm and Obama overseeing its financial affairs until 1999, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge distributed more than $100 million to ideological allies with no discernible improvement in public education." (Editorial, "Obama's Friend, America's Enemy," National Review, 8/27/08)
Barack Obama On Ayers At Democratic Debate: "This Is A Guy Who Lives In My Neighborhood." "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis." (Sen. Barack Obama, ABC Democratic Presidential Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 4/16/08)
Bill Ayers Was A Leader Of "The Violent Left-Wing Activist Group The Weather Underground." "Senator Obama's ties to a former leader of the violent left-wing activist group the Weather Underground are drawing new scrutiny as he battles Senator Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination." (Russell Berman, "Obama's Ties to Left Come Under Scrutiny," The New York Sun, 2/19/08)
Bill Ayers' Wife, Weather Underground Leader Bernardine Dohrn, Appeared On FBI's "Most Wanted" List. "Bernardine Dohrn, the former leader of the militant Weather Underground who turned herself in after 11 years on the run, says she looks forward to spending time with family and friends and intends to continue a rebellion against 'the system.' ... 'I remain committed to the struggle ahead,' Ms. Dohrn told reporters Wednesday after a court appearance. 'Given the system which perpetuates ... harsh oppression and suffering, rebellion is inevitable and continuous.' Ms. Dohrn, 38, pleaded innocent to nine charges -- seven stemming from the 1969 'Days of Rage' anti-war demonstration in Chicago and two more for jumping bail. She was released on $25,000 bond and a hearing was set for Jan. 13. Ms. Dohrn, who once appeared on the FBI's most-wanted list, arrived in court with a lawyer and William Ayers, another ex-radical who said h e lived with Ms. Dohrn in New York and is the father of her two children." (James Litke, "Fugitive Leader Surrenders With No Regrets," The Associated Press, 12/4/80)
In The 1970s, Weather Underground Bombed The Capitol And The Pentagon. "As an Illinois state senator in 2001, Mr. Obama accepted a $200 contribution from William Ayers, a founding member of the group that bombed the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon during the 1970s." (Russell Berman, "Obama's Ties to Left Come Under Scrutiny," The New York Sun, 2/19/08)
New York State Supreme Court Justice's House Was Bombed By Weather Underground. "In February 1970, my father, a New York State Supreme Court justice, was presiding over the trial of the so-called "Panther 21," members of the Black Panther Party indicted in a plot to bomb New York landmarks and department stores. Early on the morning of February 21, as my family slept, three gasoline-filled firebombs exploded at our home on the northern tip of Manhattan, two at the front door and the third tucked neatly under the gas tank of the family car. (Today, of course, we'd call that a car bomb.) A neighbor heard the first two blasts and, with the remains of a snowman I had built a few days earlier, managed to douse the flames beneath the car. That was an act whose courage I fully appreciated only as an adult, an act that doubtless saved multiple lives that night. ... Though no one was ever caught or tried for the attempt on my family's life , there was never any doubt who was behind it. Only a few weeks after the attack, the New York contingent of the Weathermen blew themselves up making more bombs in a Greenwich Village townhouse. The same cell had bombed my house, writes Ron Jacobs in The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground. And in late November that year, a letter to the Associated Press signed by Bernardine Dohrn, Ayers's wife, promised more bombings." (John M. Murtagh, "Fire In The Night," City Journal, 4/30/08)
In His Book, Bill Ayers Writes About Participating In The Bombings Of The Capitol And Pentagon. "Now he has written a book, 'Fugitive Days' (Beacon Press, September). Mr. Ayers, who is 56, calls it a memoir, somewhat coyly perhaps, since he also says some of it is fiction. He writes that he participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, of the Capitol building in 1971, the Pentagon in 1972." (Dinitia Smith, "No Regrets For A Love Of Explosives," The New York Times, 9/11/01)
In The September 11, 2001 New York Times, Ayers Was Quoted Saying "I Don't Regret Setting Bombs ... I Feel We Didn't Do Enough." "'I don't regret setting bombs,' Bill Ayers said. 'I feel we didn't do enough.' Mr. Ayers, who spent the 1970's as a fugitive in the Weather Underground, was sitting in the kitchen of his big turn-of-the-19th-century stone house in the Hyde Park district of Chicago." (Dinitia Smith, "No Regrets For A Love Of Explosives," The New York Times, 9/11/01)
One of the pet conceits of liberal journalism is that when Republicans win elections, they win by deceptive campaign tactics. When Democrats win elections, they win on issues, and the election of Democrats is thus always an endorsement of liberal policies. The New York Times:
The turmoil on Wall Street and the weakening economy are changing the contours of the presidential campaign map, giving new force to Senator Barack Obama’s ambitious strategy to make incursions into Republican territory, while leading Senator John McCain to scale back his efforts to capture Democratic states. . . . [McCain's] decision last week to pull out of Michigan reflected in part the challenge that the declining economy has created for Republicans, given that they have held the White House for the last eight years.
Go back to early September, when John McCain was surging in the polls, and try to find any story in which the New York Times cast the GOP advantage in terms of issues. Good luck trying. But did campaign tactics have nothing to do with Obama's moving ahead in Michigan? In the second week of September, two polls showed McCain leading in Michigan. On Sept. 17, Obama launched a new ad in Michigan: "McCain would give $4 billion in new tax breaks to Big Oil" -- effective demagoguery tying the Republican to a ready-made villain. But this tactic had nothing to do with McCain's Michigan meltdown, according to the New York Times. And check out this ad that Obama rolled out in Michigan Sept. 23:
Oooh! The rich man with 17 cars -- including three foreign-made cars! But this Obama campaign tactic of appealing to class envy and economic xenophobia had nothing to do with McCain's debacle in Michigan. No, the election is about the "challenge that the declining economy has created for Republicans," and will be sold by the NY Times and the rest of the MSM as a mandate for liberal economic policies.
Again, go back to 2002 and 2004, years when Republicans were triumphant, and see if you can find where the NY Times interpreted those victories as a mandate to overturn Roe v. Wade or prosecute the Iraq war to victory. Good luck!
I produced and posted on the Internet the video entitled "Sarah Palin: A Heartbeat Away." The idea for the video was mine. No one paid me to produce it. . . . Neither the Obama campaign nor any independent political action committee has had a connection with the making and/or posting of this video.
Well, OK. So if we take him at his word -- and you know Democrats never lie -- then instead of being a hired smear artist, Winner is a volunteer smear artist.
Here is the McCain campaign's documentation for the ad:
· Barack Obama: "And, You Know, In Terms Of My Toughness, Look, First Of All, I Come From Chicago." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 4/2/08) · Barack Obama Assuring Democrats He's Tough Enough Because "He's Been Schooled By Chicago Politics." "The feistier, more sarcastic tone came as worried Democrats urged Obama to get tougher and show more passion. Obama has tried to assure donors and voters that he's been schooled by Chicago politics. 'I'm skinny but I'm tough,' he says." (Kathleen Hennessey, "Obama Mocks McCain In Nevada Stops," The Associated Press, 9/18/08) · The New Yorker: "Obama Had Won His First Campaign By Using Old-Fashioned Chicago Machine Tactics At A Time When The Notion Of Machine Politics Was Increasingly Anachronistic." (Ryan Lizza, "Making It," The New Yorker, 7/21/08) ANNCR: His economic adviser, William Daley. Lobbyist. Mayor's brother. · OBAMA ECONOMIC ADVISER: As An Obama Adviser, Former Commerce Secretary William Daley Participated In A Meeting Of Barack Obama's Top Economic Advisers Last Week. "The press conference followed Obama's meeting with top economic advisors and his running mate Biden, who participate d by phone. The meeting participants included former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin; Gene Sperling, former National Economic Advisor for Pres. Bill Clinton; former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers; Laura Tyson, the former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors and former Fed Chair Paul Volcker; Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett; former Commerce Secretary William Daley; former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill; and Joseph Stiglitz, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers." (Domenico Montanaro, "Obama: Tax Cuts, Stimulus Needed," MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com, Posted 9/19/08) · ECONOMIC ADVISER AND CHICAGO MAYOR'S BROTHER: Daley Serves As An Obama Adviser For Economic Policy And Is The Brother Of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. "At his stop in New Mexico, Obama sought to keep the focus almost exclusively on the economy, appearing with a panel of experts that included William Daley, brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and a former U.S. commerce secretary." (John McCormick and Jill Zuckman, "Rivals Spend Day As Frequent Fliers," Chicago Tribune, 2/2/08) · LOBBYIST: Daley Was The Chief Lobbyist For SBC. "Then this spring, Whitacre and his chief lobbyist, SBC President William Daley, produced banner headlines with an effort to bypass the Illinois Commerce Commission and appeal directly to the Illinois General Assembly for relief. ... In late 2001, he hired William Daley, a Clinton administration Cabinet member and the Chicago mayor's brother, charging him with lobbying for change." (Michael Oneal And Jon Van, "Tone-Deaf Approach Hinders SBC," Chicago Tribune, 7/6/03) · LOBBYIST: While Serving As SBC President, Daley Also Led A $40 Million Lobbying Effort For Industry Deregulation. "Last week those three companies, led by SBC President William Daley, summoned chief executives of several large vendors, including Christopher Galvin of Motorola Inc., to a Washington dinner where they outlined plans to launch a $40 million marketing and lobbying offensive to abolish industry regulations." (Jon Van, "SBC Competitors Seek Congress' Help," Chicago Tribune, 11/1/03) · LOBBYIST: From 2002 Through 2005, Daley Was A Registered Lobbyist For Fannie Mae. (U.S. Senate Office Of Public Records Website, soprweb.senate.gov, Accessed 7/27/08) ANNCR: His money man, Tony Rezko. Client. Patron. Convicted Felon. · MONEY MAN: Tony Rezko Was "One Of The Biggest Fundraisers" For Barack Obama. "'This was discussed a lot. They wanted to have a good showing,' said a source familiar with the fund-raiser [Rezko held for Obama], speaking on condition of anonymity. 'Tony was one of the biggest fund-raisers.'" (Chris Fusco and Tim Novak, "Rezko Cash Triple What Obama Says," Chicago Sun-Times, 6/18/07) · MONEY MAN: Barack Obama Has Admitted To $250,000 Worth Of Campaign Funding Provided By Tony Rezko. "For the first time, Sen. Barack Obama put a figure Friday to the amount of campaign contributions that indicted political fund-raiser Tony Rezko raised for the senator's campaigns, and the number -- about $250,000 -- was far more than he previously acknowledged." (Tim Novak, Chris Fusco, Dave McKinney and Carol Marin, "More Rezko Dough Found," Chicago Sun-Times, 3/15/08) · CLIENT: Barack Obama Did Legal Work On Some Projects Involving Tony Rezko's Company, Rezmar. "But Obama did legal work on real estate deals while at Davis' firm, according to biographical information he submitted to the Sun-Times in 1998. ... And he did legal work on Rezko's deals, according to an e-mail his presidential campaign staff sent the Sun-Times on Feb. 16, in response to earlier inquiries. The staff didn't specify which Rezmar projects Obama worked on, or his role." (Tim Novak, "Obama And His Rezko Ties," Chicago Sun-Times, 4/23/07) · PATRON: "As A State Senator, Barack Obama Wrote Letters To City And State Officials Supporting His Political Patron Tony Rezko's Successful Bid To Get More Than $14 Million From Taxpayers To Build Apartments For Senior Citizens." (Tim Novak, "Obama's Letters For Rezko," Chicago Sun-Times, 6/13/07) · PATRON: Barack Obama Paid $300,000 Less Than The Asking Price For His Mansion, While Tony Rezko's Wife Rita Paid Full Price For A Vacant Lot Next Door On The Very Same Day. "Two years ago, Obama bought a mansion on the South Side, in the Kenwood neighborhood, from a doctor. On the same day, [Antoin 'Tony'] Rezko's wife, Rita Rezko, bought the vacant lot next door from the same seller. The doctor had listed the properties for sale together. He sold the house to Obama for $300,000 below the asking price. The doctor got his asking price on the lot from Rezko's wife." (Tim Novak, "Obama And His Rezko Ties," Chicago Sun-Times, 4/23/07) · CONVICTED FELON: Tony Rezko Was Convicted Of Wire And Mail Fraud, Money Laundering, And Aiding And Abetting Bribery. (Bob Secter and Jeff Coen, "Rezko Convicted," Chicago Tribune, 6/5/08) ANNCR: His "political godfather." Emil Jones. Under ethical cloud. · POLITICAL GODFATHER: Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones Is "Barack Obama's Political Godfather." "Ethics legislation is stalled in the Illinois State Senate, bossed by Barack Obama's political godfather, Senate President Emil Jones who put the brakes on the measure and may let it die. Obama called Jones from the road in Nevada this morning. Jones indicated to Obama--according to the Obama team -- he would bring the bill to a vote and would support it." (Lynn Sweet, "Obama Urges Political Godfather Emil Jones, Illinois Senate President, To Pass Stalled Ethics Package," Chicago Sun-Times' "Lynn Sweet" Blog, http://blogs.suntimes.com, Posted 9/17/08) · POLITICAL GODFATHER: "When Obama Praised Jones As 'My Political Godfather,' Jones Began Using The Theme Music From 'The Godfather' As His Cell-Phone Ringtone." (Ryan Lizza, "Making It," The New Yorker, 7/21/08) · ETHICAL CLOUD: "[S]tate Senate President Emil Jones, Serves Under An Ethical Cloud. He Has Several Family Members On The State Payroll And Uses His Clout To Aid Their Business Interests." (Ron Fournier, "Obama's Life And Record In Springfield, Ill., Hint At The President He Would Be," The Associated Press, 6/16/07) ANNCR: His governor, Rod Blagojevich. A legacy of federal and state investigations. With friends like that, Obama is not ready to lead. JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message. · INVESTIGATIONS: Governor Rod Blagojevich Has "A Legacy Of Federal And State Investigations." "The bill of particulars against Rod Blagojevich is numbingly familiar. His is a legacy of federal and state investigations of alleged cronyism and corruption in the steering of pension fund investments to political donors, in the subversion of state hiring laws, in the awarding of state contracts, in matters as personal as that mysterious $1,500 check made out to the governor's then-7-year-old daughter by a friend whose wife had been awarded a state job." (Editorial, "Removing a governor," Chicago Tribune, 10/28/07) · INVESTIGATIONS: In June 2008, A Federal Judge Unsealed Records That Showed That Blagojevich Was Questioned By Federal Agents For His Involvement With Tony Rezko. "Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been interviewed multiple times by federal investigators looking into allegations that he and key members of his administration offered contracts and state work in exchange for campaign fundraising help, according to documents unsealed Thursday. The documents were made public in the Antoin 'Tony' Rezko criminal case on the same day that Blagojevich held a major fundraising event at the River East Arts Center. Similar events in past years have reaped millions of dollars for the governor's campaign, much of it coming from firms that landed lucrative state contracts and individuals given coveted state jobs or board appointments." (Jeff Coen and Bob Secter, "Feds Quizzed Blagojevich," Chicago Tribune, 6/27/08)
The past couple of days, I've been busy with the Sarah Palin e-mail hacking and haven't blogged much about the back-and-forth in the presidential campaign. The big news is that Team Maverick has come out with a series of hard-hitting TV ads:
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One of the sweetest numbers from any musical ever: And Mark Steyn has done
a special Song of the Week podcast on this Irving Berlin classic. Learn the
gene...
"When R.S. McCain talks about gonzo journalism, he knows what he’s talking about." -- Chapomatic
"You are reading Robert every day, aren’t you? If you aren’t, you’re missing out, folks. The guy brings the good stuff every day." -- Jimmie, The Sundries Shack
". . . the one-of-a-kind Robert Stacy McCain, whose blog should be on your must-read list, if it isn't already." -- Dyspeptic Mutterings
"The most enthusiastic blogger I have yet to meet." -- Pam Geller, Atlas Shrugs
"The guy has to be the hardest working dude in DC. I've yet to meet someone here he doesn't know." -- Dan Riehl, Riehl World View
"The fount of wit and wisdom, Robert Stacy McCain." -- Brian C. Ledbetter, Snapped Shot
"A very sharp mind and strong writing that pulls no punches." -- Matthew Archbold, Creative Minority
"One of the most important conservative writers working today." --Donald Douglas
"For what it's worth, the man can also hold his liquor better than most; that's probably how he gets his scoops." -- Little Miss Atilla
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