
Then First Lady Rosalynn Carter next to serial killer John Wayne Gacy in May 1978. Tribune file photo.
by Frank James
The photo that emerged last week of President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton posing during the Clinton presidency with the newly arrested Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the indicted Chicago businessman, political contributor and one-time friend of Sen. Barack Obama, brought back memories of other photos that politicians, their spouses or other government officials wish they had never posed for.
Here's a rogues gallery of such photos which goes to prove that taking photos with unsavory and sometimes outright evil people is one of politics' occupational hazards.







Comments
Still nothing on Tony Rezko getting $3.5 million from Lebanon and having his bail revoked. Still nothing on Obama keeping more than $100,000 in Rezko contributions despite saying he donated all of it to charity.
The Swamp just refuses to responsibly report on Obama.
Posted by: Jeff | January 28, 2008 5:28 PM
That's funny when you consider that John Wayne Gacy, Timothy McVeigh and the Una-Bomber were all staunch Rethuglicans.
The GOP, home to serial killers and sexual sicko's.
Posted by: John E | January 28, 2008 5:31 PM
In fairness to Dems,please show the pic of Boy George and his Pappy with Kenny Boy at the opening of Enron Field.
Kenny Boy,the guy Boy George really didn't know all that well!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Raving Loon | January 28, 2008 5:36 PM
Thats not the only mistake the Carter's made. The President saw fit to pardon the culprits that tried to assassinate President Truman for which I will never forgive him.
Posted by: Paul Jaeger | January 28, 2008 5:51 PM
Elvis and Tricky Dick is my fave, hands down.
Posted by: MJ | January 28, 2008 6:21 PM
this is funny but irrelevant
WHAT IS RELEVANT IS THAT CLINTON PARDONED MORE CRIMINALS THAT JIMMY CARTER, RONALD REAGAN AND GHW BUSH COMBINED AND COMMUTED THE SENTENCE OF A CONVICTED CHILD MOLESTER - ALL OF THESE WERE LINKED TO HELPING THE CLINTON CAMPAIGNS - SO ONCE AGAIN QUEEN HIL-LIAR-Y HAS MORE THAN A DUMPTRUCK LOAD OF AUDACITY FOR SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT OBAMA'S RELATIONSHIPS WITH DONORS
Posted by: tom | January 28, 2008 6:43 PM
Was there a reason you did not include a photo of President Bush and Jack Abramoff? I think for at least half of America, one of those would have ranked in the top 3.
Posted by: Ron Schoenherr | January 28, 2008 7:23 PM
Jeff, the Chicago LIBune and the Swamp reporters are on the Obama payroll. This began in 2004 when the LIBune sued to find out about Jack Ryan's divorce, something they would not do about John Kerry's divorce. Then the LIBune blarred in about the biggest headline type possible "Ryan Divorce Bombshell" only to apologize a week or so later saying the paper blew it out of proportion.
Now, the LIBune covers up the Obama-Rezko connection, just like the paper covers up ANY Democratic scandal. Really, does the paper cover all of Rod's scandals and investigations like they did on George Ryan? Hell NO!
Most of the reporters on the LIBune wouldn't know responsible, objective, fair journalism if their life depended on it.
Oh and it was only natural that the party that does whatever it can to protect and help child molesters nationwide, would have John Gacy as a precinct captain. And, of course, the Carters like bad people: Gacy, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jong Il, etc.
Posted by: John D | January 28, 2008 8:24 PM
The Swamp just refuses to responsibly report on Obama.
Posted by: Jeff | January 28, 2008 5:28 PM
Waaaaaaaaaaah!!!! Jeffy, Lil Johnny D and "MJ" aka Leo T/Juanito Waaaaaaaaaaah!!!!
Goodluck trying to bring Obama down to old man McCains level, Bill/Jeff, I love listening to you clowns hyperventilate over Rezko when the only ones who think it's any sort of a big deal are you and your fellow Wingnuts.
John McSurge was a Founding Member of the Keating Five
Back in the old days, defendants in famous trials got numbers -- the Chicago Eight, the Gang of Four, the Dave Clark Five, the Daytona 500. McCain was one of the "Keating Five," congressmen investigated on ethics charges for strenuously helping convicted racketeer Charles Keating after he gave them large campaign contributions and vacation trips.
Charles Keating was convicted of racketeering and fraud in both state and federal court after his Lincoln Savings & Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $3.4 billion. His convictions were overturned on technicalities; for example, the federal conviction was overturned because jurors had heard about his state conviction, and his state charges because Judge Lance Ito (yes, that judge) screwed up jury instructions. Neither court cleared him, and he faces new trials in both courts.)
Though he was not convicted of anything, McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating after Keating gave McCain at least $112,00 in contributions. In the mid-1980s, McCain made at least 9 trips on Keating's airplanes, and 3 of those were to Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas. McCain's wife and father-in-law also were the largest investors (at $350,000) in a Keating shopping center; the Phoenix New Times called it a "sweetheart deal."
http://www.realchange.org/mccain.htm
Posted by: John E | January 28, 2008 9:14 PM
Oh and it was only natural that the party that does whatever it can to protect and help child molesters nationwide, would have John Gacy as a precinct captain. And, of course, the Carters like bad people: Gacy, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jong Il, etc.
Posted by: John D | January 28, 2008 8:24 PM
Lil Johnny Joystick,
Gacy gave money to both political parties, that makes him a Joe LIEberman Republican.
What do OJ Simpson, Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, and the BTK killer have in common?
They are all despicable, evil people and they are also all Republicans.
Killer Korner: Ted Bundy - diehard Republican
http://pushybottom.blogspot.com/2005/12/republican-killer-korner-ted-bundy.html
Posted by: John E | January 28, 2008 9:23 PM
Always Wrong John E: John Gacy was a DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CAPTAIN, you blithering idiot!
Also, the Unabomber was a Republican?!?!?!? You really do live in an alternative surreal world of weirdoness. If anything, the Unabomber was a Democrat, not a Republican.
Posted by: John D | January 28, 2008 11:05 PM
I have a picture of Gacy at a birthday party where he was a performing clown.
Gee wiz, I hope that photo doesn't see the light of day. It might look like I was one of Gacy's supporters. I'm reeeely concerned about those people who would think about me like that. Especially since he lived down the street from me. Someone might think we had a land deal. And the Catholic church we were both parishoners at? Whoah! Don't even want to go there.
Posted by: RomanB | January 28, 2008 11:08 PM
John E,
Good thing McNutjob wasn't flying Keating's plane.
Did you know that Sleepy McSurgealot crashed 5 planes prior to his capture?
You can read about it at: www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com
Maybe Bill/Jeff can somehow drag JFK Jr's tragic death into it.
Posted by: Bubba | January 29, 2008 12:05 AM
John D.-- You have this unfortunate habit of calling people blithering idiots and then stepping in it yourself.
John E. didn't say Gacy was a Democrat, he said he was a Joe LIEberman Repub. Have him explain to you what that means.
The so-called Unabomber was Theodore Kaczynski, a loner and completely different animal then the BTK killer, Dennis Rader, a former member of the Christ Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas.
Posted by: dt | January 29, 2008 1:13 AM
John D.,
That is, J.E. qualified Gacy as a Joe Lieberman Republican ( which formerly meant Democrat in name only). I don't know what it means now (except the Lie part).
As for the Unabomber, I don't think his distorted ideology can be defined in terms of right or left, but simply angry and confused.
Plus, this is a stupid discussion to begin with.
Posted by: dt | January 29, 2008 1:28 AM
"No Mr. Gacy, you may not have a look at The White House crawl space." Mrs. Carter.
Posted by: Todd | January 29, 2008 5:20 AM
Posted by: John E | January 28, 2008 9:14 PM
Other people here are hyperventilating?! OK... whatever.
Meanwhile, here's some interesting reading about Obama; there was no "message of hope" for the shivering CHA tennets housed by his friend and financier, Tony Rezko:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article
Posted by: MJ | January 29, 2008 8:18 AM
dt, if Gacy was a Democratic precinct captain, operated in Chicago Democratic politics and donated to Democratic candidates, please explain how that makes him a Joe Lieberman Republican?
And, frankly, in regard to Sen. Lieberman, he is a man who throughout his life has been on the liberal side of things, except for one issue: the war. Does that mean Democratic Sen. Henry Jackson was a Republican too? Or how about Lee Hamilton? Harry Truman? Patrick Moynahan?
Posted by: John D | January 29, 2008 10:09 AM
Jeff-
Please explain what direct connection you are alledging between Obama and Rezko's money transfer.
Does McCain support your smears of Obama by association? Is that the kind of politics he stands for? If so, let's talk about Charles Keating. Let's talk about the favors McCain is doing for telecom lobbbyists. Let's talk about how he covered for his wife's criminal acts.
Be careful before you take the low road. You may not like it down there.
Posted by: Michael | January 29, 2008 10:27 AM
Here's the best handshake...
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/
Posted by: C.Morris | January 29, 2008 11:11 AM
Gee, did Bill Clinton donate these photos? Anything to turn their photo news away from them.
Posted by: RuthieM | January 29, 2008 12:02 PM
RomanB,
Here's a good of shot of Crazy John D, doh!! I mean Crazy John Wayne G.!
http://carpenoctem.tv/killers/gacy.html
Posted by: TheReamer | January 29, 2008 2:32 PM
Posted by: John D | January 29, 2008 10:09 AM
Johnny Dimwit,
Gacy was a Political junkie, you moron, he gave money to BOTH PARTIES!!! aka Joe LIEberman..
Posted by: John E | January 29, 2008 4:05 PM