Obama: Rezko played a bigger fundraising role

Oh what a surprise , i wouldn't of figured that out in a million years. I see the recent Rassmussen Poll has Barack Hussein Obama 4 points behind Mr. McCain and that's before the fallout of his "Spiritual Advisor.

Audio link isn't working.

"RE NZI, RE NZI, AND BINGO WASN'T THE GAME SPEAKS"

WHO IS THIS REZKO GUY?
I'M RICK, THE SLICK RE NZI, RE NZI AND BINGO WASN'T MY GAME.

GEORGE BUSH DID MY FUNDRAISING. GEORGE BUSH HELD MY HAND THROUGH OUT MY ELECTION. SO WHY IS RE ZKO, RE ZKO GETTING ALL OF RE NZI, RE NZI, AND BINGO WASN'T HIS GAME FAME.

WHAT IS THAT, NO WHAT IS THAT. TWO FOR ONE. ONE FOR ONE.

IT'S RE NZI, RE NZI, AND RENZI WAS MY NAME. GET IT RIGHT AMERICA. GET IT RIGHT. I'M THE REAL RE ZKO, RE ZKO AND RENZI WAS MY NAME.

Between Rezko and his demented pastor, Obama is falling apart. Repeated lapses of judgment? And he wants to be president, especially since he barely has more experience than that of a McDonald's worker to be president??
But, alas, the Loony Left Obamabots have no clue.

Well, Spitz is gone.

How many cycles did that take? Some kind of record!

Could this be the tip of the iceberg?.

CLINTONS are TIED TO REZKO.
By Gary Cohen - March 6, 2008, 6:04AM

Clinton's national co-chair received donations from RezkoThree of the co-defendants at Rezko trial contributed to Clintons and campaign supporters. Obama didn't receive any donations from Rezko.

Rezko’s co-defendants include Chicago businessman Stuart Levine; construction executive and Chicago Medical School trustee Jacob Kiferbaum, who is cooperating with the investigation, and Bear Stearns executive P. Nicholas Hurtgen; and attorneys Joseph Cari and Steven Loren, doing business for the Teachers’ Retirement System. Mr. Loren has not been a significant donor.

All the major donors were obviously cruising for receptive politicians, whom they found. Setting aside any presumption of guilt, there was clearly more than enough money as well as blame to go around.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/clintons-tied-to-rezko.php
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/03/as_the_scandal_turns_clinton_o.html
http://www.margieburns.com/blog/_archives/2008/2/2/3501879.html

It's nice to see that rightwing is still so vacant of idea's that they have to keep coming back to the non-Rezko issue.

The reason this is being spun as "new" is because these fundraising numbers have been totaled up and presented as such.

I hope the Wingnuts continue this into the fall because the past Keating scandel and Rick Renzi are going to smack McCain and his Winger followers right between the eye's, mark my words..

Here are 10 myths debunked about Obama and Rezko:

Myth #1: Obama did legal work for Rezko

Claim: Hillary Clinton during a debate denounced Obama for "representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."

The truth: According to Factcheck.org, "Obama was associated with a law firm that represented the community groups working with Rezko on several deals. There's no evidence that Obama spent much time on them, and he never represented Rezko directly. So it was wrong for Clinton to say he was ‘representing ... Rezko.’ That's untrue."

Myth #2: Obama knew Rezko was a slumlord

Claim: The Chicago Sun-Times reported that in 1997, Rezko’s company failed to turn the heat back on in one of his buildings, while giving $1,000 to Obama’s campaign fund.

The truth: There’s no evidence that Obama knew about problems with Rezko’s buildings. A state senator doesn’t deal with tenant complaints, and the Chicago newspapers never reported on Rezko’s problems as a landlord until after he was indicted. According to the Chicago Tribune, "in the years before 2005, Rezko enjoyed a reputation in Illinois as an up-and-coming, even enlightened entrepreneur with a strong interest in the risky low-income and affordable housing markets." http://www.chicagotribune.com/...

Myth #3: Obama underpaid for his house in a deal with Rezko

Claim: Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass wrote: "Rezko paid more than the asking price for the side lot, and Obama paid less than the asking price for the big house. It’s the Chicago way." Kass claimed that Rezko was "Obama's Real Estate Fairy" and this is "the story of the dream house the Obamas wanted and couldn't quite afford and how the Rezkos helped."

The truth: None of this is true. The seller decided to divide the lot in offering it for sale, not Obama or Rezko. Rezko had paid the list price for his lot, not an excessive amount (as the resale value later proved). The owner reportedly had already been offered $625,000 for the side lot, so Rezko didn’t offer any more money and there was no way Obama could have gotten a special deal this way. The only special arrangement Rezko provided was selling the two lots on the same day, which simplified matters for the seller. Obama paid $1.65 million for a house originally priced at $1.95 million. His was the higher of two bids for the main property. It’s not unusual at all in the Chicago real estate business to see a 15 percent price cut on an expensive house that’s been on the market for four months. Nor is it unusual that a vacant lot next door would sell to a condo developer without such a discount. In the Hyde Park market, there are a lot of upper-middle-class residents making six figures, but not very many millionaires (it’s not Lincoln Park or the Gold Coast). Therefore, a pricey mansion is very difficult to sell, while a $300,000 townhouse is very common.

Myth #4: Rezko’s lot was a front (yard) deal

Claim: One blogger declared it was "a $925,000 favor to a sitting US Senator" because "the Rezko property was never intended to be a separate piece of land."

The truth: It’s insane to think that Obama arranged for Rezko to buy the lot as his front yard, and never intended for anyone to develop it. If Obama had arranged such a deal, it would be crazy for him to spend $104,500 to buy part of the land from Rezko. There is not even the slightest evidence to support this notion.

Myth #5: Obama underpaid (or overpaid) for the slice of Rezko’s lot

Claim: John Kass declared: "Obama’s appraiser told him the fair market value of that slice was $40,500. Since that’s one-sixth of the Rezko side, it means Rezko paid $625,000 for property that was actually worth $243,000. That would make Rezko a complete fool. But he’s no fool." Fox News Channel incorrectly reported that Rezko "sold half that lot to Obama for 1/3 its original value."

The truth: The appraiser was clearly wrong (probably basing the low value on the fact that 1/6th of the lot was too small for any house, which would dramatically reduce its value standing alone). That’s why Obama decided to buy 1/6th of Rezko’s lot for 1/6th of what Rezko paid for it ($104,500). A year after the 10-foot-wide strip of land was sold to Obama, a Rezko business associate bought the rest of the lot for $575,000, resulting in a profit for the Rezkos of $54,000 from the two land sales. This sale proved that Obama paid fair market value for his portion of the land.

Myth #6: Obama hasn’t returned all the money linked to Rezko’s donations

Claim: The Chicago Sun-Times accused Obama of downplaying the $50,000–$60,000 in donations he received from Rezko (Rezko, before his legal troubles started, had cohosted a fundraiser for Obama). The newspaper claimed the actual amount was $168,000.

The truth: The Sun Times came up with that figure by counting every donation to Obama from anyone ever associated with Rezko, even if there was no evidence Rezko prompted the donation. Obama donated additional money to charity, but he’s under no obligation (legal or even moral) to return every dollar ever linked to Rezko. If you play a game of "six degrees of separation" with Rezko, he’s linked to almost every politician in Chicago.

Myth #7: Rezko had a special relationship with Obama

Claim: The Clinton campaign denounces "Sen. Obama's 17-year relationship with the indicted influence peddler."

The truth: Rezko attached himself to lots of politicians. Rezko donated money to every major Democratic politician in Illinois, then helped organize a $3.5 million fundraiser for President George W. Bush in 2003. After giving large campaign donations to Democratic Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, Rezko arranged to have his buddies appointed by Blagojevich to state boards such as the Teachers’ Retirement System Board and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. With his friend Stuart Levine, Rezko threatened to hold up a $220 million deal to invest teachers’ pension fund money unless $2 million was paid to Levine or $1.5 million was donated to Blagojevich’s campaign. Rezko and Levine also demanded a $1 million cut from a developer to build a hospital. Rezko was indicted for pretending to sell his Papa John’s pizza restaurants while secretly maintaining control of them, and fraudulently using the transaction to get $10 million in loans. It is Blagojevich, not Obama, who did favors for Rezko. Rezko’s eye for scouting political talent was amazing, but he did not capitalize on Obama’s influence. Obama said he had known Rezko for twenty years and "he had never asked me for anything. I’ve never done any favors for him."

Myth #8: Obama did favors for Rezko

Claim: Chicago Sun-Times revealed that in 1998, Obama wrote a letter endorsing a low-income housing development for which Rezko was a codeveloper. As the Sun-Times put it, "NOT A FAVOR? As a state senator, he went to bat for now-indicted developer’s deal." Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass wrote, "No favors? When you transcend politics and walk on water, I guess it all depends on what your definition of favor is."

The truth: The common definition of a favor in this context is a political action done in exchange for donations. Rezko’s lawyer reported that Rezko had not asked Obama to write the letter. Instead, Obama (along with a local state representative and an alderman) endorsed the project because it had widespread community support. It’s difficult to imagine any politician on the south side of Chicago who wouldn’t have a routine letter written to endorse government funding for affordable housing and social services for low-income senior citizens in that area. When it came to political influence, Obama didn’t do any favors for Rezko. The Chicago Tribune reported, "when Rezko pushed for passage in Springfield of a major gambling measure, Obama vocally opposed it."

Myth #9: Obama should have known about Rezko’s sleazy background

Claim: The Chicago Tribune, although endorsing Obama, wrote: "His assertion in network TV interviews last week that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing strains credulity: Tribune stories linked Rezko to questionable fundraising for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2004."

The truth: At the time Obama bought his house, there was no public indication of Rezko’s problems. When Obama bought a small strip of Rezko’s land in 2006, rumors were swirling around Chicago that the federal government was investigating Rezko, but he wasn’t indicted until October 2006. The Tribune stories before 2006 reveal that Rezko was a tightly connected political player, but the evidence of criminal misconduct wasn’t proven.

Myth #10: Obama hasn’t been forthcoming about his mistakes with Rezko

Claim: The Chicago Tribune editorialized, "Obama has been too self-exculpatory."

The truth: Obama has been honest about the mistake he made, and the fact that Rezko was trying to buy future influence with him. Obama declared, "I am the first one to acknowledge that it was a boneheaded move for me to purchase this 10-foot strip from Rezko, given that he was already under a cloud of concern. I will also acknowledge that from his perspective, he no doubt believed that by buying the piece of property next to me that he would, if not be doing me a favor, it would help strengthen our relationship." Obama’s mistake was in allowing the appearance of impropriety. He never actually did anything wrong. And that’s the key issue here.

Despite all of these rumors about Obama and Rezko, none of the evidence indicates any actual wrongdoing. Conservative Republican Tom Bevan called the evidence against Obama "pretty darn weak." Conor Clarke of the New Republic reported that Obama’s real estate deal with Rezko was a "nonscandal." According to Clarke, "journalists have followed the smoke and haven’t found the fire. At that point, accusing someone of something that looks wrong stops making sense."

The Clintons are currently defendants in litigation over $1.2 million fraudulently contributed to Hillary's senate campaign, according to the dept of justice. Here is the case name and caption (Superior Ct. for the State of Cal) Paul v. Clinton, Case No. BC-304174. Look it up on Google if you want. The Clintons are charged with "fraud and deceit," "misrepresentation," and "civil conspiracy," among other things. Too bad the media is not picking up this story, I guess it thinks it's being too hard on her.
As you all know, the CLinton history is fraught with charges and whispers of fraud and deceit. So what's the point about Obama? He took some campaign money from a bad guy (Resko). That's not the same as fraudulently concealing campaign money.

Obama is the biggest liar I have sen in along time

John K. Wilson:

Rather than continuing to copy and paste your standard twisted facts, untruths and specious reasoning, maybe you should read up on Obama's recent admissions about his relationship with Rezko.

Thanks to the dogedness of some reporters (of course not the Trib DC Bureau) Obama has been forced to face the music. The truth is just begining to emerge.

Tribune DC Bureau:

I think it was Joseph Pulitzer who said: "A newspaper should have no friends". Haven't you ever heard that one?

I think it was Joseph Pulitzer who said: "A newspaper should have no friends". Haven't you ever heard that one?

Posted by: MJ | March 14, 2008 10:36 PM

I'm ruining your your smear fantasy aren't I?

Does the RNC still give you a check? they shouldn't because you've done nothing for them that's for sure.

Still waiting for you "new Rezko bombshell" you hack.

For John Wilson: The $625,000 lot that Rita Rezko purchased the same day that Michelle and Barack Obama purchased the mansion with four fireplaces that they wanted but couldn't afford, that lot is an INACCESSIBLE vacant lot next to the Obama mansion. How can someone build on a lot that is inaccessible?

Also, Obama is on the list of people who will "possibly" testify in the Rezko trial.

OBAMA IS CONSTANLY SURROUNDED BY CORRUPTION, ESPECIALLY WHERE CAMPAGINE FUNDS ARE CONCERNED
A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses.The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain's wealthiest men, helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago. A company related to Mr Auchi, who has a conviction for corruption in France, registered the loan to Mr Obama's bagman Antoin "Tony" Rezko on May 23 2005. Mr Auchi says the loan, through the Panamanian company Fintrade Services SA, was for $3.5 million. Another Obama friend Rep. Rick Renzi indicted Friday on multiple federal charges, law enforcement sources tell CNN. In a 35-count indictment handed up by a grand jury in Arizona, Renzi is charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering extortion and insurance fraud. The indictment stem from Renzi's efforts to use his position in Congress to promote land deals in Arizona by a former business partner, according to the sources. Again more corrupt camp donations for Obama! WHERES THE MEDIA??? We are sick of the media pushing obama down our throats! in the aftermath of federal bribery/extortion/conspiracy/other miscellaneous badness indictments of former Dallas Mayor Hill, Obama camp financial contributor and supporter Again has its hands full with other publically indicted bankrollers like Rezko. Hill's campaign finance report shows donations April and federal campaign finance reports indicate Obama received donations in June as well. Of course Obama camp couldn't be reached for comments, did Axelrod loose his voice?
Obama's Relationship with Rezko Goes Back 17 Years. Obama Kept Contributions From Accused Fixer's (REZKO)Wife And Others ABCNews.com Analysis Shows the Campaign Still Hasn't Returned More Than $100,000 in Obama is referred to in document which outlines case against Rezko As Barack Obama is finding out, it's not as easy to dump politically toxic campaign donations as it might seem. For the third time in more than a year, Obama's presidential campaign announced this week it was shedding more donations tied to indicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko. Calculations by the media and Obama's own staff of Rezko's financial impact on his past political campaigns have been all over the map and shifting. In the case of Obama, public records don't make clear every Rezko connection. The records show that since 1995, $74,500 came from Rezko, his relatives or contributors listed on official disclosure forms as employees of one of his businesses. Rezko has raised money for Obama's presidential campaign.

Various media outlets have reported much larger numbers, though they haven't clearly explained their methodology. The New York Times has pegged Rezko political cash for Obama at $150,000, the Sun-Times at $168,000 and the Los Angeles Times at $200,000. Last weekend, a report by ABCNews.com suggested more than $185,000. The event at Rezko's home resembled a posh dinner party, complete with valet parking and catered dinner. Obama spoke after the meal, and told the crowd about how when he was still in Harvard law school Rezko, a developer, had tried to hire him. Obama staffers set up shop around the kitchen table, where they collected checks.

One donor at the event was Michael Sreenan, a former attorney for a Rezko company. Sreenan gave Obama $2,000 that night, but hasn't heard if the campaign now plans to give it away.

Still, Sreenan said he was baffled by the notion of giving money raised at Rezko's home to charity. "If [Obama] wants to give my donation back to me or let me give it to a charity, I'm fine with that," he said. "But I don't see how this makes a difference now -- the money still got him elected. And how do I know it's not going to a charity that's offensive to me?"
Barack Obama has surfaced in the federal corrupton case against his longtime campaign fund-raiser, Tony Rezko Obama's relationship with Rezko came under greater scrutiny this week after prosecutors disclosed Rezko received $3.5 million from an Iraqi billionaire while claiming to be broke. He was jailed on Monday and a federal judge on Tuesday refused to reinstate his bond.

Rezko....Obama says that he only worked for him for a few hours.

Wright...Obama says he only heard nice sermons.

Muslim issue..Obama says he is not a Muslim. He never mentions that his father was.

Canada NAFTA ... I never knew that anyone in my campaign talked to their government.

Michelle Obama...Obama says that his wife didn't mean that she was not proud to be an American...but she did say that.

Reverend Wright and radical Farrakhan: Obama says that Wright doesn't support Farrakhan but he did have him on the cover of one of the churches magazines

How many excuses are we going to hear. How many judgements did Obama make that were right.

Wake up Amrica!

Memo:
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Re: Obamabot upgrade; Unit JohnKWilson.
The Obamabot Unit JohnKWilson is overdue for for a software upgrade. TalkingPoints 2.5 is obsolete ind should no longer be used under any circumstances. Please return this unit to the IT department immediately so that TalkingPoints 3.0 may be installed.
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