Obama: Hope, anger 'hand in hand'

Anyone not angry, bitter, and anxious about the state of affairs in the U.S. of A. brought about by the incompetent leadership of the great and illustrious George Bush and his Republican henchmen, is living in a fantasy land. The emotions ring true in small towns and big cities all over the country. Obama has shown a great deal of insight in pointing out. Hope is always a powerful state of mind to have in difficult times.

Obama insists he's "in touch" with voters. That's hard to swallow, given his recent condescending remarks.
It also doesn't help Obama that we now know that he is connected (through his friend, Tony Rezko) to an international criminal, Nadhmi Auchi -- an Iraqi billionaire who made his fortune dealing with Saadam Hussein.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/who_is_nadhmi_auchi_and_whats.html

Obama's named in Rezko trial

FEDERAL COURT | Senator Obama attended bash for Iraqi crook Nadhmi Auchi
April 15, 2008

BY NATASHA KORECKI, CHRIS FUSCO AND TIM NOVAK Staff Reporters
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was again drawn into Tony Rezko's corruption trial on Monday, when the prosecution's star witness placed Obama at a party for an Iraqi-born billionaire who was later barred entry to the United States.
Stuart Levine testified under cross-examination that Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended the April 3, 2004, reception for Nadhmi Auchi.

The government's star witness testified Monday that Sen. Barack Obama (left) attended a party four years ago at the home of Antoin ''Tony'' Rezko (top right) that was held to honor Iraqi-born Nadhmi Auchi

RELATED STORIES
Rezko's billionaire buddy 'CI4' -- the mystery figure who helped jail Rezko Gov's fundraiser got loan from Iraqi billionaire Obama's answers about Auchi from a March 14 Sun-Times interview Eye on Rezko Updates from our blog

An Obama connection?
News reports and now court testimony have linked presidential hopeful Barack Obama with Iraqi-born billionaire Nadhmi Auchi through Tony Rezko. Here's a rundown:
March 11, 2004 -- Obama met Middle Eastern bankers at the Four Seasons hotel in Chicago at a reception hosted by Rezko, who was courting potential investors for a 62-acre South Loop development. Auchi later took control of that project but did not attend, sources say.
April 1, 2004 -- Auchi flew in to Midway Airport on a private plane and attended a Four Seasons reception hosted by Gov. Blagojevich. Rezko planned the event and was there. Obama was not.
April 3, 2004 -- Auchi attended a dinner party at Rezko's Wilmette mansion. Obama and his wife, Michelle, also were there, according to testimony Monday at Rezko's corruption trial. The Obama campaign's response: "Senator and Mrs. Obama have no recollection of attending any such event."
Oct. 11, 2006 -- Charges against Rezko announced.
Jan. 28, 2008 -- Rezko was jailed for withholding details of his finances -- including a $3.5 million payment from an Auchi company in April 2007.
Auchi -- who lives in London -- had been convicted of fraud in France in 2003. After visiting Chicago and Detroit in 2004, he wasn't allowed back into this country in 2005, according to a prosecution filing in the Rezko case.
The April 3, 2004, gathering for Auchi took place at Rezko's mansion in Wilmette, with about 100 people attending, Levine testified.
"Mr. and Mrs. Obama were there, were they not?" Rezko's lawyer, Joseph Duffy, asked.
"Yes, sir," Levine said.
Later Monday, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said: "As he has said previously, Senator Obama does not recall meeting Nadhmi Auchi at any time or on any occasion, and this includes any event that may have been held for Mr. Auchi. Senator and Mrs. Obama have no recollection of attending any such event."
But according to two sources familiar with the gathering, the Obamas attended the Wilmette reception, which came less than a month after Obama's Democratic primary win for his U.S. Senate seat. Rezko had been a key fund-raiser for Obama, who has since given to charity nearly $160,000 in Rezko-linked contributions.
Levine testified he was invited to the reception after meeting with Rezko and his family days earlier, during a spring vacation in Puerto Vallarta.
Auchi couldn't be reached Monday. His lawyer, Alasdair Pepper, told the Sun-Times in February his client "has no recollection of meeting Senator Obama." Auchi is appealing his French conviction. His 15-month sentence is suspended as long as he commits no new crimes. He is not accused of wrongdoing involving Rezko.
Obama is not accused of any wrongdoing. But his relationship with Rezko -- who is accused of demanding kickbacks from people seeking Illinois government business -- is under a microscope as he seeks the presidency. Obama particularly has drawn fire for buying property from Rezko's wife -- a strip of land adjacent to Obama's Kenwood home -- at a time Rezko was already known to be under federal investigation.
Levine testified Rezko had to leave Mexico early to host Auchi. So Levine chartered a private jet to fly Rezko's wife and children -- as well as his own family -- back to Chicago on April 3, 2004.
That night, Levine testified, he attended the reception, which was arranged to interest Auchi in investing in Illinois.
Gov. Blagojevich hosted a separate dinner party for Auchi two days earlier, at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Chicago, the Sun-Times has reported.
Auchi was named by prosecutors in the January court filing that led to Rezko's bail being revoked and his being jailed. Last April, an Auchi company wired Rezko $3.5 million in connection with a valuable 62-acre South Loop site, which Rezko didn't disclose to authorities. Auchi's General Mediterranean Holding now controls the land at Roosevelt and Clark.
Prosecutors said Rezko appealed to the State Department in November 2005 to allow Auchi to enter the United States, after Auchi was unable to do so.

I think Obama failed to take into account, before making the Annie Oakley remark, that there are a great number of gun owners in America who happen to be female and who do in fact, hunt and many of them can probably recall being taught how to do so by their fathers and/or grandfathers when they were young.

Clinton avoided the issue entirely in her speech to the Philadelphia Democratic Committee’s annual $150-a-plate fundraiser, attended mostly by block leaders of the city’s ward-based political apparatus.

I've heard Hillary is low on "walking around money." That of course is the CA$H used to greese block leaders palms. Get your graft on girl!!!

But of course all that counts is Obama's dumb remark. Not the good of Pennsylvania or the country. Yep Hillary and John McWar sitting in a duck blind with the little people. Now there's a story I buy. NOT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-hbPmcMFxU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPyKpcivQYQ

Perhaps Obama does the small town folks a favor by bringing their problems forefront which hopefully forces polliticians from both parties to do something about it.

Boy does Obama know how to spin. I for one will not be bamboozled by Mr. Obama. I consciously downright refuse the Obamamikans hyper-contextualizing every single of his dismal faux-pas. There are no larger peers of relativism to dock here. His broader cruise ship appeal has sunk starting from the Wright issue. He made a huge gross generalization of the rural majority in a sophomoric plight in front of a whole bunch San Franciscans multi-millionaires. But if I am getting too elitist here allow me to slap myself back to reality: God Damn America is wrong. Insensitive 9/11 remarks are wrong. Disconnected remarks contemptuous of your own voters is wrong and no amount of "context-caging can change that.

If one is an upstate New York constituent, one will be tempted to say that Clinton is out of touch. The local supervisors always complained that they did not get much information from Clinton. But, they were enthusiastic about the way Schumer kept them abreast of what was happening. What do Obama's constituents in Illinois say about him?
Stop quibbling about phrasings and get down to real issues. Clinton camp is still pushing the Muslim issue and the faith and leading the public away from the true issues.

Obama has outspent Hillary 3-1 in PA, plus he has had 6 weeks to campaign. If he doesn't win, he should leave the race. Any excuses for losing by the Obama campaign would just be another instance of them moving the goalposts, again.

My father taught me how to handle a gun when I was 14, then he bought me one, then we went shooting together. Not in a small town, on our farm. He detests Hillary. Why? Because he is an honest, hardworking believer in God. He sends me leaflets non stop about how corrupt the Clintons are. But he does not have one bad thing to say about Obama and neither do I. I don't see the folks in rural Nebraska falling for Hillary's attempts to be a God fearing, gun toting girl. And my nickname is Annie. Hillary thinking shes an Annie Oakley is beyond hysterical.

It seem's to me the more I read Obama's comment, the more it sound's like Rev. Wright coming through.

African American's are bitter towards whites.

Small town American are bitter toward corporation and the government for taking their jobs.

African American's cling to their churches

Small town American clings to it's gun's and religion.

Why is that both Rev. Wright and Barack Obama seem to find a similarity in wanting to blame someone else for the problem?.

Are you now or have you ever been an attendee of a party with people who were unsavory? Guilt by association in America? Hmm...I guess that eliminates Clinton, McCain and any one reading this comment from running for president.

The working class people I know are more upset about Clinton's NAFTA disaster than they are about anything Pres. Bush did.

Obama's comments were not elitist; they were just taken wrong. What he said was true. When people know they can't change their state of well being with their vote, they use their vote for other things that they know they [i]can[/i] change with their vote, such as gun and abortion rights. Obama was [i]trying[/i] to say that it's time to have hope to change the things we normally don't have hope for.

Guns out of America take a look around and see how many college kids have been killed this past two years and you may see the light. Or maybe we may go back to the wild west. People are bitter bitter yes very bitter, no jobs, endless war losing our houses yes Obama is right I am bitter. We Americans want more not the millionaire Clintons who dare to call Obama elitist. Monkey does not see it own tail.

Katherine: I am sure there are a good number of female hunters / gun owners in America. Both my daughters are. However, neither of them think they are Annie Oakley. It just seems strange how Billary has to play every string she can get to make people forget the lies she has told and retold. I just feel sorry for the duck...LOL

He already admitted attending this event. It isn't news, btw. When you attend large functions you don't meet everyone. Many times you just attend because your firm does.

Obama was not speaking down to anyone, if you look at his full remarks and the ones following, recognize that he is the ONLY candidate speaking FOR the people.

Hillary and McCain are the condescending ones, treating the American voters like hurt children.

I'm beginning to see how different, and how much better Obama is than the pack of others. I'm ready to get rid of an entire generation of politicians and start over. For me, it's not just a choice between candidates anymore.

As I read the various comments posted by my fellow citizens and voters, I felt compelled to offer this perspective. I think I will be best served by avoiding the temptation to make personal attacks on any of the 3 presidential candidates, or on my fellow voters who may disagree with my voting intentions.

I think we are all better served by remaining focus on issues, and focused on making an honest assessment of whih candidate would be best for our country, both domestically, and as a member of the international community.

I believe the best candidate for our country is Barack Obama. However, I do not wish Hillary Clinton ill-will. Nor do I see the value in ridiculing her for certain remarks with which I do not agree. Politics is a tough profession. All candidates will, over time, make remarks that include poorly chosen words or phrases, will misrepresent the truth, or will make comments that serve to alienate one voting group or another.

All 3 presidential candidates are guilty of making these mistakes. They are imperfect. I respectfully offer that this should not be the focus of our debate - we should focus on issues, and it is based on the issues, and based on my personal assessment of each candidates ability to lead and motivate the populous that I support Barack Obama, and so I will vote for him on April 22 in the PA primary.

Just because there are women that do it doesn't mean Hillary all of a sudden can go up and claim that she does it all the time, as she has been doing. Big difference. one is obviously pandering and flaming a war while tearing her party apart, and the other is calling her out on it like he should.

As far as the second poster, what's the point? Your "story" has no basis and simply is trying to defame someone. Even if he was at an event, big deal. Doesn't mean he did anything improper as you try to fan the flames of islamism.

Well, I think the second comment was even more insulting to women. "That she thinks she is Annie Oakley". How arrogant and ignorant. He made be harvard educated but Obama doesn't understand the variaty of cultures that make up america. By the way, none of this has to do with race I was going to vote for Al sharpton in the last election. I think Al finally got it together and made some good points. I am wondering how much of this "gaff" was intentional on obama's part to make people feel guilty and vote for him. He is not a nice man

The infotainment media are just whipping up controversy, as usual. Who can deny that the most avid gun lovers do tend to be people who are also disillusioned with government -- and who even hate government? And when people are angry and falling behind, yes, they do tend to scapegoat those who are different. Look at Europe. Look at our own history. These are universals about human nature that we need to confront openly and discuss with honesty. But don't expect that honesty to come from the infotainment media!

This is greatly blown out of proportion by the Clinton campaign because she is grasping at straws at this point. In fact, it appears that the Clinton campaign dredged these remarks up in the first place by tracking Obama at private fund raisers until they had something they could play politics with. This is Clinton playing elitist by insulting the intelligence of the Amercian voter. Obama's remarks were correct in principle even if not eloquently worded as he usually does. This entire saga has no relevance other than to point to Hillbill's desperation.

And by the way, my response to Hillbill's request to "ask yourself who you want to have the most importnat job in America" is NOT HER. I have been a Republican for many years, but due to the economy I will vote democrat in this election as long as Hillary is not on the ticket. If she is, then McCain just got a vote as I find her most untrustworthy -- witness the sniper shots in Bosnia.

Sen. Clinton's consistent use of the mantra, "Who would you HIRE" for the most important job in the nation/world, has not caught on for what it's always been intended to evoke--and that is the idea of Affirmative Action. It began before Ohio and has continued into Pennsylvania as a way of alerting certain voting blocks in those states. It is the sub-theme that Geraldine Ferraro and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (African American) alluded to--shame on Cleaver for being a tool for such a tactic. (Many don't know there is a good deal of jealousy among black leaders and a common issue within 'black America.'

It's all a very politically savvy ploy but a morally reprehensible one as well.

Finally, Rezko and Wright were not on my absentee ballot--a shock. After listening to Sean Hannity and the boyz, I was shocked not to see those two infamous names on the ballot. Can we wright in (oops, write in) their names in November?

Making fun of a woman who last pulled the trigger as a child, and who admittedly "didn't like it much" is not meant to denigrate would-be female sharpshooters.
Takes a mighty thin skin to take offense at that.

John F. Kennedy, rest his soul, was discriminated for just being Catholic....and now Barack for having a Muslim name....will it ever end?
Obama 08!! DUH of course people are bitter, we NEED someone with the ball to say that!!!! Now my vote is definetly with Obama, not another politician like Hilary...

Obama for 08! John F Kennedy was discriminated for being Catholic....and now Obama for having a Muslim middle name....I am SO tired of the politics Hilary plays, my integrity tells me to not vote for her...DUH of course people are bitter!!

Ponder on this! "Reagan Dem." what kind of a confused working man can be so ignorant of his/her own self interest to vote for a republican? A gun touting "Reagan Dem." cannot even begin to understand what Obama's promise is.

Who out there really thinks that their pet candidate doesn't have as much crap in the closet as the others. Grow up and think forward. Maybe Obama's choice of words bothered you but I can't imagine why. The truth is out there.

Katherine - His point is simply that Hillary Clinton is she is falling all over herself to be someone she isn't. Although he didn't quite say it, she is about as privileged as they come, and while she may empathize with blue collar workers, her trying to pretend she's ever been one of them is plain laughable.

I, as a woman, fail to see how this is offensive.

I think any politician who "claims" to be connected with the American Public is stating a falsehood. They are connected how? Through polls? Through real life hardships? I'm sorry - but no. they aren't connected. I can only see them connected via their special interests groups who tell our elected officials what is better for the country. As for Obama's elitest comments - yeah, it is elitest period. I'm shocked that people don't realize that Obama is someone that doesn't subscribe to our American values. I believe Obama is going to one of the most dangerous Presidents in our history by malforming our constitutional rights with his misalligned views. Worse than, I dare say, our fabled George Bush and the Oil Administration.

Its true America - open you eyes and face the truth!

I think we are starting to see the real Obama now. Spending more and more time down in the mud, "mocking" his rivals instead of speaking to the issues, launching personal attacks, name calling, and back-pedalling from statements he made. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, he is a politician afterall, but I was hoping...

Joe Hoeffel, Clinton supporter, big time loser, says Obama's remarks will hurt him. This from a guy who cannot seem to run a successful campaign to save his life. This gets funnier all the time.

Obama messed up the day he let the world know he was a different kind of politician, setting expectations for his campaign way too high to compete in a political campaign. While he is running a "political" campaign...there will be politics involved, but all and all he has ran an extremely clean campaign, especially compared to Clinton. Any time he does something even small, after she has been running a "Republican-esque" campaign, she throws it in his face with "I thought he is running a different kind of campaign" Had Clinton not ran such a dirty campaign Obama would already be the nominee. There is not a thing you can say about Obama that Clinton hasn't don't worse, from the company she has kept (if they arn't killed for being apart of her scandals), to degrading words about lesser people. Further more Obama came out head of the Harvard Law Review could be worth millions ontop of millions, and works instead for a civil rights law firm, and doesn't come close to making a million until he writes his books, put his worth at like 1.5 million.....while Clinton is worth over a 100 million, now who do you think is in touch?

Hillary gets caught in another lie, this time on NAFTA

At her recent campaign stop in Pennsylvannia, Hillary insisted that, "I did speak out and oppose NAFTA". I raised a big yellow flag and said, "I don't think this will work."

According to documents released by the National Archives, Hillary in 1993 attended at least 5 meetings that were used to win approval of NAFTA by Congress and these documents detailed her role in promoting NAFTA while she was first lady.

Teamsters union President James P. Hoffa told The Associated Press recently that, "No one who was around in the time of NAFTA remembers her" opposing the agreement.

Obama is pure emotion. If one can't see that, shame on them. Here's an example.

“Sometimes hope and anger go hand in hand,” Obama said. “You’ve got to be angry about your circumstances to bring about change. But you need hope to make change happen.”

This story demonstrates the problem the Democrats have for November. While Obama battles every day for a nomination he's already won, McCain has time to prepare and find a running mate who balances his age, ideology, geography, etc. Here's what both Parties should be focusing on, right now:
http://digits.hrblock.com/ssDigits/digits.php?rType=1&sPath=1140&sNode=1140&uId=198

Nobody seems to be mentioning the context of Obama's remarks, which is that they came in response to someone ASKING him why he thought he wasn't doing so well with voters in rural PA. Obama was being TRUTHFUL without coming right out and calling some "God-fearing, hardworking" Americans on their inherent prejudice toward non-whites. What he should have done was refer to PA Gov. Ed Rendell's previous comment that some people in PA may "not be ready" for a black president. Democratic candidates and the Party generally are TERRIFIED of offending these people, even though many of them continue to vote against their own economic (and the country's larger) self-interest. Obama was only reflecting his own experience of what Rendell was talking about (funny how nobody was giving him any grief about basically calling the greater part of PA racist). But Obama was actually trying to express empathy, and to explain to those San Fran donors how the people he's met on the campaign trail in rural PA are FEELING and how they channel their frustrations politically. All this hostility toward Obama is similar to that directed toward any figure in history who dares tell the TRUTH. Jesus Christ comes to mind. So, my question is: Are Americans going to grow up already, look in the mirror and get real about the cultural characterisitics that are preventing them from ensuring a healthy, functional, principled government for the U.S. of A.?

I've seen people talk of Obama being condescending, while Bush has been in office for eight years talking to US and treating US as if we were 4 years old. Caring less about the common man by passing corporate sponsored laws and bills.I never knew that small town America was so thin skinned!? Or is it because some people just can't stand the thought of a black/white man being in the white house and will jump on any excuse to slay him.

Hilary Clinton completely blew it with me with her unbelievely bold and slanderous lie of having one day landed in Bosnia under sniper fire. What I want to know is this..... Who hired these snipers? And how did they miss so badly? Where did the bullets land, Hilary? Tell me.

Obama did the right thing by not taking advantage of something so humiliating to the whole of the Democratic Party. And here we have Clinton (still out to say any thing -- absolutely anything in such a serious time).

And what's this??!?!?! NOW she is blatantly slandering Obama's character as well as his remark (less than a month after doing the same thing with Bosnia). Utterly foolish, in my opinion. This is the Hilary that I never knew and it is now -- only now, I must say that I have a better glimpse into why Bill Clinton cheated on her. At least his lies made sense.

What really hurts me is that I haven't much a choice but to vote for this lady come election day (as Obama has no choice but to choose her as a running mate or vice versa) .... either way. There's nothing positive or amusing about this.

From the bottom of my heart, I pray, not just for myself, but for my fellow citizens, and for my country.

Obama's remarks are grossly overblown by Clinton and the media. Living in a small PA town, his remarks seemed pretty reasonable to most of us. It's hard to swallow a claim of his being an elitist from a 109 million dollar income person, whereas Obama has worked as a low paid community organizer in a poor neighborhood.

Well of course Hillary is fanning the flames of this controversy because that's all she's got. She hasn't run a good campaign, she's been out-fundraised, out-polled, and basically out-shined by the new kid on the block. The Clintons must be so bitter. This was supposed to be her nomination. So if she can't have it, then she's not going to let Obama have it. That seems to be the strategy now. Do John McCain's dirty work for him. I bet he can't believe his luck.

This comment is to Billy Shakespeare;
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that financial and economic insecurity breeds more anxiety, anger, and yes, bitterness. You can see this dynamic in marriage (finances, the number one cause of divorce), in organizations, and communities as well. There are no Klu Klux Klans men in Beverly Hills because the white people there are economically content, they could care less what Blacks or any group are doing. The same with Blacks, the one's doing well don't give whites a second thought but the ones struggling blame the white man, just like the poor whites blame the Blacks and now the Mexicans. There's a direct corolation that only a lying politician or socially ignorant person will deny. And if Obama is to be chastised for his comments then Hillary needs to condemn herself and her husband as well because they've come to the same conclusions and made the same comments. Click this link and go down to about the eight paragraph if you want another example of this womans hypocracy...
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_080414.htm

And about the 'so called' Saddam connection. Condemn Obama because he knows a man who knows a man who knew Saddam Hussein...are you serious??!!

if Obama can stick to the truth like he is already doing now...no one is going to stop him, if God has it in his plan for OBama to become the next United States president, it will come to pass.
The truth as we know it is always bitter..and that is why most folks do not want to go to Church, simlpy because they hate the truth. and dont want to hear it.Obama Stands for the Truth..He says it as it is.
For we christians truth is what God asked us to Stand for no matter what happens or what ever we are going through.
Obama has worked for the poor in the poor neighborhood of South South Chichago and Obama is also a christian ..no one knows how the people feel more than Obama. it is a pity that every thing is being polictised by some people.
Conscience is an open wound only truth can heal it...Obama please stick to the truth and God will see you through..One with God is a majority..the Heart of the people is in God hand...But only promise God that you will not fail him and he will enable and empower you Obama.
The Bible says christians should not conform to the world to tell lies,we are told to say it the way it is. Truth is the only way to success as far as this election is concerned.

Do Americans hate the truth and rever lies? Obama was telling the truth not demeaning anyone!

Tim G:

Very nice exposition--very true & very well articulated.

As a person of faith, though, I only wish he hadn't gaffed to the point of insinuating that religion is a crutch. At the Compassion Forum, he attempted to rephrase his ideas--point taken, but not quite as effective as he could have been. Any clear-thinking person, however, gets what he meant--no bye necessary. And, what he meant regarding religion, I know, was that religion is misused as a tool against a perceived enemy as opposed to an actual one (like the man-made spin on the bible to justify slavery during the 1800's).

Obama still remains a level head above the rest, in my opinion.

KKK white america was waiting a small slip of the tongue from Senator Obama to get rid of him.

Their supremacy mentality ego is wait to hurt to even consider a black president. All of them with selective deafness

I do not think american workers from little town pensylvannia can be of whimpy
mentality compared with a resilient back of a slave black girl to the whip.

By the year 2050 minorities will be the majority in this country and american must be ready for the transition.

THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO SEE AND HEAR MORE OF WHO THE REAL BARACK OBAMA IS. HIS RECENT SLIP OF THE TONGUE IS JUST A TINY EXAMPLE OF WHO HE REALLY IS. HIS ASSOCIATION WITH JEREMY WRIGHT IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE. THE REMARKS BY HIS WIFE STATING SHE WAS PROUD OF HER COUNTRY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE ETC ETC