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Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: FOTD on January 26, 2008, 09:09:50 pm Two generations of Kennedys — the Democratic Party's best known political family — endorsed Barack Obama for president on Monday, with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy calling him a "man with extraordinary gifts of leadership and character," a worthy heir to his assassinated brother.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080128/ap_on_el_pr/obama_kennedy;_ylt=AmFihqwVJ4ZH1nMWHvggAnqs0NUE Not a bad little piece to start what will be the most important 9 days in American political history: Op-Ed Contributor A President Like My Father By CAROLINE KENNEDY Published: January 27, 2008 OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama. My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals. Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible. We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960. Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual. Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process. I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility. Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning. I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved. I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans. Caroline Kennedy is the author of “A Patriot’s Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love.” Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: guido911 on January 28, 2008, 04:04:35 pm Gee, another pro-Obama post from FOTD. Shocking.
Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: FOTD on January 28, 2008, 04:15:22 pm Nope. It's from the NYT and Yahoo....I'm a con do it.
Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: spoonbill on January 28, 2008, 04:40:50 pm Yes! I never would have thought it possible, but he may take out Hillary! Awesome! I'm almost giddy!
Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: RecycleMichael on January 28, 2008, 04:46:55 pm Obama indicted fundraiser arrested today...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080128/ap_on_re_us/fundraiser_indicted;_ylt=AnDsgpGcTQCGCUwxAGvtuHms0NUE This has been brewing for a while... Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: jne on January 28, 2008, 05:22:07 pm quote: Looks like he's done all he can to wash his hands. All the money from that dude has been given to charity and now every penny from anyone remotely connected to that dude has gone to charity. And, this isn't even connected to his presidential campaign. I don't see this amounting to much. Looks more like Hillary is getting desperate as she keeps bringing the Rezco thing up and now trying to snake Florida. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: guido911 on January 28, 2008, 06:58:49 pm quote: Well, at least someone is giddy because one New York N.O.W. chapter certainly isn't: http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=6285 You were right Spoon, FOTD's posts can be amusing. I am enjoying watching these democrats eating their own. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: RecycleMichael on January 28, 2008, 08:11:20 pm quote: It goes much deeper than just campaign money this time. The have many business dealings together. They bought side by side lots on the same day and Rezco then sold part of his to Obama so he could build his dream home. Here is more from wikipedia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoin_Rezko Obama made a mistake years ago by associating and doing deals with this guy. Now that he is running for president, he is trying to distance himself from the relationship. This Rezko guy is under indictment and arrest for fraud, extortion and money laundering. I would run from him too. He can donate the money this time to charity, but not the money spent from years ago when he was running for state office. And Hillary ain't the one bringing it up, although she did once in a debate. The people who won't let it die are the Chicago news media and the federal prosecutor. The sad thing is that each of them have a similar scandal. Look at White Water and Hillary...McCain and the Keating five...Romney's national finance committee co-chairman Alan Fabian has been indicted for money laundering, perjury and other crimes...Huckabee spent $500,000 in state emergency money to erase hard drives on his office computers... Where is the honest person running for president? Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: pmcalk on January 28, 2008, 10:06:12 pm quote: I don't think I would characterize that as "much deeper". He bought a strip of land from a crook. Do you have anything else? What are the "many" business dealings you speak of? quote: Obama has returned all of the money donated by this guy, past and present, and money donated by people with whom he is connected. Obama did not receive any money from him for his presidential bid. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jAIGdfD5fnE04OcfAdWzD_JTcEoQD8U9BG400 As the article points out, none of the candidates' hand are clean when it comes to accepting money from illegal donors. I am sure Edwards will return his donation as well when and if Fieger is convicted. quote: Your right--they all have skeletons in their closet, whether its White Water for Clinton or real estate deals with a Saudi Arabian lobbyist, like Edwards. Maybe absent some real evidence of criminal activity, we shouldn't just casually hint at wrong doing. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: waterboy on January 29, 2008, 08:12:39 am quote: Quite simply, you cannot do business in this coutry without bumping into criminals. If you're going to be in the game, you're going to have to take the risk that some of the players are breaking the rules and it isn't always obvious. I did business with a boat parts dealer who later was arrested for drug manufacturing and murder. Totally average behaving guy. He gave me good deals on parts and sold an engine for me. Now, I can never run for office without someone bringing it up! Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: RecycleMichael on January 29, 2008, 09:09:26 am This gives a little more light on the relationship...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article Obama denies well, but this interview shows more. Rezko has hosted fundraisers in his home and they have been friends since 1990...much more than just buying some land from a crook. Obama went to him about purchasing the two properties together, then he sold part of his to Obama. This guy is very sleazy and Obama is talking him into real estate deals? All this after it was widely known that Rezko was under investigation? Very bad judgement by Obama. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: FOTD on January 29, 2008, 12:59:52 pm Let's make this a scandal.....certainly, the righteous can do a better job of framing Obama as a bad man just like the left wing media did to Shrub. Obama's crime connection pales when held up next to Haliburton and Bushco. And that is the new standard set by 7 years of con jobs.
Rezco don't compare to Bushco....nice try. Keep attempting to make Obama look undignified. Won't work anymore. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: RecycleMichael on January 29, 2008, 01:15:04 pm I totally agree that this pales compared to the scandal that is Halliburton.
I didn't intend to just find reasons to trash Obama. I will still choose him if he is the democrat nominee for president this year. My intentions were not to find negative things about any democrat. Karl Rove and cronies will do that plenty. But I think Obama hasn't been fully vetted and frank discussions and disclosures now are better than later. Why do you think that Fox News/Sean Hannity/ Rush Limbaugh all attack Hillary and not Obama? They really want Obama to be the nominee, maybe in part because they think they can use this scandal against him. I would rather it be well-known than to be trumped up as an October surprise. Discussing his past now and getting it behind him will make him more electable this fall. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: pmcalk on January 29, 2008, 01:23:10 pm quote: Geez, RM, I just think we must not be reading the same article. All I see is a bad decision to buy real estate with a man who was under some suspicion at the time. Nobody has claimed that Obama did anything at all illegal. And I see a refreshing openess in Obama's response to the situation: quote: When was the last time you actually heard a politician admit that something he or she did was a mistake, recognize that is not enough to behave ethically, but that politicians' actions must also appear ethical. Instead of running from the situation, he's taken every step he can to rectify it. Your a good democrat--I am surprised that you would be attacking him. I know your guy is Edwards, but he isn't crystal clean either (his ties to subprime hedgefunds are a bit unsavory, IMO, but not enough to keep me from supporting him). We should stick to the issues that matter. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: guido911 on January 29, 2008, 01:29:55 pm First, I could care less about this "scandal", since right now the Rezco deal does not even qualify. I do think the Obama/Rezco issue is an attempt to revisit/rekindle Whitewater. Here's a take (from the conservative Huffington Post):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-russell/whitewater-v-rezko-the-_b_83040.html Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: RecycleMichael on January 29, 2008, 02:43:56 pm I guess my only real beef with Obama that you guys won't beat me about is that he is a distant cousin of vice-president Dick Cheney.
Defend that. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: spoonbill on January 29, 2008, 03:08:29 pm quote: Umm. . . The Huffington Post is not conservative!!! Arianna Huffington, ring any bells? She's a liberal looney of the highest degree! She's an Al Frankin, Jon Steward buddy. George Soros funds her website and organization. Claimed that she owned an electric car durring the Californina election when she ran against Arnold and Grey Davis as an independent, but was outed in a live interview for owning 3 large SUVs, a private jet and. . . NO electric car. She has written 11 bad books and sued for plagiarism on two of them about her home country of Greece. She is a self proclaimed minister in the Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, a California loony bin. Read some of the articles on her site! She's just nuts! Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: spoonbill on January 29, 2008, 03:25:38 pm More deliciousness!
From World News Daily Kathleen Willey has written an open letter to Barack Obama warning him not to be surprised by any attacks, since nothing is sacred when it comes to “the nation’s most ruthless political tag team.” Willey’s commentary, appearing on the WorldNetDaily Web site on Monday, urged the Democratic presidential candidate to expect the worst and safeguard his own private records against exposure by team Clinton. Referencing an e-mail from Obama’s wife Michelle in which she stated they didn’t expect negative campaign tactics from fellow Democrats, Willey, one of several women who has accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment, wrote: “Don’t be naïve. When those ‘fellow Democrats’ include Hillary Clinton, be ready to expect anything.” The former White House volunteer became a familiar name in political circles after she claimed that Bill Clinton groped her in the Oval Office in 1997 when she went to him asking for help in establishing contacts so she could land a job. She alleges that when she tried to expose the truth, Hillary Clinton led an intimidation campaign against her that included the 2007 theft of a manuscript of Willey’s soon-to-be published book. In her article, Willey told Obama that he can turn the tables on his foe by defining Hillary Clinton “as the worst possible choice to lead this nation. That’s one way to ensure voters that you, at least, are telling the truth.” She also advised Obama not to assume his home is safe from the Clintons and told him to invest in a shredder to get rid of personal documents. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: RecycleMichael on January 29, 2008, 03:33:36 pm Here is more from wikipedia about Willey...
According to Willey, during a meeting in the private study of the Oval Office, Clinton had embraced her tightly, kissed her on the mouth, fondled her breast and then placed her hand on his penis. Clinton denied assaulting Willey. This alleged event occurred on the same day that Willey's husband committed suicide. According to Linda Tripp’s grand jury testimony, Tripp felt Willey pursued a romance with Clinton from the start of her White House affiliation. Willey had speculated with Tripp as to how she might be able to set up an assignation between herself and the president. She routinely attended events at which Clinton would be present, wearing a black dress she believed he liked. According to Tripp’s testimony, she wondered if she and Clinton could arrange to meet in a home to which she had access, on the Chesapeake Bay. Tripp also challenged Willey’s account of that Oval Office meeting. According to Tripp, Willey had arranged the meeting in part to see if her flirtation with Clinton might advance. After Clinton and Willey met privately, Willey rushed back to Tripp’s office to describe the meeting. According to Tripp, Willey “smiled from ear to ear the entire time” as she described the event. “She seemed almost shocked, but happy-shocked,” Tripp told the grand jury. Willey told Tripp that she and Clinton had "smooched," but made no mention of a sexual assault. The Final Report of the US Office of the Independent Counsel report noted that "Willey gave false information to the FBI about her sexual relationship with a former boyfriend, and acknowledged having lied about it when the agents confronted her with contradictory evidence. Following Willey’s acknowledgment of the lie, the Independent Counsel agreed not to prosecute her for false statements in this regard." According to Independent Counsel Robert Ray’s report, "Willey’s [Paula] Jones deposition testimony differed from her grand jury testimony on material aspects of the alleged incident." According to a book critical of Clinton by Candice E. Jackson, Linda Tripp told Larry King in February 1999 that Willey is "an honest person" who was "telling the truth" about her sexual assault at Bill Clinton's hands. However, Tripp's grand jury testimony differs from Willey's claims regarding Willey's of inappropriate sexual advances. Willey has a history of controversial claims including telling the FBI she was pregnant and she had a miscarriage when she did not. On November 6, 2007 her book Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton was published by World Ahead Media. In her book, Willey claimed that on Labor Day weekend 2007, her house was burglarized, with the only thing stolen being a manuscript of her book Target. Willey stated that she believes individuals with ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton are responsible for the break-in, Willey also filed a police report. Media Matters reported that, in a November 7 interview with Sean Hannity she contradicted information from her own book. Willey had alleged that, two days before her deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, Cody Shearer, the brother of a Clinton White House aide, had confronted her, hurt her cat, and threatened her children. During The Sean Hannity Show Willey stated, "[the] FBI checked it out, and they found his excuse to be, for not being there, his alibi, was uncheckable, not so much ironclad as uncheckable." However, in her book she had written, "I was told that Shearer had an 'airtight' and 'ironclad' alibi, but another source told me that it was 'uncheckable.'" Wow...what a good source of whom who should vote for...Having her attack Hillary is like a cow saying eat more chicken. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: guido911 on January 29, 2008, 04:15:39 pm quote: Spoon, I was kidding. I was pointing out that even the Huffington Post, a liberal rag of a website, was essentially taking sides in democrat scandals. But hey, thanks for dirt on Arianna. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: spoonbill on January 29, 2008, 04:22:01 pm quote: Way way more likely to believe her over him! After all, I think there were a couple of others that made similar accusations? -Dolly Kyle Browning, a real estate lawyer and Clinton high school classmate who said she had an off-and-on-again romance with Mr. Clinton for 30 years. - Sally Perdue, a former Miss Arkansas who said she had a four-month affair with him in 1983. - Connie Hamzy, a self-proclaimed rock-and-roll groupie, who said Mr. Clinton propositioned her in 1984 while she was sunbathing by a Little Rock hotel pool. - Juanita Broaddrick, a gubernatorial campaign volunteer who said Mr. Clinton raped her during a nursing-home-operators convention in Little Rock in April 1978. - Bobbie Ann Williams, a one-time Little Rock prostitute who said Mr. Clinton fathered a child by her when he was the governor of Arkansas. - Eileen Wellstone, an English woman who said Mr. Clinton sexually assaulted her after she met him at a pub near Oxford University where Mr. Clinton was a student in 1969. - Sandra Allen James, a former Washington, D.C., political fund-raiser who said Mr. Clinton invited her to his hotel room during a 1991 campaign trip, pinned her against the wall and put his hand under her dress. - Christy Zercher, an airline flight attendant on Mr. Clinton’s 1992 campaign plane, who said Mr. Clinton exposed himself and grabbed her breasts. - Lencola Sullivan, a former Miss Arkansas and fourth runner-up in the Miss America pageant. - Elizabeth Ward, a former Miss Arkansas and Miss America. - Susie Whitacre, press aide to Mr. Clinton when he was governor. - Group of 12 Arkansas Highway Patrol officers that claimed he used them as a "Taxi" service for his romantic exploits as Governor. - 4 retired secret service agents tasked with keeping his romantic entanglements as president off the radar. I'm sure they all are simple misunderstandings or even better, they were devised by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy to soil his name. But we digress off subject. Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: NellieBly on January 29, 2008, 04:37:10 pm Arianna turned away from the darkside a few years ago. She used to be a conservative. Remember the old skits on SNL with her an Al Franken arguing politics in bed? She was such the conservative back then.
Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: USRufnex on January 29, 2008, 09:01:44 pm quote: keep spinnin' RM... this may become a scandal for Rob Blagojevich, but not for Obama... and your opinion that the Fox News people want Obama to be the nominee seems to clash with another popular notion... that NOTHING will unite the Republican Party like a campaign against Hillary & Bill... An oldie but a goodie... Rezko's life a story of pizza and politics By David Jackson and John Chase, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Ray Gibson contributed to this report October 12, 2006 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0610120112oct12,1,4621852.story As he invested in real estate ventures, Rezko assembled a chain of Papa John's pizzerias that stretched from the South Side into Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota. Rezko pragmatically courted local politicians, such as befriending the aldermen who controlled zoning and land-use decisions. Since 1994, he and his companies have given at least $385,000 to Illinois candidates, according to state and federal disclosures. In addition, Rezko reportedly raised millions of dollars for Blagojevich by reaching out to friends and business associates. He is best known for helping raise money for the governor and Democrats such as former Cook County Board President John Stroger, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. But Rezko also has helped Republicans, including former Gov. Jim Edgar, and he co-chaired a fundraiser for President Bush. But his strongest ties have always been with Blagojevich. Rezko's and Blagojevich's families often socialized. Rezko and the governor's wife, Patti, a real estate agent, even worked on several property deals together since 1997, earning Patti Blagojevich at least $38,000 in fees. So when Blagojevich was elected governor in 2002, Rezko said he felt an overwhelming urge to help get a Democratic administration up and running after two decades of Republican governors. Rezko recommended numerous candidates for Cabinet positions and state boards and commissions. And in a sign of how closely he meshed his pizza business deals with his forays into politics, a close circle of Rezko business investors and their relatives received jobs and appointments to influential state posts under Blagojevich. Blagojevich appointed three Rezko pizza business investors to a controversial board that oversees hospital projects. (That board was replaced amid an ongoing federal kickback investigation that led to the indictment of the board's vice chairman.) The state's business development agency, run by a former Rezko real estate firm executive, employed the daughters of two other pizza business partners, including a man who is a fugitive on federal tax charges. And another Rezko partner got a loan for pizza franchises through a California businessman whose firm won an $83 million contract for redeveloping the restaurants at Illinois Tollway oases. The loan came after an introduction from Rezko. Blagojevich has said those who secured jobs and appointments were qualified. Rezko had launched his first Papa John's franchise in 1998, and by 2002 he had opened 26 outlets in Chicago, seven in Detroit and at least 15 in Wisconsin, records show. He was financed in part by multimillion-dollar loans from GE Capital Corp., land and court records show. ------------------------------------------------ The Chicago media has become reasonably good at vetting politicians of late, thank you very much... Title: "A Dignified and Honest Campaign" Post by: we vs us on January 29, 2008, 09:29:39 pm quote: Heh. Like Blago needs another scandal. It's amazing that guy's still standing. |