Is this the Real Reason that John Edwards is Hanging In the Race?

[KoKo]

"Their buildings were falling apart,'' said a former city official. "They just didn't pay attention to the condition of these buildings.''


Eleven of Rezko's buildings were in Obama's state Senate district.

Obama surfaces in Rekzo's federal corruption case

Source confirmed Obama is the unnamed "political candidate" referred to in document which outlines case against Rezko


Maybe it's why John Edwards is committed to staying in the race. He's waiting for Obama's hope facade to fall. Though there's no hint whatsoever that Obama's legions of fans have any interest in the truth and certainly not the record behind Mr. Hope:

Rezko and Mahru also managed the buildings, which were supposed to provide homes for poor people for 30 years. Every one of the projects ran into trouble:

• Seventeen buildings -- many beset with code violations, including a lack of heat -- ended up in foreclosure.

• Six buildings are currently boarded up.

• Hundreds of the apartments are vacant, in need of major repairs.

• Taxpayers have been stuck with millions in unpaid loans.

• At least a dozen times, the city of Chicago sued Rezmar for failure to heat buildings.

For five weeks, the Sun-Times sought to interview Obama about Rezko and the housing deals. His staff wanted written questions. It responded Sunday but left many questions unanswered. Other answers didn't directly address the question.

Among these: When did Obama learn of Rezmar's financial problems? "The senator had no special knowledge of any financial problems,'' Gibbs wrote.

Did the senator ever complain to anyone -- government officials, Rezmar or Rezko -- about the conditions of Rezmar's buildings? "Senator Obama did follow up on constituency complaints about housing as matter of routine,'' Gibbs wrote.

Did the senator ever discuss Rezmar's financial problems with anyone at his law firm? "The firm advises us that it unaware of any such conversations,'' Gibbs wrote. ... ..


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/obamas-faustian-bargain-_b_82863.html

[jannyk]

1. The higher they fly , the harder they fall - lots of uncast votes out there - nt

[1corona4u]

17. Yep.

[AndyA]

2. I believe Edwards is staying in the race for the very reason he's said he's staying in the race:

So that people like me have a voice. Barack does not represent me, nor does Hillary. Without John, I have no representation.

Perhaps he's aware of Barack's past dealings and knows something we don't. He does have connections in the legal arena, so who knows.

I think it's good to have options.

[mac56]

3. Well put, Andy.

I agree.

[KoKo]

4. I think that's a huge part of it...but as a Trial Lawyer ..surely he has some sense

of what's going on with the Rezco Case which might open a door for him down the road. :shrug:

[cali]

7. pathetic. do you actually think that Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry

and Pat Leahy would have endorsed Obama without vetting him? Try again.

[KoKo]

9. The Kennedy Harvard Foundation paid for Kenyans to go to Harvard...

Obama is their Karma...

[cali]

16. total non sequitor

and non answer.

[Jane Austin]

21. Why do you call Obama a trial lawyer?

Is he?

[Yael]

30. Obama is a constitutional lawyer, Edwards a trial lawyer and Clinton a corporate lawyer

[OzarkDem]

6. He says it, I believe it n/t

[NastyRiffraff]

8. Exactly

We'll see how the Rezco thing plays out, but John isn't staying in the race hoping for someone to collapse because of problems like this.

(Edited to correct spelling of slumlord's name)

[KoKo]

13. No...but as a "politician" the calculation that he could be the "last man standing" must

have entered his advisors brains...or they wouldn't be worth their salt as "advisors." Plus...Edwards is no "slouch" even with his so-called "pretty boy hair" and "weird accent" he's "connected" and as a lawyer has connections that go into even the folks up there in Chicago. just saying...

[MissDeeds]

45. I agree that Edwards gives people like us a voice

and that is why I steadfastly support him. I am also encouraged by his determination to stay in the race. He would not do so if he felt his candidacy was futile or destined to fail. I am hoping that he has some insight, some inkling that things could eventually turn his way. This man is not a neophyte, he knows what he is up against.

[OzarkDem]

5. Edwards is the "stealth" candidate

He's building support and raising money while the two front runners get raked over the coals.

Edwards is the "grown up" candidate who stays above the fray, sticking to message, sticking to the basics.

I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't eyeing those "super delegate" votes, when, come convention time Obama and Clinton are too damaged to advance to the next level.

[KoKo]

18. I think he's the "Fail Safe" candidate when the others Implode...

His record is an "open book." And while folks think his accent and hair is "funny" ...he hasn't hooked up with the folks that either Hillary or Obama have in his lifetime. The folks in NC who support him are pretty "limited" in their connections compared to the TOP TWO.

John is pretty "innocent/untainted" if one looks at the trails of those top two. :eyes:

[OzarkDem]

22. And a high quality "fail/safe" candidate at that

About all they can do is talk about him being "wealthy" and a trial lawyer, but he's stayed out of the high priced donor crowd.

[Barack_America]

10. Taylor Marsh is no longer a credible source.

But, if you want a credible source regarding Obama's ties with Rezko, here you go.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article

[KoKo]

14. Who is Taylor Marsh and why is she not Credible? HUH???

[Yael]

31. She is a paid HillShill

[KoKo]

36. She's a paid Hillary Campaign Staffer? Is that what you are saying?

:shrug:

[Barack_America]

44. Not a staffer, but she has been paid through a fund...

linked to Clinton.

Check out this older thread.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2710260

[sandnsea]

11. lol, oh, Taylor Marsh, lol

Poor dear. She's trying to compete with Maureen Dowd for dimwit of the year I guess.

This has all been beat to death in Chicago for years. There is no there there. Sorry folks.

[KoKo]

20. Trying to "shoot the messenger" and not the Message...much? n/t

[sandnsea]

25. The Message has truly been beat to death

It just has. Poor Taylor Marsh is in fits because she isn't going to get to be Blogger in Chief, that's all that's going on there.

[Flabbergasted]

12. Marsh Forgot to mention this: "The Illinois senator isn’t accused of any wrongdoing"

[KoKo]

15. She says this Several Times in the Article...if you click the link...

Because of the limit on just posting "snips" I couldn't put in that she did say this several times.

[Flabbergasted]

24. You're right I found it. However Marsh does it such a way as to imply guilt and give herself...

an out in the process.

Although it may come to pass that information does come forward that does indicate that Obama is guilty of some infraction, ethical or criminal, nothing at this point indicates that. The best the media has done is to point to a guilt be association.

[KoKo]

28. Thanks for checking ...but aren't you "stretching it" a bit to trash Marsh?

:shrug: Be honest.......

[Flabbergasted]

35. Not at all. Remebering Hsu and other events, guilt by association is not guilt. nt

If their was an ethical lapse then it should be revealed but I haven't seen it.

[KoKo]

37. Damned Ken Starr made a career out of "guilt by association" do we think Repugs will let up

for Hillary II or OBAMA for HOPE? If either gets in?

"Guilt by Association" is how the Repugs go at the Dems with "Special Prosecutions" and Media Pundits like Tweety and the Whole Fox News Team and CNN!

When Dems ever manage to get ANYTHING on a REPUG...(Catching them red handed or tapping shoes) we GET ZILCH! They hire a fancy lawyer (the Bennet Brother..or other old Clinton Prosecutor type) and THEY GET OFF ...FREE!

FREE! or with a little time..."pending a pardon."

JUST REMEMBER ....MARTHA STEWART SERVED HER TIME! Typical Repug Witch Hunt.......against the more innocent or female..

[MagickMuffin]

33. Even tho Obama hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing...........

Shouldn't he be held accountable for the poor people in his district???

The people who lived in unlivable conditions.

Is this how he will govern as POTUS???

NO THANKS, already had eight years of that nonsense.

[KoKo]

42. Shouldn't he have known what was going on? South Side of Chicago?

Community Activist? There's gossip...there's "stuff" around the watercooler in law firms. But, most of all when one is a Community Activist one knows who the Slum Lords are... You can't not know...if you are on the streets "working with the people." :shrug:

[THUNDER HANDS]

19. he's staying in the race because he has matching funds

[KoKo]

29. And the "new donations" get the "Matching Funds." Right?

[citizen snips]

23. Rezko was denied bond today

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080128/fundraiser_indicted.html?.v=2

[KoKo]

32. Tony Rezco ....born in Syria..................

He said Rezko's $2 million bond was no longer adequate to make certain he would remain in the United States and show up for trial.

Defense attorney Joseph Duffy said "there isn't anything that suggests flight." He said Rezko, a U.S. citizen born in Syria, returned from overseas to face the charges against him.

Duffy said initially that the $3.5 million was a loan secured by part of a 62-acre parcel of land south of Chicago's Loop. But then in the middle of the hearing he interrupted to say he had just been informed that it was not.

Asked after the hearing if the $3.5 million was a secured loan, he said: "I don't know that."

Prosecutors also said that some of the people who put up property in Rezko's name are renting out or trying to sell the property, raising concerns there may not be enough collateral to secure Rezko's bond.

Schar said in the case of one man who posted his home as bond, Rezko funneled the home's exact value back to him.

Once the estimated eight- to 12-week trial is over, Rezko still will face federal charges alleging he swindled General Electric Capital Corp. out of $10 million in connection with the sale of two pizza restaurant chains.

[pleah]

26. All info on the candidates is fair game. After all they are

running for the highest office in the land.

[burythehatchet]

27. I'm a fan of yours, and you are better than this. The source is Taylor Marsh.

[KoKo]

34. It's the "fairness" something's not on the "up and up" with this....

I don't know Taylor Marsh from a Pumpkin...but once I saw what Clinton and Obama were doing I got angry and did some research.

I'm a Gore, Kucinich...I'm now down to supporting Edwards...and there's something here.. I don't want Obama to get in and we have another "Ken Starr" going after Obama for Rezko..... We've been down this road before.

Just trying to tell you where I'm coming from. I have no candidate who expresses my Populist Views..I will defend the "last one standing." and...that turns out to be Edwards on his "last leg." But, something isn't sounding too good about Obama. It's worth pointing out..don't you think? Or, is this Taylor Marsh some reprehensible NeoCon that took us to war that we shouldn't listen to? Another Bill Kristol or something? :shrug:

[zulchzulu]

38. I didn't realize Obama was a construction worker...

Obama's link to Rezmar is about 5 billable hours helping with the incorporation papers in the early 1990's. Last I checked, it has nothing to do with what the building were made of or by whom years later.

You're pulling a Rezko... no wait, this is more of an insult: You're pulling a Taylor Marsh.

:rofl:

[sendero]

39. It's hilarious..

... if accepting money from, or even being associated with, sleazeballs is a political crime - well the Clintons live in a glass house so they better be careful with the rocks.

[Tatiana]

40. I doubt it. Shout Rezko to the rooftops, all day, all night.

Maybe it's because I'm a jaded Chicagoan, but this is a non-issue for me and I think most Chicagoans think the sensationalizing of this story is akin to Whitewater... that is not say, "not a big deal."

I once wrote an employment reference for someone who was found to have committed some crimes on a background check. Did I feel bad for writing that reference? Hell yeah. I chalked it up to poor judgment of character and moved on. I'm definitely more cautious in who I write references for now.

Mistakes happen. In a town where Dan Rostenkowski set the bar for political scandal (or lowered it, depending on your viewpoint), this isn't a "story" at all for most people that I have talked to. How this will play nationally remains to be seen.

[KoKo]

41. Are you saying that all Chicago, New York and San Fran , Boston, LA Crime should be ignored?

Because one lives in a major city that "Crime" just goes with the territory? We were told that Arkansas was a state with huge criminal influence when Bill Clinton got investigated by Ken Starr. And Jimmy Carty was a Peanut farmer way outside of Atlanta...but somehow he was involved with Burt Lance's Criminal Bank in Atlanta.

Should we ignore crimes...because politicians just have to do it? Does that mean that Rudy's ties with Bernie Kerik should have been ignored, too?

Chicago is noted for BIG CRIME. And, going back to Mayor Daley who it was assumed threw the election to Jack Kennedy because of friendship with "Old Joe" the patriarch and the Mob.

How long should we let this stuff go on? If we don't like when Repugs do it...why give it a "pass" just becaue we happen to "like and support the Dem who takes part in it?"

There are plenty of Dem Folks who aren't tied into Political Favors from Major City Bosses. Take a look at John Edwards....:shrug:

[Tatiana]

43. What crime has Obama committed? n/t

[KoKo]

47. None....but the associations with those who are involved in investigations for crimes

always come out sooner or later. Giuliani is not in jail and hasn't been charged with crimes...but look at who he hung out with, and got favors from. Should his dealings with Kerik not have been news? :shrug:

[Tatiana]

49. These are the same types of smears that have been thrown at the Clintons for years.

I am not an Obama supporter, but this smearing by association and in the same category as the Vince Foster murder theories.

Giuliani's abuse of office is well-documented. Where has Obama abused his elected office? Being guilty of poor judgment is fair thing to call him on, but to act like he advocated substandard housing conditions is dishonest. We have ALL exhibited poor judgment at one time or another.

Show me a politician who has never exhibited poor judgment and I'll ask you whether Jesus has been re-resurrected.

[2hip]

46. But Clinton will MAKE it a story if possible, even if there's nothing there

I suspect she'll attempt to stain and taint Obama's "Change" image so voters will think he's just "More of the same...", a typical corrupt "Politician" which has come to have a negative connotation attached to it. It's going to be a dirty campaign, I'm afraid, with both sides in mortal jugular-attack mode. But they both need to be careful that their attacks on one another don't ultimately destroy themselves in the process, leaving Edwards as the last candidate standing. Wouldn't that be an interesting turn of events?


KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING!

New Grassroots Fund Drive—Wednesday, January 30th
(Please give this link a kick for John!)

[Califooyah Operative]

48. Gee, why am I suprised it's another 'Marsh' attack. nt

[KoKo]

50. ...