Clinton’s Mark Penn, Phil Singer hold Saturday afternoon conference call on the state of the race:
On Rezko: Penn called latest developments part of a “troubling pattern” coming from Obama camp, criticizing him for not meaning what he says and pointing to NAFTA, former adviser Power’s Iraq statements in addition to learning about more Rezko fundraising. Said “we tend to learn more in dribs and drabs” rather than having him be transparent like he says he has been. Called for full disclosure of documents regarding his real estate transaction involving Rezko, questioned his judgment, accused him of waging a campaign full of personal attacks against Clinton. “We have what we see as a troubling pattern here that is rippling through all elements of his campaign.”
Singer said they have been seeing a pattern where “words often seem to change.” Said “intrepid few” reporters who have asked him about Rezko have gotten an answer that downplays his relationship with him. “The revelation in today’s newspapers is that Senator Obama has not always been so straightforward as he would like the public to think he has been in regards to Tony Rezko.”
moreMark Penn should be fired! What the hell is he thinking?
The Obama campaign today released the following statement in response to the Clinton campaign’s request for Senator Obama to release documents already available on our campaign website:
“It’s the height of hypocrisy for Senator Clinton to demand the release of documents that are already on our campaign website while she steadfastly refuses to release her full tax returns and earmark requests from her time in the Senate, as well as her White House records and Clinton library donors. Democrats across the country should be very concerned about Senator Clinton’s refusal to offer a full and complete accounting of what could be lurking in this financial information and what that would mean for our party when we run against Senator McCain in November,” said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.
From the Chicago Tribune: The most remarkable facet of Obama’s 92-minute discussion was that, at the outset, he pledged to answer every question the three dozen Tribune journalists crammed into the room would put to him. And he did. When we endorsed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination Jan. 27, we said we had formed our opinions of him during 12 years of scrutiny. We concluded that the professional judgment and personal decency with which he has managed himself and his ambition distinguish him. Nothing Obama said in our editorial board room Friday diminishes that verdict.
So what really happened Friday when Obama detailed his Obama connection? And will his attempt to exorcise Rezko keep U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign from exploiting that connection?
Obama fleshed out his relationship with Rezko—including the disclosure that Rezko raised as much as $250,000 for the first three offices Obama sought. But Obama's explanation was less a font of new data or an act of contrition than the addition of nuance and motive to a long-mysterious relationship.
We fully expect the Clinton campaign, given its current desperation, to do whatever it must in order to keep the Rezko tin can tied to Obama's bumper.
When we endorsed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination Jan. 27, we said we had formed our opinions of him during 12 years of scrutiny. We concluded that the professional judgment and personal decency with which he has managed himself and his ambition distinguish him.
Nothing Obama said in our editorial board room Friday diminishes that verdict.
moreFor those unfamiliar with Chicago media, the Tribune’s editorial board is pretty solidly Republican, so if any paper was going to express skepticism about Obama’s Rezko story, it’s the Trib. And yet, the paper came away apparently impressed.
linkBy John McCormick | Tribune correspondent
March 16, 2008
PLAINFIELD, Ind. — Sen. Barack Obama is trying to air his dirty laundry — even some items that might appear just a little wrinkled — as he prepares a full assault on Sen. Hillary Clinton over ethics and transparency.
On Saturday, meanwhile, he invoked Robert F. Kennedy as he continued to try to distance himself from controversial statements made by his former Chicago pastor that are now widely circulating on the Internet.
With a gap between campaign contests, Obama is trying to unload controversies. On Friday, he held extended conversations with the Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times about his longtime relationship with indicted developer and fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko.
The Illinois Democrat is also expected to make public his tax returns for several years before 2006, documents he has previously provided to the Tribune and other news organizations.
Clinton, who appeared Saturday in two St. Patrick's Day parades in Pennsylvania, has said she will release her post-White House tax returns in mid-April, perhaps just ahead of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.
Her campaign, meanwhile, suggested many questions remain about Obama's relationship with Rezko.
"The revelations in today's newspapers make it clear that Sen. Obama has not always been as straightforward" as he has suggested, Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said.
linkWhat is Hillary hiding?
Monday, Mar. 10, 2008 By AP/ALAN CLENDENNING
(SAO PAULO, Brazil) — A team from Brazil's Labor Ministry found "degrading" living conditions for 133 sugarcane workers employed by an ethanol company whose investors include former President Clinton and other high-profile financial players.
At five sites inspected, workers "complained they were suffering from hunger and cold, and all of the locations were overcrowded and with terrible sanitary conditions," according to a statement issued Friday by Jaqueline Carrijo, who led the inspections last month.
The target of the probe, Brazil Renewable Energy Co., known as Brenco, apologized over the weekend and said it is fixing the problems at its rural operations, which turn sugarcane into ethanol.
Clinton's connection is via an investment in Brenco by The Yucaipa Cos., a U.S.-based fund in which Clinton was a senior advisor until last year. His investment in Brenco is valued between $15,001 and $50,000, according to a financial disclosure report submitted last year by his wife, presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
moreOn Friday, infoUSA said its 2007 annual report will not be filed by a March 17 due date. The company said the report will be late because of an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and a shareholder lawsuit.
The SEC is investigating entertainment expenditures and certain stock trades. And a lawsuit filed by Cardinal Value Equity Partners and hedge fund Dolphin LP alleges that infoUSA founder Vin Gupta used private corporate jets to fly Bill and Hillary Clinton on business, personal and campaign trips, questions why Gupta gave Bill Clinton a $3.3 million consulting contract and asks why the company paid for extravagant luxuries Gupta enjoyed.
News of the delayed filing led Moody's Investors Services and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services to consider a downgrade.
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