AP: Obama Intern Linked to Fundraiser

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2006/12/26/politics/p152946S89.DTL

Chicago (AP) -- An intern in Sen. Barack Obama's office last year was recommended by an Illinois Democratic fundraiser later indicted for seeking kickbacks on government deals.

Obama has denied doing any favors for Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. The internship was one of 98 Illinois spots filled from a pool of 350 applicants.

John Aramanda, a 20-year-old student, served in Obama's Capitol Hill office from July 20 to Aug. 26, 2005, and was paid an $804 stipend, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs told the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times in reports published Sunday.

Gibbs said Rezko recommended the intern to Obama but contended that the internship did not contradict Obama's statements about not doing any favors for Rezko.

"I think that it's fairly obvious that a few-week internship is not anything of benefit to Mr. Rezko or any of his businesses," he said.

[Roland99]

1. This is all they can dredge up on Obama?

*yawn*

[Hoping4Change]

32. Harper's Magazine Nov 2006 has interesting article on Obama

entitled Barack Obama Inc.: birth of a Washington machine.


http://www.harpers.org/BarackObamaInc.html

[MrModerate]

2. What a waste of electrons . . .

C'mon. No one on the planet *doesn't* know someone, at a single remove, who's been in trouble with the law. If this is the best they can do in the scandal biz, then Obama must be clean indeed.

[Roland99]

7. Just depends on if there's a "D" or an "R" behind the name

DeLay gets smothered with praise and promoted to high positions in Conservative orgs.

Obama gave some kid a one-month internship and it's mob lynch time.

[President Jesus]

11. How is being forced out of office and getting indicted...

..."praise and promotion" in your world?

Delay was easily the third most powerful figure in Washington this time last year. Now he's a total joke with a blog.

I get it. "D" = "Good"; "R" = "Evil". But even you can't believe your statement above (unless you were in a coma all of 2006).

[Roland99]

15. .

http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/184543,CST-EDT-novak24.article

[President Jesus]

36. *that* is your response?

DeLay goes from being the third most powerful person in governement to a lobbyist for extreme right-wing causes (and shunned by most consevatives), and your argument is that he is being rewarded for being engulfed in scandal?

It certainly sounds to me (and most rational citizens I would guess) that this guy is beyond finished.

[fujiyama]

38. He was shunned by most conservatives?

He personally may be used as a scapegoat by some for the losses of this election, but his sleaze, corruption has been embraced by all too many republicans and is endemic of the GOP in general.

[acmavm]

3. I'm not an Obama fan but even I can see that they'll try to hang

him with everything that they can from now until he gets out of politics. People are going to try to connect him to everything anyone that can he be remotely associated him with ever did. And every poor schmuck like this guy will find themselves tarred and feathered with the same brush as anyone they ever may have worked for, guilty or no.


Politics is a game in America and it has has no decency, integrity, or honesty anymore.

[IndianaGreen]

4. Former Obama staffer got a parking ticket

Yep, I expect more of these latest breaking news about all the law breakers that ever worked for Obama.

[stansnark]

18. or farted

[KamaAina]

31. How's this? John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer

John Wayne Gacy lived in Illinois. Obama lives in Illinois. Therefore, Obama must be a serial killer!

:sarcasm:

Well, you didn't see Obama do anything to try to stop Gacy, did you? :sarcasm:

[Telly Savalas]

33. My brother-in-law knows a woman who was a waitress in a restaurant

where Obama once ate. He says that her fiancee borrowed a screwdriver from a neighbor a couple weeks ago and hasn't returned it yet.

If Obama chooses to associate with such people, can we really trust him with the presidency?

[JI7]

5. imagine if these fuckers cared as much about our foreign policy

and what our "leader" is doing there with the wars and all.

[JudyM]

25. Yep, hard to imagine authentic governance these days, just a big partisan cloud. nt

[Infinite Hope]

6. This is likely a warning shot from someone or some entity. n/t

[cigsandcoffee]

8. I think the Clintons are trying to hang him.

Hillary will be a formidable opponent, if indeed she does run.

[never cry wolf]

9. And so I't begins

A 10' strip of land and an $800 summer intern. How soon before the Arkansas Project becomes the Hawaii of U of C project and Kenneth Starr is on the case, 24/7.

I suppose Barack could take this a compliment cuz they be scared... just mho

but the swiftboating begins

[illinoisprogressive]

10. Whoever is going to have to try harder

in finding something to smear Obama about. Right now , the repugs are digging into the old too liberal bag but, Hillary is very worried about an Obama run and wouldn't put this past her as a kind of scare tactic to warn him.
Coming from Chicago politics, I think whoever is going to have to try harder.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

12. I smell FEAR in the air! I wouldn't past either side to go after him.

I really don't know that much about Obama, but he is very charismatic and speaks with a platinum tongue. He is truly a gladiator that should worry everyone.

I think his charisma could go to the level of the Kennedy's, and that would scare anyone, (edit)
from the normal political establishments. It might just be what we need, but, then again, I have not studied him.

I think my theme song for him would go like this "Shake it up baby... twist and shout...".

[caledesi]

26. Oh the word is out...get dirt on Obama.. Seriously, I troll FR and

a message was posted basically saying "find dirt on him."

They are despicable.

[Eurobabe]

13. He must be a threat to someone

They'll dig up stupid shit that doesn't amount to a hill of beans, just like they did with Dean, Clark and Kerry in '04. If he's gonna run, he better don the teflon suit now and get used to it.

I consider it a sincere form of flattery.

[Judi Lynn]

16. He just might be prepared for the exercise. I heard him on a talk show

when he was asked about rough stuff in politics, and he mentioned living in Chicago, and quoted an old Chicago author Finley Peter Dunne who was known for his expression "Politics ain't beanbag!"

[Earth_First]

14. So the media builds Obama up only to destroy him?

Par for the course.

[AlCzervik]

17. you know thats the game or else the media might actually have to cover

news.

[w4rma]

19. The "link" is a recommendation? (nt)

[Vinca]

20. Well . . . here we go. Campaign 2008. nt

[Eugene]

21. This is trivia but count on critics to talk it up.

Full disclosure: I'm neutral on Barack Obama. He's not Hillary Clinton,
but I'm not sold on him yet.

Tony Rezko is politically radioactive and he has popped up twice near Barack Obama.
If critics don't imply guilt by association, they can, fairly or unfairly, call Obama's
judgement into question for not staying far enough away from Rezko. This is something
an attacker can run with. The Repugs have worked with even less.

[Dinger]

22. Build 'Em Up & Tear 'Em Down Syndrome

It's what happens when you give the "MSM" enough time. I'm sure there's a strategy to this, one that I'm not smart enough to figure out, but sheehs - it's lookinglike a pattern to me, and so far the targets, in order, appear to be 1. Hillary 2. Obama 3. Edwards, 4. ?

[robcon]

23. Serious issue.

"An intern in Sen. Barack Obama's office last year was recommended by an Illinois Democratic fundraiser later indicted for seeking kickbacks on government deals."

Yeah I understand an umbrella once used by Al Capone was handled by Obama, too. Yeah Obama's unelectable.:sarcasm:

[okieinpain]

24. oh, so you want to run for president? just wait it will be hillary's people

that leaked it.

[warrens]

27. Lame, lame, lame

Wonder what oppo researcher dug this up and thought it was significant. Really, really dumb.

[KansDem]

28. Where was this vigil AP when Bush couldn't account for his whereabouts in TANG?

Oh, yeah, that's right...he had dental records! :eyes:

[damntexdem]

29. They're gonna have to stick that rake in deeper:

they haven't raised enough muck yet.

It doesn't sound like Rove is on this job, at least not yet.

[Miss Chybil]

30. I heard Obama's cousin's uncle's grandmother wore the same dress

to church four Sundays in a row. That's why I'm not going to consider him, if he runs for president. It's just shameful. /sarcasm

[illinoisprogressive]

34. Resko has been around for years

any politican in Chicago has had to deal with the guy. He trolls for young pols to corrupt. Obama knows him but, isn't into the game. when he bought his house, Rs wife bought the empty lot next door unknown to Obama. then one day she pops up and offers to sell it and they do the deal. It was all up and up but, it was with the guy.
As for the dirt digging, it's not just the repugs looking for dirt. I hear that Hillary is desparate for anything to get him on. She hired some hit man to do dirty to the other runners and make it look like the repugs did it. So, we need to know not all of it is repug swiftboat. Some will be Hillary swiftboat.
On all the runners.

[WritersBlock]

37. I'm certainly no Hillary fan...

... but do you have a source for this, please?

She hired some hit man to do dirty to the other runners and make it look like the repugs did it.

[bklyncowgirl]

39. Interesting. I tend to agree it was most likely Hillary

The Clintons know how to play dirty--one of the few reasons I could see for voting for Hillary, Kerry was way to much a gentleman. Remember what they did to Jerry Brown back in 92. I've also read that they sent a couple of aids around to Poppy Bush with pix of Poppy and his very special lady friend and said that if Poppy's folks even mentioned Bill Clinton's er sexual proclivities, that a reputable news outlet would get said pix within hours. Bill's philandering remained off the table--at least as far as the Bush campeign was concerned.

Throwing a little dirt on Mr. Clean would be par for the course. Of course the Republicans could be going for a pre-emptive strike as well. Frankly, I'd rather have Obama and everyone else thoroughly run through the meat grinder before they are nominated. Get whatever dirt there is out in the open--just make sure everyone gets the same treatment.

By the way, are these rumors that are circulating in Chicagoland?

[Miss Chybil]

40. Sorry not getting on the Hillary did it bandwagon.

We already went through, at least, eight years of that a while back. Didn't ride then. I'm not riding now.

[ryanmuegge]

35. So what?

Seeking kickbacks? That's the name of the game in Washington. The Republicans are just trying to criminalize politics, I tell you.