Sen. Barack Obama says he regrets financial arrangements with Ill. governor's fundraiser

[kentuck]

http://search.isp.netscape.com/nsisp/boomframe.jsp?query=Barack+Obama+friends&page=1&offset=1&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D6909a8adaba0d3e%26clickedItemRank%3D10%26userQuery%3DBarack%2BObama%2Bfriends%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.motherjones.com%252Fmojoblog%252Farchives%252F2006%252F11%252F2973_obama_to_report.html%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DNSISPTop%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fmojoblog%2Farchives%2F2006%2F11%2F2973_obama_to_report.html

<snip>

(AP) Responding to a newspaper report, Sen. Barack Obama said Saturday that arrangements he had with a political fundraiser accused of shaking down companies might have raised the appearance of impropriety.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko, whom Gov. Rod Blagojevich has described as a friend and a fundraiser, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted to squeeze millions of dollars in kickbacks out of investment firms seeking state business. He also has pleaded not guilty to obtaining a $10.5 million loan from General Electric Capital Corp. through fraud and swindling a group of investors.

Obama and his wife closed on a $1.65 million home last year in Chicago; the same day, Rezko's wife closed on a $625,000 lot next door, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

<snip>

"It was simply not good enough that I paid above the appraised value for the strip of land that he sold me," Obama said. "It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else, to believe that he had done me a favor.

....more

[Radical Activist]

1. I'm sure some will try to make something out of this.

There's no indication that Obama got any special favors or did anything at all wrong. Pretty boring stuff.

[Alhena]

2. Old news ...

Not a flame, but basically identical stories ran in Chicago papers weeks ago. This is old news there and has petered out.