Obama donor received a state grant

[NJSecularist]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-killerspin27apr27,0,6789688.story

WASHINGTON -- After an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2000, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama faced serious financial pressure: numerous debts, limited cash and a law practice he had neglected for a year. Help arrived in early 2001 from a significant new legal client -- a longtime political supporter.

Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his growing technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for over a year with regular payments from Blackwell's firm that eventually totaled $112,000.

A few months after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.

Killerspin specializes in table tennis, running tournaments nationwide and selling its own line of equipment and apparel and DVD recordings of the competitions. With support from Obama, other state officials and an Obama aide who went to work part time for Killerspin, the company eventually obtained $320,000 in state grants between 2002 and 2004 to subsidize its tournaments.

Obama's staff said the senator advocated only for the first year's grant -- which ended up being $20,000, not $50,000. The day after Obama wrote his letter urging the awarding of the state funds, Obama's U.S. Senate campaign received a $1,000 donation from Blackwell.

Obama's presidential campaign rejects any suggestion that there was a connection between the legal work, the campaign contribution and the help with the grant. "Any implication that Sen. Obama would risk an ethical breach in order to secure a small grant for a pingpong tournament is nuts," said David Axelrod, Obama's chief political advisor.

A few months after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.

Killerspin specializes in table tennis, running tournaments nationwide and selling its own line of equipment and apparel and DVD recordings of the competitions. With support from Obama, other state officials and an Obama aide who went to work part time for Killerspin, the company eventually obtained $320,000 in state grants between 2002 and 2004 to subsidize its tournaments.

Obama's staff said the senator advocated only for the first year's grant -- which ended up being $20,000, not $50,000. The day after Obama wrote his letter urging the awarding of the state funds, Obama's U.S. Senate campaign received a $1,000 donation from Blackwell.

More of that new type of politics from Obama. But I heard he wasn't any normal politician. :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

Obama's image as a uniter and a new type of politician is fading away by the second. By August, he'll be unelectable.

[LakeSamish706]

1. So who the F*** cares Hillbott? Get a life! I think your party is about over. n/t

[NJSecularist]

2. Obama's entire image is built on being a new politician.

Yet we see the same politics of old from him over and over again as we begin to learn more and more about him. His public image is unraveling by the minute. His campaign stump speech is just rhetoric.

[LakeSamish706]

3. Your candidate is toast, accept it and get on with your life. n/t

[BzaDem]

11. You really sound like a baby.

Someone criticizes your candidate, and you whine and cry and change the subject. Guess that's typical of GDP Obama supporters.

[LakeSamish706]

14. Yeah, whatever... But your candidate is still losing, so I would suggest you get over it...

and move along. Rev. Wright rocks.. lol

[scheming daemons]

4. You'll switch back to Obama after NC.... you have no moral ethic except following the latest

"winner"..

[psychmommy]

5. i love watching hilly"s politics.

she is a new type of dem politician-a demlican. (i stole that from another obama supporter). she is a new type of politician-me before the party. me before the will of the people and by the way me, me, me, me.

[NJSecularist]

6. What does this thread have to do with Hillary?

Obama's public image as a "new type of politician" is a farce. He's just like any other type of politician. He's from Chicago, the capital of machine politics.

[LakeSamish706]

9. Don't you get tired of hearing your head roar after awhile? I know I get tired of listening to...

Hillbotts after awhile.... It just makes me want to scream cause they spend there time tearing Obama down instead of saying something positive about there own candidate... Oh wait, there is nothing to say positive about your own candidate unless you think that lying is a positive trait.

[NJSecularist]

10. This is coming from the Obama cult that has done everything to tear Hillary down the last few months

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[LakeSamish706]

12. Hillary doesn't need anybody but Bill to tear her down... He has done an...

admirable job of that.

[angie_love]

20. yeah and you were among the worst of them. Did Hillary go into your house and brainwash you?

Damn to think i used to think you were a decent person. Had me fooled!

[mckeown1128]

7. Uh oh.. Pingpong-gate debunked before it even takes off...sorry..

An Illinois ethics advocate who worked with Obama to pass state ethics reforms, Cynthia Canary, said she was not troubled by Obama's handling of the Blackwell business. She said his listing of all the law firm's clients "was a more complete disclosure than you see 80% of the time in Illinois." Further, she said that Obama's letter on behalf of the table tennis tournament did not "rise to the level of a conflict of interest" because Obama did not have decision-making authority over the grant.

Obama's spokesman said that listing all clients was appropriate and that doing so allowed the public to see any and all potential conflicts for Obama and his law firm colleagues. "He was especially mindful of this responsibility as a leader of ethics reform," said Gibbs, his chief campaign spokesman.


http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-killerspin27apr27,1,4475139.story?page=2


Besides this is an old and well documented psuedo-psuedo-psuedo-scandal. No shock... no awe... Clinton supporters will have to dig up "other" trash to smear Obama with.

[MADem]

8. Why did his WIFE separate out that guy on HER ethic declaration, then? NT

[tammywammy]

16. Different form, different questions

"Gibbs said the questions on the city form were different from the state's and required different answers."

[MADem]

18. Better judgment, too. NT

[texastoast]

13. Pennies, baby, compared to Hillary

You don't want all the pukes to come out and vote for McLame who would stay home if Obama is the candidate, now do you?

Obama is not my first choice, but I have sense enough to know that if Hill is the candidate, we lose.

[LakeSamish706]

15. If Hill is the candidate and wins, we lose... No win situation there. n/t

[texastoast]

17. Not like McLame

We have a better chance with Hill than Mr. 100 Years in the Mideast.

But if she is the candidate, we will have four more years of Republican rule.

[johnnydrama]

19. that's ok say the hillary people

They know Hillary's as dirty as they come. They think once the score is 500-1 in ethics problems, they can say, Hillary has problems, but so does Obama.

Nobody's really buying it.

[anigbrowl]

21. Ping Pong gate - worse than you think!!!!

Aaaaaagh! Muslims!!!!