Let's clarify Obama deal with Rezko
Eric Zorn | Change of Subject
June 10, 2008
"John McCain didn't borrow money from a guy going to jail to build his house."
—Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) discussing Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos"
Perhaps Graham was simply confused. After all, there are many fine points to remember in the story of the land deal involving Obama and fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, and off-the-cuff summaries can blur the truth.
Obama didn't borrow a dime from Rezko to buy—not build—a house three years ago.
But now that Rezko is, in fact, "going to jail"—he's actually already serving prison time after his conviction last week on federal corruption charges—and Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, it's time for a handy cheat sheet for pols and pundits tempted to incorporate this tale into their campaign narratives.
So for the gentleman from South Carolina and other befuddled parties, here are '08 things you need to know about how and why the Obamas and Rezkos purchased adjoining properties in the Kenwood neighborhood on the same day in 2005.
1. The deal could have gone down without Rezko. While it's true that the couple who sold the house to the Obamas and the adjoining vacant lot to Rezko's wife required the deals to close on the same day, there was at least one other serious bidder on the lot.
2. The Obamas did not get a special discount on the house. Yes, the original asking price was $1.95 million and the sale price was $1.65 million. But the sellers have confirmed that the sale price was the result of routine real estate negotiations and was the best offer they received on the house.
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