Photo Surfaces Of Obama With Indicted Chicago Lobbyist

Photo Surfaces Of Obama With Indicted Chicago Lobbyist

I'm sure I'm not the only reporter who gets a steady stream of email from Chicago reform Democrats, grumbling when Obama casts himself as a life-long reformer. And one Chicago reader who isn't associated with a political campaign last week sent along something I don't think has ever been public before: this undated photograph of Obama and the indicted lobbyist, fixer, and former patron, Tony Rezko.

The L.A. Times had a good piece on these elements of Obama's past a couple of months ago, describing the compromises that come with Chicago politics, Obama's relationships with lobbyists at the time, and his courting of old-school fixers. To the occasional frustration of some Chicago liberals, he's also still making endorsements on the Daley machine side of Chicago politics, something Eric Zorn flagged long ago. That Chicago machine, also the political base of his chief advisor, David Axelrod, has been a solid bloc of support behind his presidential campaign.

Still, that pragmatism isn't something he advertises.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot