Chicago Tribune: Obama Satisfied All Doubts About Rezko

Chicago Tribune:

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama waited 16 months to attempt the exorcism. But when he finally sat down with the Tribune editorial board Friday, Obama offered a lengthy and, to us, plausible explanation for the presence of now-indicted businessman Tony Rezko in his personal and political lives.

The most remarkable facet of Obama's 92-minute discussion was that, at the outset, he pledged to answer every question the three dozen Tribune journalists crammed into the room would put to him. And he did.

Read the whole story: Chicago Tribune

Comments

[editrix66]

I listened to the entire interview that was linked on the Trib's website, and I was impressed by how candid Obama was. He gave a presentation in which he discussed the Rezco matter, provided documents, and then he answered every follow-up question. After those were answered, he answered questions about Wright, and other more general campaign issues. He did not try to evade any questions. He was just straight up.

[JohnnySorrow]

I love it.

Howard Wolfson, in all of his self-righteous indignation, was grilling Axelrod last week about Obama answering ALL of the media's questions. Within a week it's done and we are STILL waiting for Hillary to get her tax returns together.

[tyko]

Really? That answered all your questions? "Uhh, it was a, umm, coincidence"
Hillary can release her list of favorite books as her tax returns, it would be about as believable.

[shnopsie18]

President Clinton and Senator Clinton have twenty years of tax returns on file and Barack Obama has one. H E L L OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I believe Senator Obama has more important things to be concerned with a minister who preaches hatred against the USA, etc.

[Ono4Hoopono]

More obfuscation to throw people off the trail.

It's the LAST EIGHT YEARS of tax returns that they won't release, the only ones that matter. The ones since they left office. They are the ones that will help tell the REAL tale of the Clintons, the tale they apparently they don't want us to know.

FULL disclosure. Right now what we have is...BULL disclosure.

Eight years of tax returns, earmarks, white house transcripts that are about 7-8 years overdue [Bill is more secretive than any President, including Reagan], and presidential library donor list, and explain the shady business deal that magically produced the 5 million dollars they loaned the campaign. Obama has released his equivalent of all of those. Get the Clintons to disclose all that, which is all basic stuff, then we can talk.

[kennedy]

The Chicago Tribune as I type has reporters out looking for dirt on Rezko and the Obama connection.
I guess they are just luring Obama into a false sense of security so he will let his guard down. Then they lower the boom!

[shnopsie18]

Either he is exposed by the Democrats or the Republicans, he will be exposed.

[KDH]

This post does not mention that Obama had to admit to those same Chicago reporters, that his campaign failed to report that Rezco, had donated $250,000 dollars more than reported earlier.

[cyndeewi]

You read the post wrong. Rezco donated $250.000 total the three times he ran for different offices. Its people like you that always get it wrong and love to smear.

[editrix66]

He helped raise $250,000 in total for all of his campaigns, including Obama's previous campaigns, not 250,000 more.

[gloryoski]

Gold star. Didn't I tell them a power nap would do them all a world of good? No need to thank. (I kid.)

[PingMama]

As someone who subscribes to the Tribune, and has a thorough understanding of Chicago politics and the experience of the Tribune investigative journalists, if they are satisfied, it's the end of the discussion. They are tough journalists and let no one, and I mean no one rest.

Obama is transparent for a reason; get any questions out in the open now. To say we shouldn't be questioning the records, tax returns, and lobbyist ties to the Clintons is naive. We want a different type of politics.

And for the record, Rezko has closer ties to Clinton than Obama.

Rojo: your comment regarding Hillary's humilation - let me tell you a little something about what went on. Hillary brought that humiliation on herself. Monica was the 3rd, or maybe 4th, woman that Bill had a tryst with. This had been going on for years, yet she chose to stay with him. Stop playing the victim card. Would you stay with a man that continues to fool around and humiliated you in the public eye? Let's go back in history to remember all those women that vilified her in the press for staying with him, are the same women supporting her now.

I'm a woman, and embarrassed by how women are acting; that we should support Hillary because of some 'sisterhood', which is an insult to my intelligence. Talk about drinking the 'kool aid'.

I am personally disgusted at the notion that a candidate will cheat and lie to get the presidency. To put the GOP candidate before the democratic party is appalling. To say that Florida and Michigan should count eventhough you signed a pledge agreeing that it wouldn't count. What does that show our children? What does that show the rest of Americans?

[provgrays]

This shows that when it comes to Hillary Clinton, her ambition for the Oval Office is more important than basic good character. As to children, simply point to Hillary and tell them not to be like her.

[Ono4Hoopono]

It is great to hear your perspective as a subscriber to the Tribune, and I have read a lot of their articles on Obama, and they raked him over the coals. In fact, I thought they were very unfair in the beginning because they always put the "allegations" in the first few paragraphs, which is the only part most people read, and then they waited until after the jump to the deep inner sections at the end to give Obama's response and the full context, and by the time you read to the end you see there really wasn't any substance to the original allegation. Maybe they did it that way for sensationalism, or maybe they didn't know who he was and wanted to mercilessly vet him, but in the end after hammering him for months and finding nothing substantial, they endorsed him over Clinton.

So, I agree with you. They were definitely not friendly. If they say it is over, it is over.

Also, look what he did. He went into a room stuffed with reporters and answered every question. And, Obama has released all his tax records and any other records people wanted.

Now all we need to do is to get Clinton to do the same. Clinton must release all her tax returns for the last eight years that they are sitting on, the white house transcripts that are way overdue for release by several years that Bill is sitting on, the earmarks of who got what government money from Hillary that she won't release which Obama did, and where the 5 million dollars came from that they loaned the campaign, [because Bill had a shadowy business deal right before that happened], and the list of donors to the Clinton Presidential Library.

[Fergie13]

Please, support the candidate you think best for the job.

AND please stop bashing women for their choices, for they allow you yours. Did Jackie Kennedy leave JFK as he was sneaking women into the White House and so much more? Do you know the inner conversations of Hillary and Bill? They seem to have raised a rather together young lady, and are still friends (maybe lovers) after going through fires that would have singed most anyone.

Do the PEOPLE of Florida and Michigan, as American tax payers, have the right to think they should be allowed to vote. The 'parties' have complicated it, but the actual people are being short changed. I think maybe we should show our children that EVERY VOTE SHOULD COUNT. That sounds pretty democratic.

[cyndeewi]

Oh please give me a break! The DNC made the decision after Michigan and Florida did not heed the warning of the consequences would be. The voters knew as well and could have refused to vote on that day themselves. You know that Hillary is trying to steal the election but I don't blame her. I blame Obama for letting her do it. Its over, Hillary cannot catch up. Nancy Peloso said that its a delegate race. Your stupid Hillary did not care about the voters in Florida and Michigan when she was ahead.

[lifebylisa]

I don't doubt that their daughter turned out quite charming, respectable, however, I don't believe it was Hilary spending the time to nurture her, I believe that job was left to the professionals. I'm sure she's had nanny's and caretakers and people grooming her since she was in diapers.

What kind of message does this send to other states that decide they too want to be in the limelight and break the rules that they all agree to. I'm sorry but in Michigan it seemed that Hilary was the ONLY candidate on the ballot, after they all agreed to remove theirs. I had a world of respect for this woman at one time, but actions do speak louder than words, and her actions have been an embarrassment to this so called "sisterhood". It's a more honest indicator to read people not just their words.

And lastly, Jackie I don't believe I ever saw playing the victim card while throwing daggers.

[bobdob]

The people of Florida and Michigan had every opportunity to demand that their states play by the rules. They could have put pressure on their representatives to end the nonsense before it began. But they chose not to. And they knew what the consequences would be. And so did Hillary, and so did Edwards, and so did Obama, and so did the many voters who simply stayed home rather then wasting their time voting in an election that they were told didn't matter.

At least be honest: you want Hillary in office so bad, you're willing to watch her cheat to get there. Just admit it. Because those elections were only "fair" if you're Hillary or one of her most dishonest supporters.

[JoshMiami]

Ping MAMA how nice of you to be a marriage councelor and bash people on their private life ...
any plans for syndication ??? I mean gloating on other people's trouble can be quite the popular thing ..... and oh. by the way i am in FLORIDA ... you dont want us counted? .... how nice i guess you want our state to go republican come November .... i mean afterall it served twice before to make a repulican a president if we follow your lead the 3rd time will be a charm .. or would you suggest abolishing democracy .....
wow you are SOOO clever ..... :-) let me be a fan

[Memorye]

Get real people. Obama did not tell the truth about not hearing any of that hate talk. We all know our friends and what they say about things they dislike. And this Rev. really hates America and all the white people. First Obama said 20 years he had beening to that church. and on Keith's show he said 17 years. Oh but what is 3 years. What is that saying about Obama letting his kids hear all that hate talk.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

If the only thing they can find is two sound bites out of hundreds of sermons, don't you realize that you are the one who needs to get real. This thread is about Rezko, not about Wright. If you want to blab about Wright then go find the right thread.

[dwillisno1]

We all presume you are equally concerned about the children hearing all that "Catholic Church great Whore" peace and love stuff from McCain's "friend" Hagee. God forbid we should ever let the children read your drivel on this web site.

[boombox]

quit making stuff up, shill.

[LeoMarvin]

This morning on Face The Nation, David Brooks called Barack's statement about Rev. Wright "perfect." He said, "I thought it was a fantastic statement that really elevated the campaign for the first time in two weeks." It's a sad state of affairs when we get more honest commentary about a Democratic candidate from a Republican than from many so-called progressives.

[cyndeewi]

You get real!! Obama has been a member for 17 years but he knew Rev Wright for 20 years. Its nuts like you that love to get things going. The man is now a open book and while you are still talking about him please get your Hillary to do the same. Oh I forgot, its ok for whites to hide stuff but not blacks..ag­ain, you get real!!

[cacique88]

The first I heard of Rezko was the Hillary attack on Obama in the beginning of one of their debates when she referred to his support of a slumlord etc... I prodeeded to research all I could find and discovered that the Clinton's were accusing Clinton of two things that had not be substantiated yet :
1. Obama receiving money in return for influence
2. Illegal campaign contributions.

These have turned out to be false, yet another example of smearing one's opponent and hoping no one would care to search for the truth. Considering the Norman Hsu episode and the long list of convicted contributors for Hillary and her husband no wonder they are holding back their returns and info on Pres Library contributors and First Lady Appointments logs etc...

Hillary has done so much destruction to the Democratic party that it will take a man like Obama to bring every one together. As she becomes more and more a Republican campaigner, she will suffer the lost of her candidacy and the lost of her Senate seat. NY Dems are searching right now for an alternative for Hillary in the next Senatorial election.

Caciuqe88 for Obama 08

[thatvisionthing]

Ok, a clue. The above is just a teaser paragraph. You click the title and it takes you to a text version of the whole story. You can copy and paste in the link at the top of that story and it will take you to the real Chicago Tribune story, or just click this link here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0316edit1mar16,0,2616801.story.

That said, when you read it, the voice of the author says "We."

----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------

"We fully expect the Clinton campaign, given its current desperation, to do whatever it must in order to keep the Rezko tin can tied to Obama's bumper.

"When we endorsed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination Jan. 27, we said we had formed our opinions of him during 12 years of scrutiny. We concluded that the professional judgment and personal decency with which he has managed himself and his ambition distinguish him.

"Nothing Obama said in our editorial board room Friday diminishes that verdict."

----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------

Who the hell is we? I want transparency, I want to know who's talking. I'm just a little shy of media pronouncements like they were disembodied fonts of truth, cause they're not.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

The "we" is the Chicago Tribune, genius.

[thatvisionthing]

Right, the disembodied font of truth, gotcha.

[dwillisno1]

So you were brilliant enough to find the original article but can't figure out how to find out who the "Editorial Board" of the Tibune is? Ask the person who reads the paper to you to tell you.

[thatvisionthing]

So sorry, I'm a poor victim and have no one to read the paper for me but you kind sir. Please sir, couldn't they just sign their names at the bottom of the article, or even the top, that would be better for my attention deficit sir please sir.

[Ono4Hoopono]

If you read editorials, you will know that this is the language of the editorial section. It is the collective voice of the editors speaking, using "we" to express the viewpoint of the editorial board. That means it has been vetted by the journalistic and editorial brains of the newspaper.

Some newspapers opt for saying the name of the newspaper as a collective reference to the editors speaking as one, such as "The Daily Mirror thinks Obama is awesome," instead of "We think Obama is awesome."

[rojo7449]

"Obama offered a lengthy and, to us, plausible explanation for the presence of now-indicted businessman Tony Rezko in his personal and political lives."

And, he sat in front of the American people on Friday night and lied straight to our faces while Keith Olbermann just sat there and let him.

He said he hadn't heard the tapes of his Rev's Christmas Day sermon, all about Obama and his vile, American upbringing, until Friday morning, and that he had never been in attendance at any of these controversial sermons. He was busy Thursday doing his Senate work while these videos were dominating the airwaves, and his campaign advisors were obviously off somewhere quiet where there are no phones, televisions, or journalists. Fair enough. What about the video of the Rev at the pulpit, I repeat...a­t the pulpit bumping and grinding and screaming about Bill Clinton's historical sex scandal and the end frames of the video show Obama campaigning inside the congregation at the time? One lie is just as bad as another, my friends. Can you imaging being a pillar of your community, missing Christmas Day services, and not having one fellow parishioner share with you that you had been the topic of the Christmas Day sermon? I'm pretty sure the Senate wasn't in closed session on Christmas Day last year.

I'd like to hear from Obama, himself, what his experiences were growing up in America. He was raised in a white community inside a white family. We deserve to know whether or not Obama feels the Rev Wright's description of Obama's black experiences in this country were accurate. We all had challenges and difficulties growing up....just because we were kids, and bully's are pretty darn mean no matter which playground they are battering their victims on. Obama is enjoying the results of being made out as a victim, so he must have some stories he'd like to tell us all by himself.

Clinton was impeached, Hillary was humiliated to a level no person wants to experience. How much longer do they did to pay for that? Do you truly think that Clinton could ever again have a trist that wouldn't become public knowledge before he left the room?

[mcfried]

For Obama, read his book and it should answer all your questions. As for Clinton you appear to want to elect someone just because you feel bad they were humiliated - what about her vote on the war, her vote against the ban on cluster bombs in civilian areas and her inability to show us her records. Who cares who Bill diddled, she's a Republican.

[uberlefty]

Who cares if he was there? I assume your 1 friend agrees with everything you have said or think. I dont care if the reverend Wright thinks that all the white people should be bulldozed into the Grand Canyon. There are days that I would like to bulldoze all the white people into the Grand Canyon and I am white! As far as your desire to hear Obamas experience growing up it is irrelevant. I would like to know how many times you have heard someone use the terms spic, dago, jungle bunny, slope, nip, slant, wet back, chink, rag head, grease ball, fagot, and the like? How many times have you told them it is inappropriate to use those terms? Have you chastised them for being hateful and anti American? White folks take great exception when people who are not white speak the truth or are honest about having a less than favorable view of white culture in this country. I have listened to the Reverend Whites sermons on line and didnt hear 1 lie. America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki and didnt blink an eye. WE vaporized nearly 200,000 people, the majority of whom were non combatants. WE are the largest supplier of weapons in the world. WE are not 300 million innocent folks just trying to make a living. WE cause a lot of death to maintain the lifestyle to which we feel entitled. Are forefathers imported human beings in the dank holds of sailing ships against their will. They sold them at auction all over the genteel old south. They selectively bread them to enhance their ability to work long hours in the humid south for free. When that is your family back ground it tends to piss you off. Expressing all these things is not a crime it is a moral imperative. Barak Obama , as most literate people know, had an African father and a white mother. This is what makes him acceptable to many whites in denial. He doesnt have," the chip" of slave ancestors so they feel like he isnt looking for payback. THATS what scares folks about this Reverend Wright BS. So when you make an issue about this the person you should question is yourself not Senator Obama.

[cyndeewi]

I feel so sorry for you. Trinity Baptist Church as over 7 sermons each Sunday. This held true on Christmas day. This church has thousands of people in attendance and the building is too big so they hold more then one sermon. It is people like you that will tear this man down no matter what he does. Do me a favor, and go vote for the Clintons. It will all come out about them soon.

[mcfried]

Awesome - bet this gets 2 sec of press - I'm starting to really hate the media, ABC is at the top of my s-t list right now. The problem I have with them, is with Fox you know what you are getting, ABC is meant to be a legit news org. what a joke and don't even get me started on the parrots at CNN.

[2008andbeyond]

Every candidate should do this about any controversy they have been proven or rumored to be connected with.

Hillary could bring her tax returns, the library donor list and promise to answer every question.

Future candidates should do this televised, like a job interview for the American people. Debates are good for the issues but interviews are good for the personal stuff that some Americans want to know and the media can become obsessed with.

[Obamabot]

The more I learn about him the more I am inspired and impressed. He is so damn presidential. I didn't see JFK, but i am so glad that I will be able to tell my kids I saw this man Let us all hope he makes it through this whole process in good health.

[MariaHopeful]

Which other politician has ever done what Obama has done? He has two insignificant issues that haters have been trying to use against him and he has allowed himself to be interrogated by hostile journalist for over an hour! Which other politician has ever done that?

Obama '08!

[MaureenS]

Senator Obama's level of Integrity and Authencity is undeniable and cannot be beaten.

America DO THE RIGHT THING!!! And elect This Great Leader!!!

Obama 2008

[vincealy]

Compare it to the Clinton's reluctance to explain the pardons that they gave on the way out of office. HRC refusal to release documents related to her work as first lady. Clinton ;Bush and Rove represent the politics of personal destruction. Is America ready for a candidate who unites not divides..

[StephenS]

"the Clinton's [sic] reluctance to explain the pardons they gave". Right.

What is your definition of the politics of personal destruction if it does not include you saying that Bill's questionable pardons were given by Hillary?.

If you really believe Hillary was president for 8 years, are you going to argue that the Constitution prohibits her running for a 3rd term?

[nohat]

Bravo, Obama! But will it give him enough breathing room until the next attack/sca­ndal/crisi­s? We shall see.