Obama Prepares For Full Assault On Clinton's Ethics

The Chicago Tribune reports that Barack Obama's is pushing this week for greater transparency in his campaign as part of a plan to launch a head-on attack against his opponent Sen. Clinton.

Sen. Barack Obama is trying to air his dirty laundry -- even some items that might appear just a little wrinkled -- as he prepares a full assault on Sen. Hillary Clinton over ethics and transparency.

On Saturday he invoked Robert F. Kennedy as he continued to try to distance himself from controversial statements made by his former Chicago pastor that are circulating on the Internet.

With a gap between campaign contests, Obama is trying to unload controversies. On Friday he held extended conversations with the Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times about his longtime relationship with indicted developer and fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

The Illinois Democrat is also expected to make public his tax returns for several years before 2006, documents he previously has provided to the Tribune and other news organizations.

The plan seems to be yielding dividends, if the Tribune is to be believed. After sitting with the papers editorial board to answer every question asked about his relationship with Tony Rezko, the Chicago Tribune had this to say:

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.

We said in that same editorial that Obama had been too self-exculpatory in explaining away his ties to Tony Rezko. And we've been saying since Nov. 3, 2006 -- shortly after the Tribune broke the story of Obama's house purchase -- that Obama needed to fully explain his Rezko connection. He also needed to realize how susceptible he had been to someone who wanted a piece of him -- and how his skill at recognizing that covetousness needed to rise to the same stature as his popular appeal.

Friday's session evidently fulfills both obligations. Might we all be surprised by some future disclosure? Obama's critics have waited 16 months for some new and cataclysmic Rezko moment to implicate and doom Obama. It hasn't happened....

...Barack Obama now has spoken about his ties to Tony Rezko in uncommon detail. That's a standard for candor by which other presidential candidates facing serious inquiries now can be judged.

Comments

[jsinclair]

Clinton's ethics (tax returns, library donors, Bill's deal in Kazakhstan) are fair game.

BUT I hope he doesn't lose focus.

i.e. It's the ECONOMY (mortgage crisis, unemployment, rising prices including health care, credit crunch). And the WAR.

Voters need to see him not only INSPIRING....not only CRITICIZING (Bush, McCain, Clinton)....but most of all....SOLVING AMERICANS' PROBLEMS.

At the moment, "it's the economy, stupid." And it's the war ($12 billion / month).

Scary.

[michael538]

exactly and thanks.

What does $12 billion buy?
Four 1000 bed hospitals, AND homes for 25,400 families in Mississippi, AND tuition for 45,000 students in a private four-year college for a year (or prison), AND a new Virginia-class submarine, AND two or three Boeing 777 airliners, AND five spiral notebooks for every public school student in the United States, AND 200 million bottles of aspirin ( the way we are headed, the aspirin just isn't going cut it).

With a bit of sobering perspective, I wanted to look at a few other numbers:
Our federal government is in debt 9 trillion dollars (9,000,000,000,000). Every year, the government pays 226 billion dollars+ in interest on the debt. Our federal government has been operating in the red (losing money) for thirty one of the last thirty five years.

[flamingliberal]

Absolutely!

Since so many in this country are paid by the hour, I think he should drive home that Iraq costs us $18 million an HOUR.

[mhopgood123]

Hope all the anti-Obama people will be disarmed by this one. After this primary campaign is done Obama's foes will not have much to go after and the public will be tired of the repetitiveness of the attacks. Watch out Hillary and McCain, Obama is on the rebound and you all thought his candidacy was undone by the preacher.

[AjicNYC]

Well he is in the postion now He can not win the GE with the quote of his mentor, pastor,crazy uncle whats his status now a guy i kind of sort of knew for 20 years. "GOD DAMN AMERICA" This should not be said in a church. If you disagree with what ameica has done ( which i think we have done many wrong things) That was not the time and place to do it.

[jeffhas]

That bumper sticker (Obama: "God Damn America") is already in production and should be cropping up on cars all over the road.

[radicaldj]

Can we please just get on with the paradigm shift now?

[Kasandra]

It's about time. Although I think Obama should have not had the Rev. on his board to start with since he must have seen this coming. I understand that he's a great pastor most of the time, but the presidency is a lonely job. And the taxes thing is a great tactic.

I'm glad to hear he's going to go after her on ethics. I'd also suggest her 'poll before committing' mentality. He just needs to make sure the ethics he goes after her on are real issues. I am sure there are plenty available (unfortunately).

[AnninCA]

Okie dokie..........Buckle up, Hillary supporters.

He's about to go full-on Rovian.

[ayc]

You are so funny AnninCa. Do you really believe what you write?

[JimArcata]

It would be great if Hillary sat down with the New York Times with her tax return and list of library donors and let reports question her about these issue. I think both candidate becoming totally transparent about their past and future would enlighten all of us.

I think this kind of transparency is what we all deserve. This is not a Rovian technique, quite the opposite.

[LiberalFL]

why is releasing information to the public Rovian? It's the opposite of Rovian.

[Trollstakeyourmeds]

Surely you jest?! The guy who doesn't do "politics as usual"? The guy who says that he would never, ever stoop to that level? Gosh....it just might make one think that he will do "anything to win", that he will used "scorched earth" politics to win, and that he just might be like
EVERY OTHER POLITICIAN!!! Nahh.....you could't mean THAT guy, could you?

[rojo7449]

Yes, that one. The one who went to the Chicago Tribune to provide them with full disclosure of his own dealings so they don't have to spend any of their own time researching. The one who took the high road in the Senate on Thursday and told Senator Clinton he wanted to call a truce to all the dirty politics, even though he would weigh in publicly on the Ferraro topic moments later, and because he was fully aware of what was going on in the news regarding his advisor, pastor, mentor, friend, but claimed he didn't hear about it until Friday morning when interviewed the next day (does his campaign staff go into hiding when Obama is at work?). The one who characterized his spiritual advisor as "loosely" affiliated with the campaign because the damage was so much greater than Obama anticipated. The one who went on TV and claimed he had never been in attendance during one of the Reverend's anti-American, vile sermons but can be seen in at least one of the video's shaking hands and campaigning in the back of the church while the good Rev. screamed at the parishioners while simulating a sexual encounter at the pulpit. That guy.

It is impossible for me to believe anything a man of this character says. Anyone who thinks his portfolio of shady friends, questionable pardons, contributors to his library, and earmarks won't look like a who's who of liars and cheats after 4-8 years as the president isn't paying attention to what's been exposed.

[LindaLee99]

Of course he will do anything to win (including rejecting Pastor of 20+ years). The man wants to be president, he is surrounded by people who tell him he can be president. He's a human being, remember that, an ambitious politician. His followers are so negative all ready; I've never read such negative, abusive language as I have from Mr. Obama's followers on this site.

[cblcar]

What a joke. He hasn't got the balls to go "Rovian," which is exactly why he will get beaten to a pulp by the real Rove/Republicans in the general election.

[AnninCA]

Really? Well, we'll see what he means by this. I think he's got the audacity to do pretty much anything.

But then, I paid close attention.

[BikerJim]

That line of thinking is what the British said about Gandhi. We have to stop this fighting. Bush is a fighter, and look where that got us.

[jfromga]

you don't need balls to go "Rovian", balls aren't the hallmark of bottom dwelling scum, bullies, purveyors of slime and lies, skulking in the underbelly of the worst of human emotions, fleeing from honest discourse, retreating when confronted directly.

It takes balls to stand up and shine the light on their ugliness, it takes dedication, honesty, ethics and an unwavering moral fabric. It takes holding up a mirror to the American public and asking them what they want to see of themselves in that mirror. It takes faith that the vast majority of Americans are decent, caring individuals with personal integrity. And even if the public caves, fails to answer as one hopes, at least you stood firm and asked. No Rovian ever has.

[Shelly1970]

I support Hillary too AnninCA, but I choose not to ignore reality here.

On the contrary, what he's doing is just the opposite of Rovian nonsense.

Finally, this is what candidates aught to be doing. And he's putting pressure on Clinton to follow his lead.

I am not sure why your support is so blind. Were you a golden retriever in a previous life? Or might you be working for the Hillary campaign, which everyone knows has been caught planting supporters?

Am I having second thoughts about Hillary?

It's too early to tell.

But now at least one campaign is really beginning to take a turn in the right direction. Whether or not Hillary follows may make or break my initial decision.

I'm not asking you to change your mind.

But either your critical thinking skills need a major tune-up.

Or you're, God forbid, a darn plant.

[Roxanne24]

He doesn't NEED to go Rovian...HE'S WINNING AND WILL WIN! Shrillary has HAD to use their "kitchen sink" ploys and all of us know that there is so much crap clogged in the Clintons' sink that no Rotorooter could ever declog!

Obama will win not only for his superior judgement, but intellect as well! HILLARY DID NOT PASS THE BAR EXAM IN WASHINGTON, DC! She had to go to Arkansas for a second attempt...so much for her Ivy League education. He's too smart to stoop to her desperate attempts to win at all costs...

[robXdion]

Yeah, the truth has an anti-Hillary bias to it. So how is finding that truth Rovian? You probably don't even know the meaning of the metaphor. You just throw it out as a kneejerk defense.

[vaughan]

Transparency is good, but we need to make sure we shine light on what's important.

Light, not heat, is what's needed.

[AnninCA]

I would agree. Rev. Wright's attitudes needed to be discussed fully. Now, he needs to explain a little more about his own ethics.

I do not buy for a second that he didn't know this was his mentor's attitudes.

Why can he lie so easily?

[CTtransplant]

Why? This was merely set up as a distraction from the issues - Clinton does not want the 'light' to shine on her because then she will have to give answers...she does not want to, because it would show how much she lies.

We need to get back to the issues, and stick to the issues - not on what someone's supporter believes or doesn't believe.

[CTtransplant]

Why would Wright's attitudes need to be discussed? He's not running for President. Obama was asked, has answered. Now let's get back to the issues.

Clinton campaign created this 'smoke screen' to draw attention away from questions she does not want to answer - answers the voters need to have in order to make informed decisions, answers she doesn't want to give the American public. And, based upon her untruths so far, I would say she will not give those answers, but try to 'dream up' another distraction - Obama cannot let that happen!

[BikerJim]

Maybe he went to the Clinton school of Politics ????

[flamingliberal]

A fine question coming from a Clinton supporter.

[ApolloniaCreed]

Pat Buchanan, is that you???

[SCharb]

I'm not following you. Are you mixing metaphors?

[Xspackle]

She's had him on the defensive for far too long with a mixture of fair and unfair tactics. It's no use whining about being attacked by someone who has no compunction about doing whatever it takes to win, but it is time to make that very lack of ethical backbone an issue going forward.

Go get 'er, Barack. Time to finish this sorry mess off.

[Bluesman48]

This is a great post. It's time to finish this thing and get on with the business of saving the country.

[darthmaul]

Your right, in this case the old adage, "A good offense is the best defense." is true. Obama needs to challenge Clinton, and not always be responding to her attacks, which while mostly frivolous, still divert his energy.

[LoloZ]

If we're going to talk about Rezko, let's talk about Hsu, and Paul v. Clinton.
I'd like to see Hillary sit with reporters for 90 minutes and talk about transparency.

[NC4Obama]

Yes lets stop fighting over stupid things such as race and what a surrogate or a supporter said and lets fight about the issues and ethics.

[TrekCycling]

Hillary won't let the campaign be about that. She'll destroy the party in order to win the nomination. She started this. Actually, Bill started this. I never voted for Bill either time for this very reason. And I won't vote if Hillary is the nominee. I'll abstain from voting for the President.

[JGatsby]

Hope you enjoy the next 100 years in Iraq and the "other wars" that a president McCain will give us. Not that I don't sympathize with you. I'm so appalled at Senator Clinton's tactics that I've thought of doing the same thing. But we can't let the presidency go to someone who will continue the immoral, brain-dead policies of Bush. OK though enough sympathy. What really pisses me off about statements like this is how lame people on the left can be. "Oh gee we tried to get power and the other side played dirty so we quit!" In the 80's I worked with people from Central and South America who risked being tortured or killed to try and get social justice. Democracy, changing the direction of your country -- and it is yours if you take it back -- are hard work. So don't just whine and give up. Give more money to Obama. Get out in the street next wed March 19 and protest the war!

http://www.impeachbush.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage

Volunteer for Obama and help him defeat Clinton! Do something!!

[UrbanHillbilly]

Trek is so right, although I voted for Bill. Bill Clinton HAD virtues that his wife does not. Now he's bubbied up with George HW Bush, and I can't see any light of day between the Clintons and the worst elements of the Republican Party. I will not vote for HRC even if the Republicans resurrect Nixon. I see so little difference.

[nohat]

"Hillary won't let the campaign be about that."
I think the time when Hillary can decide what the campaign will be about, is over. It's about time that Obama take the lead, rather than following her lead. About time he stopped playing defence and went on offence. I wish he had done this with regard to her calling for more and more debates, when she knows they've exhausted the issues in the sense that every voter knows where each one stands. She wants yet another debate either to get free air time or to spring something him onlive tv in front of millions. Or both. He should have said NO.

[PKSSK]

Well said!!!

[NYRalf]

Because people don't want another 8 years, added on to the last 16 years, of a President who is not forthcoming and adds to the cynicism about secrecy in Washington. Clinton is a continuation of that paradigm and this must be fought out in the primary.

[JimArcata]

Agreed... well said

[Aaliyah]

Yes, I would like for Hillary to release all of her tax returns, respond to illegal charges against them (Bill and Hill), and release her earmarks. We all know unsavory characters. I want to know things about presidential candidates that directly relates to them and how they would run this country.

[AnninCA]

*hooting*

That's great. Let's deem character assasinations as good. And let's just overlook that pesky problem with the hate-mongering mentor.

[NC4Obama]

Ah yes my bad the pastor thing is soo much more important the a candidate being unethical and hiding things.