Obama and Rezko

[RootSkier]

This thread is for spindrift and cloudpeak, who are pretty sure that Obama is a criminal because of a real estate deal in Chicago.

That is now fully debunked, and we can all move on with full faith that our next president is damn near squeaky clean.

Full story: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...y91Js&refer=us

The important parts:

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The couple who sold Barack Obama his Chicago home said the Illinois senator's $1.65 million bid ``was the best offer'' and they didn't cut their asking price because a campaign donor bought their adjacent land, according to e- mails between Obama's presidential campaign and the seller.....

The sellers hadn't previously made their side of the story public out of concern for their privacy, according to Bill Burton, a spokesman for Obama's campaign. They approached Obama's Senate office 15 months ago and agreed to break their silence now through the campaign out of concern that the story was being distorted in the media, Burton said......

The Obamas submitted three bids: $1.3 million on Jan. 15, 2005; $1.5 million on Jan. 21; and $1.65 million on Jan. 23, according to a copy of the sale contract shown to Bloomberg News. Obama received more than $1.2 million in book royalties and a book advance in 2005, the year he was sworn in to the U.S. Senate, his financial disclosure statement shows.

The e-mail between Wondisford and the campaign adviser also says that the sellers had ``stipulated that the closing dates for the two properties were to be the same.'' In January 2006, Rita Rezko sold the Obamas one-sixth of the lot, for $104,500, to expand their yard. She later sold the rest of the land.

[timvwcom]

Yeah, read a different version of that article also... Only thing I see missing is the actual RESELLING price of the remainder of that neighboring parcel. If it sold for dramatically less than the original Rezko purchase price minus what Obama paid for his slice, it could still financially be a bit shady, no? Either way, the fact he had this "help" in the process could still be an issue for some?

Also... Just answered a phone call and IT WAS Obama calling me personally to remind me to vote tomorrow!!! He said just that!!! His phone must have been not working just right though? When I asked if he ever read TGR forums, he just kept talking, like his ear piece wasn't working just right or sumthin'??? Barack if you are reading this, check that phone asap!!! That makes it sound just like it was a recording instead of really you...

[road trip]

Man, you guys need to see New Jersey politics. This wouldn't even register as a little scandal.

[Cono Este]

I still think he is a lying sack of shit like the rest of them. sorry.

[RootSkier]

So you are going to vote for him, right tim?

edit: Rezko's wife paid $625K for bare land, and sold a sixth of it to Obama for $105...that is proportional, no?

edit again: road trip, the issue is that this is the only piece of dirt that the Clinton's have found...besides something he wrote in kindergarten.

edit again: cono este, aren't you in investment banking? Isn't your line of work to make as much $$ as possible no matter who gets fucked over? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[timvwcom]

So you are going to vote for him, right tim?

Hmmm... I'd say I'd have to admit I am leaning that way, the wife sez she's likely to vote Clinton though. So we'll just cancel each other out. I can live with either as a final nominee.

Rezko's wife paid $625K for bare land, and sold a sixth of it to Obama for $105...that is proportional, no?

Well, what if Rezko then resold the REMAINING portion for say $200K as a hard to develop parcel, then what? And again, even if it is a "break even" for Rezko, often it's the "appearance of impropriety" that is the bitch...

[spindrift]

This thread is for spindrift and cloudpeak, who are pretty sure that Obama is a criminal because of a real estate deal in Chicago.

1) Nice weasely way to distort what I said. More on that below...

2) Interesting lack of discussion about whether or not the extra lot will ever be developable after the sale of that strip.

3) I know arithmetic is tough - but as someone who has been involved in real estate I'd have hoped you'd think about this - what might the delta in vale of Obama's place be if that other lot is hard or impossible to develop?

4) Consider this:

Burton said Obama toured the property with Rezko for 15 to 30 minutes at some point before the purchase. Burton said Obama wanted Rezko's opinion of the property because Rezko was a real- estate developer in the area.

IIRC Obama when initially questioned abut this transaction pretty much denied really knowing Rezko. Then it turned out he got together a couple of times a year with Rezko for lunch. Now this... Hmmm.... Oh yeah - Obama's boss of 5 years - Alison Davis - at the law firm had a partner in some business ventures... Guess who????

So to your first point - I did not ever assert he's a criminal. I claimed there were transactions that demanded scrutiny in terms of judgement &/or ethics. For anyone prone to critical thinking, this article changed that not one whit. The question of judgement remains with this kind of association between an indicted influence peddler and a sitting US senator - an association far, far deeper than some random slimy person playing donor & table captain and then the candidate's ritual handing off of donations to charity...

In short, the article reads like a decently crafted PR piece that deftly avoids the key matters at hand. If the rest of America is a gullible as you (and the average reporter) are, Obama may well get elected. And when you start whining, I'm gonna start laughing.

[rideit]

Who the fuck would trust a trustworthy president?
Certainly no OTHER President.

[irul&ublo]

You guys do know he's a muslim, don't you?

[Adolf Allerbush]

You guys do know he's a muslim, don't you?

You're joking correct?

[irul&ublo]

You're joking correct?

You are so quick, its scary.

[rideit]

You guys do know he's a muslim, don't you?

I am pretty sure he is more of a Haole.

[Adolf Allerbush]

You are so quick, its scary.

Zing!!!!

[road trip]

edit again: road trip, the issue is that this is the only piece of dirt that the Clinton's have found...besides something he wrote in kindergarten.

...thus the point of my e-mail!

edit: errr... post

[cloudpeak]

rootskier,

I admire and understand that Obama supporters like yourself (many of my friends support him, too) gravitate to him because you're seeking someone different, someone who could bring "hope and change," someone who could get us out of the quagmire of the Bush years. I really wish he was the candidate that you think he is.

With the Rezko stuff, I thought he was just another sleazy politician who has no problem with dirty money. Now, I'm beginning to think he's also so naive that he borders on stupid. Why would anyone who wants to be president be associated with William Ayers (Weatherman and Pentagon bomber). Is Obama naive enough to think that he can be associated in any way with this individual, however innocent the connection, and not have to fend off aggressive attacks about his friends being terrorists? The ads will show John McCain the war hero juxtaposed with Ayers the unrepentant terrorist bomber. How naive can Obama have been to have let himself get any public traceable connection with this guy?

I worry that Obama despite his charismatic rise in the rush for the nomination will have a difficult time in the general election. He really hasn't been on the national stage very long. I worry that his empty phrases won't be enough to quell the attack machine, and I worry that he just might be too naive to be president. What a "bonehead," to use the adjective he applied to himself over the house deal, he was to allow himself to get tangled up with characters that will provide such easy sound bites for the GOP.

Obama's Ties Might Fuel 'Republican Attack Machine'

[RootSkier]

Purely pragmatically, I think Obama has a SIGNIFICANTLY better chance in the general than Hillary would. Maybe it's just MT, but even in the liberal black hole that is Missoula, there is an unbelievable level of just visceral hatred for the Clintons. I'm not saying it's right, but it exists.

I also think Obama's organization in the primaries shows that he is in incredible organizer, manager, and thinker.

I am sure that as president, he will do plenty of things that leave me disappointed. What politician wouldn't?

[rideit]

Hell, anyone that can get $600k worth of property for $104K, well, shit, sherlock, that should go on his resume!

Just think what he could do for our deficit!

[RootSkier]

reading comprehension, learn it!

[rideit]

Sardonic Comedic comprehension, feel it!

(I am going for 'Bama, don't worry....)

[stump832]

Reality - get a grip on it!

Sorry, had to join in with the parallelisms.

[squatch]

Reality - get a grip on it!

Sorry, had to join in with the parallelisms.

Water - Drink it!
Food - Eat it !
Feces - shit it out!

[rideit]

Dude, from Strunk and White, 'Shit It!' would have sufficed.

[squatch]

Dude, from Strunk and White, 'Shit It!' would have sufficed.

their way is too conformist.

[rideit]

That all depends on whether or not you have a 'Turd Twister'.

Seriously.

http://www.turdtwister.com/