Chicago Daily Observer

Well, that’s not entirely true. As Dennis Byrne notes in the Tribune today, Obama’s website states that “Throughout his political career, Barack Obama has fought for open and honest government,”

Which is something that Obama’s critics just don’t get. For example, consider the talking points dispensed by this Obama Action Wire, including this gem:

LIE: “When Veteran Cook County Boss John Stroger faced a strong and credible challenge in the 2006 primary election from a reform-minded liberal Democrat, Obama said nothing . . . Obama’s silence had probably saved Cook County’s political kingpin.” [pp. 8, 14]

TRUTH: Obama’s Neutrality Sent “A Silent Signal” That Was Helpful To Claypool. [Chicago Sun-Times, 3/16/06]

So, you see, Obama is probably just sending another silent signal. Isn’t that enough?

Sarah Palin sure has accomplished one grand task: she’s unwittingly unmasked a bunch of hateful, elitist, sexist fools for the liberal posers that they are. Our next contestant: Roger Ebert. Let’s take a look.

I want a vice president who is better, wiser, well-traveled, has met world leaders, who three months ago had an opinion on Iraq.

COMMENT: Yes, Sarah Palin is one of the few Americans who never had an opinion on Iraq! Even when her son joined the military she never formed an opinion! When she said America better have a clear exit strategy, she wasn’t voicing an opinion, she was just musing! Now, it’s true, she hasn’t been asked much for her opinion given that she is the governor of Alaska. Come to think of it, I don’t know what Rod Blagojevich’s opinion of Iraq is either. He must not have one.

As Ben Joravsky noted recently at Clout City, one of the most familiar refrains from Mayor Daley’s enablers is that Chicago would have become Detroit if it hadn’t been for him. The good folks here at Beachwood Labs went to their computer banks to see if this was true and, indeed, this is the way life would be here if Daley had never become mayor.

Who is Nadhmi Auchi and why is he important to Barack Obama? Let’s take a look.

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Contrary to Obama’s persistent claims, he indeed did favors for Tony Rezko, including this one:

“While Mr. Obama was running for the Senate, Mr. Rezko was also raising money for a huge development in the South Loop of Chicago, often playing host to dinners in a private room at the Four Seasons Hotel here.

“Former Rezko associates said that Governor Blagojevich attended one of the dinners, and that at Mr. Rezko’s request, Mr. Obama dropped in at one for Middle Eastern bankers in early 2004, just as he was starting to pull ahead in the Senate primary. The visits, Mr. Rezko’s partners said, helped impress foreign guests.

We learned a little bit more about Barack Obama’s meetings with the city’s editorial boards to discuss Tony Rezko on Chicago Tonight Monday night. Carol Marin moderated. The panel: Investigative reporter David Jackson and deputy editorial page editor John McCormick from the Tribune and reporter Chris Fusco and editorial writer Deborah Douglas from the Sun-Times. Let’s take a look.

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(Direct quotes will be in quote marks; the rest is from my notes but pretty close to verbatim.)

MARIN: Why did Obama do this now?

JACKSON: The Tribune “was preparing to run a story in Sunday’s paper that listed the unanswered questions.”