The other politician who is certain to be tarred by this is Senator Obama. Rezko was a major fund-raiser for him; there are lots of rumors about Rezko and Obama trading favors.

I seem to recall you predicting that all of this was going to come out during Rezko's trial. What happened?

If you'd like to be a governor, there's likely going to be a vacancy in Springfield soon...

Hey, looks like Hillary has some free time on her hands now and didn't she grow up in Illinois...

Hey, looks like Hillary has some free time on her hands now and didn't she grow up in Illinois...

Something a Republican and a Democrat can agree on: Hillary!

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I seem to recall you predicting that all of this was going to come out during Rezko's trial. What happened?

I've been predicting the results of this trial for some time. (It wasn't difficult to do so -- the evidence against Rezko was overwhelming on many counts, and he didn't take the stand in his own defense.)

What happened? Illinois' politics have been scandal ridden for decades, on both the Republican and Democratic sides--it's an equal opportunity corruption state. Former Governor Ryan (R) is now at ClubFed. Current Governor Blagojevich (D) [interesting point about the news stories: they don't identify the political party that Blagojevich is a member of] is almost certainly a target, and based on testimony that came out during the Rezko trial (and that evidence wasn't aimed at him) he's almost certainly a dead duck politically. Indeed, I expect he'll be indicted in about two months, and then he'll resign.

But Obama was in the same room as Blagojevich and Rezko when these deals were happening. Note: I am not accusing Obama of any wrongdoing; there's been no evidence that he's been directly involved. However, there's lots of evidence that he's well aware of the system, and has gone along with it, making sure the right palms have been greased, hiring Rezko's friends, etc. Anyone who thinks that continued trials dealing with Rezko and Blagojevich is good news for Obama is nuts.

Obama appears to be the product of a very corrupt Democratic political machine in Chicago. Whether he's complicit in the corruption or was just a beneficiary of the corruption has yet to be determined. That he was aware of the corruption and did next to nothing to stop it is now extremely likely.

But don't worry, Obama will bring to the White House the "Change" that is Chicago politics.

Note: I am not accusing Obama of any wrongdoing; there's been no evidence that he's been directly involved. However, there's lots of evidence that he's well aware of the system, and has gone along with it, making sure the right palms have been greased, hiring Rezko's friends, etc.

Huh? These don't match:
I am not accusing Obama of any wrongdoing

and

he's ... gone along with it, making sure the right palms have been greased


Russ, you've done nothing but insinuate that Obama has committed wrongdoing since the start of the Rezko trial.

Russ, you've done nothing but insinuate that Obama has committed wrongdoing since the start of the Rezko trial.

You've broken the code!

Huh? These don't match:
I am not accusing Obama of any wrongdoing
and
he's ... gone along with it, making sure the right palms have been greased

A better word for me to have used would have been crimes. To date, Obama hasn't been accused of breaking any laws.

Unfortunately, Obama has been present in rooms where corruption discussions have gone on (the evidence in the Rezko trial shows that). Obama has hired individuals that Rezko wanted hired. Now, these could be coincidences, and Obama might have been in various rooms and not have been part of the discussion (unlike Blagojevich who nodded his approval according to multiple witnesses), but I find it very unlikely that Obama at a minimum wasn't aware of what was going on.

So, yes, I am insinuating that Obama has committed wrongdoing. I think he's involved in the Democratic corruption in Illinois politics. The series I earlier linked to by Evelyn Pringle accuses Obama of being deeply involved in the corruption. Whether he's an active player (like Blagojevich appears to be) or just someone who's willing to go along with the status quo and hire who he's told to hire is unknown. I believe it's a question of how deeply involved Obama is, not a question of whether he's involved or not.