[Red Dreams]

Hillary is running a scotched earth final run...Obama probably rejected any idea she could be a VP on the ticket....once she loses, she will be a pariah in the party....with Bill the pussy hound....

[jasonrh]

Hillary and her George Wallace Campaign Playbook have gotten beyond pathetic.

Because she can't attack him on policy grounds she does everything else imaginable.

This while calling a press conference on Saturday to say "shame on you" because he pointed out that during her husband's regime (you know, the one where she got all of that "experience" she's been bragging about) she wholeheartedly supported Bill's getting NAFTA passed.

The sooner they and their hate politics are finished the better.

I'd never vote for Obama because I don't even remotely like a lot of his policies, but he is an honourable man and represents the beginning of the post-racial era in American politics. It couldn't come sooner, and at a better time.

I was worried (a lot) about him being too inexperienced and lightweight to be president. I placed him firmly in the clueless "haircut" category - in the John Edwards/Charlie Crist mold. In recent months he has shown that he has a better grasp of some of the issues (from a leftist pov, mind you) than she does.

I look forward to Obama and McCain actually talking politics instead of whispering about imaginary affairs, spreading false religious bigotry and fueling wild paranoia. They're running to try to make America better. She's running to try to make herself a monarch.

[Red Dreams]

Originally Posted by jasonrh

Hillary and her George Wallace Campaign Playbook have gotten beyond pathetic.

Because she can't attack him on policy grounds she does everything else imaginable.

This while calling a press conference on Saturday to say "shame on you" because he pointed out that during her husband's regime (you know, the one where she got all of that "experience" she's been bragging about) she wholeheartedly supported Bill's getting NAFTA passed.

The sooner they and their hate politics are finished the better.

I'd never vote for Obama because I don't even remotely like a lot of his policies, but he is an honourable man and represents the beginning of the post-racial era in American politics. It couldn't come sooner, and at a better time.

I was worried (a lot) about him being too inexperienced and lightweight to be president. I placed him firmly in the clueless "haircut" category - in the John Edwards/Charlie Crist mold. In recent months he has shown that he has a better grasp of some of the issues (from a leftist pov, mind you) than she does.

I look forward to Obama and McCain actually talking politics instead of whispering about imaginary affairs, spreading false religious bigotry and fueling wild paranoia. They're running to try to make America better. She's running to try to make herself a monarch.

good post jason...

[Cali Red]

This is going completely to format so far. Hillary and Bill get to go out and shake their fingers and scold people. Nader is going to come in and screw yet another Dem. McCain is showing he is all words with his lobbyists on staff. Got to love this countrys system. If we could just have some of the brawls on the floor of the house like some countries do I'd be extatic.

[Paz]

is it just me, or do other people also not get why the obama pic is a big deal?

[MikeUpNorth]

Land deal 'mistake' piles the pressure on Barack Obama

James Bone in New York and Dominic Kennedy in London

A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses.

The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago.

A company related to Mr Auchi, who has a conviction for corruption in France, registered the loan to Mr Obama's bagman Antoin "Tony" Rezko on May 23 2005. Mr Auchi says the loan, through the Panamanian company Fintrade Services SA, was for $3.5 million.

Three weeks later, Mr Obama bought a house on the city's South Side while Mr Rezko's wife bought the garden plot next door from the same seller on the same day, June 15.

Mr Obama says he never used Mrs Rezko's still-empty lot, which could only be accessed through his property. But he admits he paid his gardener to mow the lawn.

Mrs Rezko, whose husband was widely known to be under investigation at the time, went on to sell a 10-foot strip of her property to Mr Obama seven months later so he could enjoy a bigger garden.

Mr Obama now admits his involvement in this land deal was a “boneheaded mistake”.

Mrs Rezko’s purchase and sale of the land to Mr Obama raises many unanswered questions.

It is unclear how Mrs Rezko could have afforded the downpayment of $125,000 and a $500,000 mortgage for the original $625,000 purchase of the garden plot at 5050 South Greenwood Ave.

In a sworn statement a year later, Mrs Rezko said she got by on a salary of $37,000 and had $35,000 assets. Mr Rezko told a court he had "no income, negative cash flow, no liquid assets, no unencumbered assets [and] is significantly in arrears on many of his obligations."

Mrs Rezko, whose husband goes on trial on unrelated corruption charges in Chicago on March 3, refused to answer questions about the case when she spoke by telephone to The Times.

Asked if she used money from her husband to buy the land next to Mr Obama's house, she said: "I can't answer these questions, I'm sorry."

Asked how long she and her husband had known Mr Auchi, she replied: "I will not be able to answer this question."

Mr Auchi's lawyer, asked whether the Fintrade Services loan was used to buy the land which became Mr Obama's garden, stated: "No, not as far as my client is aware."

Mr Auchi's links with Mr Rezko are a new political headache for Mr Obama, the charismatic Illinois senator vying to become America’s first African-American president.

Hillary Clinton has sought to make Mr Rezko, who has bankrolled Mr Obama's political career since his first run for the Illinois state senate in the mid-1990s, into an election issue by calling him a "slum landlord" in a televised debate. She has repeatedly suggested that Mr Obama has effectively not been "vetted" by media scrutiny and will not withstand "the Republican attack machine".

Bill Burton, a spokesman for Mr Obama, told The Times: “The bottom line is Obama does not recall ever meeting him [Mr Auchi].”

The house-and-garden deal raised questions about whether Mr Rezko, a property developer and fast-food restauranteur, made it possible for the Obamas to purchase a mansion they could otherwise not afford.

Mrs Rezko paid the asking price for the garden but the Obamas bought the house for $1.65 million, - $300,000 less than the asking price. The sellers deny they offered the Obamas a discount on the house because the garden had fetched full price from Mrs Rezko.

Mr Rezko has since been indicted for allegedly scheming to pressure companies seeking business with the state of Illinois for kickbacks and contributions to the governor Rod Blagojevich's campaign. He goes on trial on March 3.

A prosecution document filed last month alleged that a "political candidate" - identified by the Chicago Sun-Times as Mr Obama - received a $10,000 campaign contribution from what is said to be a $250,000 kickback in the corruption case. That means Mr Obama's name could figure in Mr Rezko's trial, although he is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Mr Obama insists he never used his office to do favours for Mr Rezko but admits that, as an Illinois state senator, he once wrote letters to housing officials urging them to provide money in support of a proposed apartment building for elderly people which Mr Rezko wanted to build.

Mr Obama has publicly sought to atone for his closeness to Mr Rezko, paying $150,000 to charity to distance himself from a man accused of political corruption.

The spotlight fell on Mr Rezko's ties to Mr Auchi last month when the Chicago businessman was thrown in jail for violating his bail terms by failing to declare a different $3.5 million loan from the British billionaire, made in April 2007. Prosecutors feared Mr Rezko, who travels widely in the Middle East, might flee to a country without an extradition treaty such as his birthplace of Syria.

Mr Auchi was convicted of corruption, given a suspended sentence and fined £1.4 million in France in 2003 for his part in the Elf affair, described as the biggest political and corporate scandal in post-war Europe. He, in a statement from his media lawyers, claims he is appealing against the sentence.

Mr Auchi founded his Luxembourg-based General Mediterranean Holding (GMH) in 1979, a year before he left Iraq. He says that he did business with his native country when it was considered a friend of the West but ceased to trade with the late Saddam Hussein's regime once sanctions were imposed after the invasion of Kuwait.

Mr Rezko has told a court that Mr Auchi is a "close friend." Mr Auchi's lawyer told The Times: "It is untrue that my client and Mr Rezko are 'close friends'. Mr Auchi first met Mr Rezko after the 2003 Iraq war and they have a business relationship."

Mr Rezko and Mr Auchi have been partners in a pizzeria business in the Mid-West and a major 62-acre land development in Riverside Park in Chicago.

According to court documents, Mr Rezko's lawyer said his client had "longstanding indebtedness" to Mr Auchi's GMH. By June 2007 he owed it $27.9 million.

Under a Loan Forgiveness Agreement described in court, Mr Auchi lent Mr Rezko $3.5 million in April 2005 and $11 million in September 2005, as well as the $3.5 million transferred in April 2007.

That agreement provided for the outstanding loans to be "forgiven" in return for a stake in the 62-acre Riverside Park development.

A posting last week on a GMH-owned website, middle-east-online.com, portrayed Mr Auchi as a Middle Eastern "Donald Trump" with a global business construction empire.

Mr Auchi visited the United States in 2004. Pictures show him meeting Emil Jones, the president of the Illinois state senate, an ally of Mr Obama, a former state senator.

Both Mr Auchi and Mr Obama say they have no memory of meeting each other. But, according to a source, the two may have had a brief encounter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago where Mr Auchi’s visit was being honoured with a dinner attended by the Governor when Mr Obama, coincidentally in the hotel, dropped in.

An aide to Mr Obama said he did attend an event at the Four Seasons at which Mr Rezko was present but does not remember meeting Mr Auchi. "He shook a lot of hands and met a lot of people," the aide said. "We do not remember individual people."

Prosecutors say that, after Mr Auchi was unable to enter the United States in 2005, Mr Rezko approached the US State Department to get him a visa and apparently asked "certain Illinois government officials to do the same." Mr Obama denies he was approached. Mr Auchi's lawyer has emphasised to The Times that it would be entirely false to imply that money had been lent by GMH to Mr Rezko in return for Mr Rezko seeking to assist Mr Auchi to obtain a visa. The two men's relationship, the lawyer stressed, was a busines s one.

Mr Auchi's lawyer said the purpose of the Fintrade Services loan was to "assist the financial position" of a pizzeria company called AR Pizza, in which GMH held a shareholding. He said the loan had since been repaid in the form of a greater stake in the Chicago 62-acre land project.

AR Pizza has since become a defendant in a civil lawsuit by the Papa John's pizzeria chain, which alleges that it continued to operate a string of former Papa John's franchises under the name "Papa Tony's" without permission.

Mr Auchi's lawyer said: "My client played no part in the management and/or day to day running of AR Pizza, the GMH Group being an entirely passive investor in the company. Further, there was no need as a mimimum return on the investment was guaranteed. As to the court proceedings, my client is not a party to these. He denies any wrongdoing in relation to his involvement in AR Pizza."

Mr Rezko was also a major fundraiser for Governor Blagojevich. The governor's chief fundraiser Christopher Kelly, who also served as his gambling adviser, is fighting tax charges related to betting losses. The Associated Press reported that last month Mr Auchi's conglomerate also gave a loan to Mr Kelly secured on a Nevada land deal which the governor’s bagman was involved in.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle3433485.ece

[Cali Red]

Originally Posted by Paz

is it just me, or do other people also not get why the obama pic is a big deal?

I think it's just you. The pic is not a big deal.

[Nick 0208 Ldn]

[MrMarcello]

Originally Posted by utdalltheway

that Obama pic is been shown for what reason?
probably the same reason that the Clinton campaign staffer sent an email around saying he was Muslim. That worked to some degree as one of my not too smart neighbours thought he was Muslim, which he's not.

Quite a few folks down here in GA think he is Muslim because of those crap emails that circulate around. All one has to do is check wikipedia, snopes.com, or oh about a million web hits to find out he's a Christian, a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ. I've had one clue tell me that this is strictly a cover and he's a radical muslim.

Anyhow, enjoy the vid clip below... we need a good laugh during political campaigns.

[Paz]

Originally Posted by Cali Red

I think it's just you. The pic is not a big deal.

err so it's not just me, as I don't think it is a big deal at all too...

[spinoza]

Originally Posted by MrMarcello

Quite a few folks down here in GA think he is Muslim because of those crap emails that circulate around. All one has to do is check wikipedia, snopes.com, or oh about a million web hits to find out he's a Christian, a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ. I've had one clue tell me that this is strictly a cover and he's a radical muslim.

Anyhow, enjoy the vid clip below... we need a good laugh during political campaigns.

If I set up an organisation dedicated to proving he's a radical Muslim and asked for donations, do you think we could buy back United from the Glazers by November?

[MrMarcello]

Originally Posted by spinoza

If I set up an organisation dedicated to proving he's a radical Muslim and asked for donations, do you think we could buy back United from the Glazers by November?

Prefer an organization to prove that an alien being lives inside Hillary's head. Think you'll get more donations for that.

[jasonrh]

Originally Posted by MikeUpNorth

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle3433485.ece

Clinton can hardly play the moral high-ground on land deals, can she?

Jim Guy Tucker, Clinton's chosen successor in Arkansas, went to prison for his involvement in their deals; the McDougals as well.

Meanwhile, Clinton hid billing records which proved she worked for the corporation that ran the project in order to cover for her perjury in front of the Grand Jury investigating it.

Pot. Kettle. Clinton.

[MikeUpNorth]

Originally Posted by jasonrh

Pot. Kettle. Clinton.

Why do political elections always feel like trying to choose the lesser of two evils?

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by MikeUpNorth

Why do political elections always feel like trying to choose the lesser of two evils?

Because the only people who ever run for the top jobs have to do a lot of murky things to get into a position to run. If we accept that all politicians, just like all people, are corruptable and focus on their policies they are promoting things would be a lot easier.

[Cali Red]

Originally Posted by Paz

is it just me, or do other people also not get why the obama pic is a big deal?

Originally Posted by Cali Red

I think it's just you. The pic is not a big deal.

Originally Posted by Paz

err so it's not just me, as I don't think it is a big deal at all too...

eh....I'm not following. Seems you think the pic is a problem.

[esmufc07]

Why do political elections always feel like trying to choose the lesser of two evils?

If politicians are too good and keep their hands clean, they will fail to protect us; but if they have no qualms about commiting such acts as murder and torture, they are persons that shouldn't be given power over us. (Michael Walzer)

[Clueless]

What about the big debate tonight?

Is it finished? What's the verdict?

[Nick 0208 Ldn]

Originally Posted by Clueless

What about the big debate tonight?

Is it finished? What's the verdict?

All i can tell you is that they were both wearing black, well that's what i heard.

There will have to have been some needle though surely.

[Team Brian GB]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23349901/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...61064#23361064

Video highlights.

[Team Brian GB]

Is it only me that looks at Obama and sees Tony Blair mk.ii?

[Team Brian GB]

If you watch them and view 'Obama experience' they show a video clip of Clinton taking the absolute piss out of Obama and his reliance on oratory- they (NBC) luaghed it off as a mistake but I'm more cynical than that, but would they have done that deliberately?

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Team Brian GB

Is it only me that looks at Obama and sees Tony Blair mk.ii?

First time I read your post I thought you meaning he was a mix of Blair and MLK hahaha, I think he will be a bad choice tbh he has some good ideas, but is more rhetoric than anything

[Nick 0208 Ldn]

When during last night's debate in Clevland it came to naming the Russian president to be, Hillary stumbled over the name and Obama merely referred to Dmitry Medvedev as "him".

Seeing as Hillary didn't exactly ace it either, it is unlikely that she'll try and get some mileage out of it, however McCain will have been watching with some interest no doubt.

You can see him trying to back Obama [assuming he wins out] into a corner and really testing him on foregin policy issues when the debates come round. Though he'll be better briefed by that stage you would expect.

[jasonrh]

Originally Posted by Nick 0208 Ldn

All i can tell you is that they were both wearing black, well that's what i heard.

There will have to have been some needle though surely.

A snoozer.

He won on style, she won on substance (and only juuust).

A goalless draw between LFC and Bolton in which most of the crowd has slit their wrists before the half hour mark.

A point is good enough for him, she needed a lot more.

[mehro]

Did anyone see that speech where Hillary was taking shots at Bush? I actually felt sorry for George.