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Originally Posted by ratbastid
I'm sorry, otto, but posting videos that contain the phrase "I'm X and I approve this message" and calling that ANY sort of truth, sad or otherwise, is evidence of delusion well beyond what this forum can help you with.
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Well many of the campaign ads *are* based on truths, but many times don't tell the whole truth. For instance, the latest Obama ad pokes fun at McCain's multiple houses. It basically tries to vilify McCain for being wealthy. Ummm isn't Obama fairly well off himself? Half the story....
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The REAL sad truth is, people who have swallowed the kool-aid that thoroughly are beyond recovery.
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Well there are certainly kool aid drinkers on both sides. In that 'rock star' video, the video producer obviously found some. It certainly isn't representative of most Obama supporters, but there certainly is no scarcity of them. Trust me I know a few.
-----Added 22/8/2008 at 01 : 43 : 35-----
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Originally Posted by Rekna
#1 Rezko did not give Obama a deal. Obama paid the owner (no relation to Rezko) 1.65 million, which was 300,000 below the asking price (not the value) (~18%). However, the house was on the market for months and Obama's offer was the highest one. The seller has said that Obama's paid a fair price. The seller also sold an adjacent vacant lot to Rezko and the seller made it a condition of both bids that they close on the same day. Later Obama purchased a strip of the vacant land from Rezko for $104,500 which was $60,000 more then the assessed value. That is definitely not a deal.
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$60k more than assessed value? Sounds a little fishy to me there.
As for the property Rezko bought, it is purported that he paid the asking price. Nothing wrong with that there, but combined with Obama's lot, seems a little shady.
Obama even regrets buying the property:
Obama on Rezko deal: It was a mistake :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Politics
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#2 Rezko donated a total of about $4,000 to his campaign and threw a single fund raiser for im.
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Rezko's fundraiser raised almost $250k for Obama.
While Obama turning to Rezko for political expediency certain is not illegal in any terms. However, associating with a felon is coming back to bite him in the butt. He's been lucky not too much has been made of this yet, but don't bet the house that it stays that way.
Perhaps it's human nature, but there is a saying that goes "you are judged by the company you keep." With Obama befriending Rezko, Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers, Raila Odinga and Father Michael Pfleger, you have to wonder if there are some skeletons in the closet.
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#3 No evidence of this has ever surfaced nor of any favors done by Obama for Rezko
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Taken from a NY Post article:
BARACK'S FAVORS FOR CORRUPT CRONY - New York Post
-In October 1998, Obama wrote city and state officials, urging them to give Rezko $14 million to build an apartment complex outside of Obama's state Senate district. The Chicago Sun-Times noted last year that Obama's request included $855,000 in "development fees" for Rezko and for another developer, Allison Davis, who happened to be Obama's old law-firm boss. Obama's spokesman said it was just a coincidence that the state senator wrote letters to obtain millions of dollars for his two longtime friends.
-In 2001, Obama cosponsored a bill allowing developers to sell state tax credits to others and pocket half of the proceeds.
- In 2002 and 2004, he was chief cosponsor of a bill to authorize a rent-subsidy fund giving "grants . . . directly to developers" of low-income housing. Seventy percent of the money was earmarked for the Chicago area.
-Obama cosponsored the Illinois Housing Initiative Act of 2003, which required the governor to develop a plan for more low-income housing and "provide[d] for funding for housing construction and rehabilitation and supportive services."
-In 2003, Obama voted for the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act, which required Illinois municipalities to make 10 percent of their housing units "affordable" (by definition, this included subsidized housing). This forced 46 communities just outside of Chicago to create more than 7,000 new "affordable" units - a huge boost in demand for area developers. The bill also provided loopholes for developers to circumvent local ordinances and regulations.
These and the other Obama-backed bills helped make millionaires of Rezko and other slum developers at taxpayers' expense. The developers - including his former law boss and an adviser to his current campaign - reciprocated, together giving and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama's campaigns.
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#4 this it true, but the bribery and fraud was related to other politicians not Obama.
To sum up: Obama got them subsidies to build. He secured them a steady income of government rent subsidies. He arranged special tax credits and abatements for them. He backed measures that increased demand for their services, and helped them legally circumvent local laws.
From what I can tell the Rezko/Obama relation is really this: They owned land next to each other, Obama overpaid for a small strip of land, They both served on the board of a non-profit together, Rezko donated to Obama's campaigns a few times and held a single fund raiser for him.
Even when all the complexities are explained there still doesn't appear to be anything wrong it.
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Well I quoted all the NY Post stuff that addressed this in the previous section. The question is now what was the motivation? There lies everything. If Obama had in fact been motivated to help Rezko make millions, there is a serious crime here. If not, well, it's shady, but legal. The problem is proving the intent. Obama is not going to come out and say it, and I highly doubt there is a good paper trail either way.
Either way, however, the only one that is hurt is Obama. Just the perception he might have done something illegal (and by associating with a felon) will hurt him dearly in the eyes of voters.