Living in Chicago, do you know how often we hear about this or that politician under Federal investigation? Heck, they had to bring in an FBI head to run the police department they're so corrupt.

If you're looking to discredit Obama, then Rezko is not the way to go. Try his opposition to the Born Alive Infants Protection Act (as well as the Illinois equivalent).

I think this is their response to the Obama team's accusations, including the "voter suppression" claim in Las Vegas -- which is another one of those "coded" accusations.

If either campaign believes that the logistics unfairly favor one candidate over another that should be addressed. I both hope and believe that TeamObama would challenge arrangments they felt were unfair ... The use of the term "voter suppression" was racially charged and an exaggeration of a reasonable challenge. The challenge was denied, but I expect in 4 years, the substance of that challenge will be addressed in planning for the next caucuses.

"How come its okay for Billary to attack the Rezko connection, but if Barack were to bring up similar Billary dealings (Whitewater, Monica, et al) it would be horrible?!"

Well, it would be nice if you didn't call the former president and the senator from New York Billary, you know?

And anytime I want to hear what Obama supporters think about Whitewater (the Clintons lost $40,00, and the investigation came up with bupkus) and Monica (Bill didn't resist the flirtation, and he should have known the Republicans would spy on him), then I'll go over the the Obama-- er, the Huffington Post. All they ever found was the girl, you know? And she was alive, happy, and they dragged her in front of a grand jury for no good reason. I'm not sure who the scandal is about, Bill or the GOP's lust for power and tapping phones. But Obama supporters accept everything nasty any Republican has ever said about Bill. Hey, I hear he killed Foster, right? And ran drugs out of Mena, Arkansas. Track that down, will you?

Did an honest, progressive, wonderful and kind Obama supporter just tell Mr. Brown to STFU? Good guys don't do that, do they? And of course, since he's supporting Obama, he must be saying this at the instigation of the Secret Mr. and Mrs. Obama cartel that controls everything. Hey, does that mean that Obama = Bush?

No. I think it's time we ask for a better press corps. This morning's interview with Hillary was shameful. They focused, as is their wont, only on Hillary's rejoinder, not the initial remark. (See, it's only the Clintons who have gone negative, see?)

And this week, Obama has discovered the answer to Bill on the campaign trail: Michele Obama does a very good job of representing her husband. Will the press keep a keen eye out for the slightest negative remark that she makes about the Clintons and scream "reverse racism"? I don't think so.

By the way, I don't think the press is so much pro-Obama than anti-Clinton.

my gut reaction is "no one is that naive" ... and I wonder about the advice of his lawyer and accountant, not to mention the "ethics committee"

A very small piece of land, what might easily be seen as a step up from an "easement," in the right location can add significant value to a property...

that he got a discounted price on the house as well ...

again, "boneheadedness" really isn't enough when someone is offering you money-equivalents for "nothing" ...

The fallback excuse is something like "greed" or "self-delusion" -- wanting something you can't afford SO MUCH that you do something dumb like this, throwing caution to the wind ... a bit troubling...

Obama's far to smart to plead "dumb".

Caesar said, "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion." And then he divorced her, even though she had done noting wrong. It was a trumped-up scandal involving a gangster cross-dresser, much discussed on Salon at the time.

You can look it up: http://letters.salon.com.romandictator/war_room/c.50bce

Anyway, my friends, anybody who moves in interesting circles meets questionable people. I myself sent a letter to a murderer last week, but I am not a murderer. In 1964, this murderer let me ride his motorbike. He was my friend, and I still like him better than silly Salon posters who never have been anywhere or met anybody.

Barack seems to have come pretty clean about this. That guy was his friend, way back when, but Barck is clean.

Honest reporting is a beautiful thing, isn't it, Tim?

Do you feel better about yourself today for abandoning your anti-Hillary bias?

I don't know what medications you took this morning; nor do I know if you even wrote that piece yourself.

But it is a very nice change to see you cut Hillary an honest break.

Normally you pile on rather than illuminate. Today you did the opposite and I hope you enjoyed the experience enough to try it again tomorrow.

Obama knows the Rezkos personally. He has a long-standing relationship with them.

The land transaction was a personal favor to Obama so he could buy the house. These are the plain facts, and it doesn't matter which newspaper reported them. Whether or not you think Obama actually would be influenced, this transaction certainly creates that appearance. And the Republicans will seize on this.

The commenter that talked about the Sun-Times being the Windy City equivalent of the NY Post is absolutely correct. It's a rag that's two steps above a tabloid when it comes to actually reporting news. And it's owned by Conrad Black, one of the most corrupt right wing news moguls in the country. So please, anything the Sun-Times reports, take it with a grain of skepticism. They're out to destroy any democratic candidate for President.

The reality is Chicago politics is awash with dirty money, and there's no way for politicians to know who is or isn't dirty until someone gets indicted. I've heard every explanation Obama's given for his relationship with Rezko, since this started, and he's been very forthcoming about how he views it. He returned the money. He ended his professional relationship with the guy. It's what we expect our senators and representatives to do. He's not taking money now. What more of an explanation do you want? He's admitted (in previous interviews) that he was friends and professional acquaintances with the guy, and when the indictments were handed down he promptly stopped doing business. Did he give contracts to Rezko's company? was he one of many Illinois reps to do so? Is Rezko one of many sleazy dirtbags milking Illinois taxpayers for their money? Yes to all of the above. But, he RETURNED THE MONEY. What else is he supposed to do? Provide phone records and transcripts of every conversation he had with the guy?

What you didn't publish was that the Sun-Times ran an article several days ago linking Hillary to Rezko. Now, maybe they were using the same photo Lauer used (which is bupkus), but if the Sun-Times reported it, doesn't that make it just as valid as their reporting on Obama?

You want to solve this problem? Vote for public financing of elections.