Corruption From Alaska To Illinois! Why We Should Not Be Surprised.

Alternate Title: The Real Bob Roberts vs. The Real John Doe!

On the one hand we have Governor Palin, McCain's V.P. running-mate, found guilty of unethical practices concerning the treatment of an Alaska State official or officer. On the other hand we have the Tony Rezko Affair, which involves Senator Obama in a relatively minor and benign way, that simply shows how corrupt people try to buy our public officials. But let's be real! In order to become a successful politician in America you must risk rubbing shoulders with corrupt businesspersons, especially political fundraisers who are also wealthy real-estate developers and investors! It takes a dung-heap-load of money to get the publicity you need to have a realistic chance of becoming an elected official, especially in big cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas and Washington, D.C.! That said, should we not be concerned about double-standards and ethics no matter which side of the political fence we're on?? Of course we should, but we must also temper and moderate our own stances based on a healthy shades-of-grey attitude that takes into account the actual degree of corruption and illegality. And on that account the actions of Governor Palin are actually much worse than the actions of Senator Obama! Why? Simple! Governor McPalin (on purpose) threatened the welfare of a public servant, while Obama, typical of almost all politicians in major American cities (City States for that matter), accepted financial support and benefit from a man who he probably knew was of questionable character, but I have no doubt that if we had a Special National Witch-Hunt and related Congressional Hearings we would discover that virtually 80% to 90% of all Members of Congress and Senators have either knowingly or unwittingly accepted support from people just as corrupt! So, should we then suspend our National Elections, go through twenty years of devastating "House Cleaning", ages-worth of Investigations, Indictments, Hearings, Trials, allow the Military to set up an Emergency Federal Government supposedly void of partisan politics (yeah, right! Like we can trust every single General!) and, in the meantime see our entire nation become the largest Third World country on Earth!!! Absolutely not! Of course, if we could be sure that all actions in the name of The Law were truly in the interest of every Average American, every John & Jane Doe, and truly supportive of the broadest intent and meaning implied by Our Great Constitution, and if we could have a Care-Taker Government made up of Real People, mostly poor but educated academics, intellectuals, artists, honorably discharged veterans and those roughly 60% of those Americans who are patriotic, non-corrupt firemen, police officers and emergency response-persons, then I'd say LET'S DO IT! But that just ain't going to happen! Oh, and what about giving in to Ralph Nader, since he is generally right about corruption and abuse of public office and government power, but is so wrong on many fundamental security issues?? The question holds the answer to that one! The answer is simply this: Ralph Nader would totally ruin America, in spite of his best intentions! No. The answer is to hold these elections and to trust that most Americans will vote based on a realistic understanding and assessment of the significant differences between the McCain-Palin Changeless Status Quo Pseudo-Republican Ticket and the Obama-Biden Real Change But We're-No-Angels Democratic Government Reform Ticket!
Now, for those of who you have any doubts about Obama's limited and relatively benign association with Tony Rezko, just take into consideration these apparent (probable or plausible) facts (Source Wikipedia NGU):

1. In 1990, after Barack Obama was elected president of the Harvard Law Review, Tony Rezko's Rezmar Corp. offered him a job, but, without hesitation, Obama turned the job offer down (did not take the job). Obama did end up taking a low-level job with law firm Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland,[27] which primarily worked civil rights cases, but also represented Tony Rezko's Rezmar and helped the company get more than $43 million in government funding and whose former senior partner, Allison S. Davis, later went into business with Rezko and, in 2003, was appointed to Illinois State Board of Investment by Governor Blagojevich at Rezko's request.
2. On July 31, 1995 the first ever political contributions to Obama were $300 from a lawyer, a $5,000 loan from a car dealer, and $2,000 from two food companies owned by Rezko.
3. Starting in 2003, Rezko was one of the people on Obama's U.S. Senate campaign finance committee, which raised more than $14 million. Rezko threw an early fundraiser for Obama, which Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendell and claims was instrumental in providing Obama with seed money for his U.S. Senate race. Obama has since identified over $250,000 in campaign contributions to various Obama campaigns as coming from Rezko or close associates, and has claimed to have donated almost two thirds of that amount to unspecified nonprofit groups.
4. In 2005 Obama purchased a new home in the Kenwood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (which was $300,000 below the asking price but represented the highest offer on the property) on the same day that Rezko's wife, Rita Rezko, purchased the adjoining empty lot from the same sellers for the full asking price. Obama acknowledged bringing his interest in the property to Rezko's attention, but denied any coordination of offers. According to Obama, while the properties had originally been a single property, the previous owners decided to sell the land as two separate lots, but made it a condition of the sales that they be closed on the same date. Obama also claimed that the properties had been on the market for months, that his offer was the best of two bids, and that Ms. Rezko's bid was matched by another offer, also of $625,000, so that she could not have purchased the property for less. Obama's description of the purchase was later confirmed by the previous owner of the house.
5. After it had been reported in 2006 that Rezko was under federal investigation for influence-peddling, Obama purchased a 10 foot (3.0 m) wide strip of Ms. Rezko's property for $104,500, $60,000 above the assessed value. According to Chicago Sun-Times columnist, Mark Brown, "Rezko definitely did Obama a favor by selling him the 10-foot strip of land, making his own parcel less attractive for development."Obama acknowledges that the exchange may have created the appearance of impropriety, and stated "I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it." On December 28, 2006, Ms. Rezko sold the property to a company owned by her husband's former business attorney. That sale of $575,000, combined with the earlier $104,500 sale to the Obamas, amounted to a net profit of $54,500 over her original purchase, less $14,000 for a fence along the property line and other expenses. In October 2007, the new owners put the still vacant land up for sale again, this time for $1.5 million.
6. In June 2007, the Sun-Times published a story about letters Obama had written in 1997 to city and state officials in support of a low-income senior citizen development project headed by Rezko and partner Allison Davis. The project received more than $14 million in taxpayer funds, including $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and Davis. Of Obama's letters in support of the Cottage View Terrace apartments development, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "This wasn't done as a favor for anyone, it was done in the interests of the people in the community who have benefited from the project. I don't know that anyone specifically asked him to write this letter nine years ago. There was a consensus in the community about the positive impact the project would make and Obama supported it because it was going to help people in his district." Rezko's attorney responded that "Mr. Rezko never spoke with, nor sought a letter from, Senator Obama in connection with that project.
7. In the South Carolina Democratic Party presidential debate on January 21, 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton said that Obama had represented Rezko, who she referred to as a slum landlord. Obama responded that he had never represented Rezko and had done only about five hours work, indirectly, for Rezko's firm (WHICH IS THE TRUTH AND PROVES OBAMA RIGHT). Within days of the debate, a photo of Rezko posing with Bill and Hillary Clinton surfaced. When asked about the photo Hillary Clinton commented "I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. I wouldn’t know him if he walked in the door."

Fine! Obama benefited from Tony Rezko's corruption, and at worst is probably only as guilty of corruption as over 400 Republican politicians and over 400 Democratic politicians in Chicago, Illinois!!! What is certain is that no one was killed or threatened on account of Obama's association with Rezko! And the Chicago Corrupt Politics story cuts across party lines and involves almost everyone from both major political parties in Illinois! Whereas the Palin Case involves abuse of Executive Power and evidence of corruption of Public Authority! And the Palin Case is about a serious violation of ethics that only benefited the Pseudo-Republican side!

Actually, I would dare argue that when compared to the Tens of Billions of Dollars, the Massive Amounts of Money, that have not been accounted for under The Bush Administration, especially vis-a-vis the Fiasco in Iraq, involving serious violations of law concerning the awarding of Government Contracts, which has cost us dearly in terms of both the irreplaceable lives lost and tax-payer's money, with the typical local politics financial scheming (corruption), involving only tens of millions of dollars at most, that goes on all the time (which should stop), the efforts to harm Obama's campaign are despicable and much more unethical, by far, than anything he may have benefited from politically.

Clearly the Pseudo-Republicans, far wealthier than most Democratic politicians, think it is alright to steal from the majority of poor and faltering middle class, working Americans, by bad policies that allow wealthy business-people to exploit and abuse and underpay workers, poor and lower income middle class people, by swindling taxpayers of Tens of Billions of dollars into schemes that, in the name of this war or that security measure, tend to fill the deep pockets of their political financial backers! But the minute an Average Working-class American turned Community Activist, Politician and Elected Public Servant, in order to actually be able to win an election against his rich and rich--people-financed Pseudo-Republican Opponent, so as to later truly poor and working class people in his community, accepts money or other support from anyone, they, the Pseudo-Republicans, yell 'High Treason & Murder'!!! Well, if you're a Working Class American you should find these Pseudo-Republican efforts to blame the victim while beating-up the victim double-offensive and deeply insulting! There is no sense at all in voting for the Big Thief who steals your house against the Small Thief who steals the Big Thief's money and wants to share the loot with you!!! It's that simple! Don't vote for those BIG THUGS WHO LIE BIG against those small creeps who lie little! Vote for Robin-Hood and not for Scrooge!

You know what: this whole situation is almost exactly like "Meet John Doe" the 1941movie directed and produced by Frank Capra, starring Gary Cooper (love his acting) and Barbara Stanwick! Really! Watch it! And then also watch "Bob Roberts" written/directed/starring Tim Robbins (really love that guy).