I’m actually comforted by this, in that it confirms my position that Obama was using NAFTA critiques as “boob bait for bubbas” in Ohio and similar states - but how is this any different from politics as usual?
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/austan_goolsbee_lives.php
He’s back on the campaign, as if his honesty about NAFTA, and subsequent dismissal from the campaign, never occurred. I’ll just wait for Samantha Power to come back as well - she was the boob bait for bobos on the flub of being honest about the fact we wouldn’t immediately withdraw from Iraq if Obama were elected.
Plus, Jim Johnson, who was in charge of the unreported disaster at Fannie Mae that made Enron look like a failed lemonade stand (but Fannie Mae isn’t allowed to fail - it just got more taxpayer money…), was named by Obama to be one member of his three-member VP-selection committee:
Obama, Embarrassed ; James Johnson: A Problem - The Atlantic ; Rubinstein the Great Entertainer - Samuel Lipman, Commentary Magazine
Which probably wouldn’t horrible if Obama weren’t always railing against those greedy CEOs - I guess there’s an implied exception for the greedy former CEOs on his selection committee…
Then there’s that Tony Rezko guy, who was convicted of corruption:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2077135/Barack-Obama-ally-Tony-Rezko-convicted-of-corruption.html ; http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTQyNjk1MmZhNDYyZjQ0OGNlMDIzOGMzZDQwMjk3NTY=&w=MA==
Obama on Rezko: “I’m saddened by today�??s verdict. This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew, but now he has been convicted by a jury on multiple charges that once again shine a spotlight on the need for reform. I encourage the General Assembly to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent these kinds of abuses in the future.”
Recall Obama on Wright: “I’ve known Rev. Wright for almost 20 years. The person that I saw yesterday was not the person I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate, and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church.”
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that if Jim Johnson turns into a big problem, Jim Johnson is not going to be the man Obama knew…
Let’s be realistic here - there are quite a few folks (read: idiots) who think Obama is some sort of saintly messiah (see this blog for some beautiful quotes: http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/ ), and he’s playing it up with his claims to be above politics as usual. But he’s a product of one of the most corrupt, of not the most corrupt, local political machines in the United States, Chicago. I’m guessing he didn’t come through smelling like roses. Typical politician - overpromising, and underdelivering.
The thing about being put on a pedestal is that it can be kind of painful to fall off…