funny, rezko trial didn't seem to get much coverage here.

i have been out of touch for a while, and will be again shortly, here, but it looks like the rezko trial went out with a less than a whimper. the fact the teh defense asked for a directed verdict, didn't even bother to put on a defense should have at least drawn a few hurrahs. i did a quick google and found a few little comments.
this case was nothing. absolutely nothing. rethug prosecutors out to get dem elected officials. (btw, it was really governor blagojevic that was the target. obama was gravy.) all that talk, and nothing but a drug addicted felon's testimony.
well, i return to the land of "not coughing up 75 cents a minute to surf the net" land. i return to the real world saturday night.
perhaps my fellow obama supporters will kick this a few times for those who seem to have missed this un-news.

There were some posts--I recall one by Grantcart in particular--but the nature of the GD P beast is that stupidity is out the door before truth has its shoes on--or something like that.

Obama is clean. That's why he's running. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have ran. period.

You can wish it were so, you can close your eyes and click the ruby slippers together, but there is no such thing as a 'clean' politician. It isn't possible. The unicorn has more credibility as a creature than a 'clean' politician.

I am not saying Obama is sleazy because he has strong and undeniable ties to Rezko and his money. Even the scrupulously honest Harry Truman had his Tom Pendergast. What I am saying is that even the best-intentioned politicians HAVE to grease the skids somehow, just to have a shot. It's a money-and-favor system, and it's not for the weak, or naive idealists. It has been this way since the Greek city-state, through the Roman Republic, and it was ever thus. It's the natural order. And it imperfect as it can be, it works more often than not.

The Great American Political Novel of All Time says it best: "Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something."

There is always something.

And sorry, here in Vermont- and I know there are other places that are like this- you don't just not have to grease the skids, you couldn't make it if you did. It's just too small and there are too many restriction on campaign funding for it to happen.

Not even Bernie is clean.

But you kind of proved my point. Vermont is just small and inconsequential enough to MAYBE get away with 99.9% Ivory purity with their politicians. Let's see him run for president, and just how clean he will be. It didn't work out for that former Vermont governor too well, did it? No complaints, I am glad he is running the party and Terry McAwful is out. But Clean Dean he ain't. There's always something.

Peter Welch is clean. You're right about the presidential level, but you're wrong about VT being inconsequential. For a small state, we have quite a bit of influence.

doing your job and doing a favor? the laws are clear, although appearances can be fuzzy, and lines can seem blurry. the laws are clear, and there were never any credible charges against rezko, let alone barack. just like don seiglemen, a prosecutor decided to cut someone down. but there never was any there there. nothing but a drug addicted felon lying to get a better deal. that is all.
politicians basically do favors for a living. so, no, you will never find a politician who has never done anyone a favor. that is not the same as stepping over the line, which is written out, in black letters, in the laws of this country on every level. the number of people who step over that line is not only NOT 100%, it is not think it is even in the double digits.
like the man said, cynicism is a sorry sort of wisdom. it certainly produces sour fruits.

nt

RIIIIIGHT


:rofl:

I-have-to-somehow-get-this-dig-in sort of way, which is both confusing and sad.

is the sky blue on your planet?

Rezko trial updates on what seemed to be a daily basis. I thought he/she was blogging from the courtroom. Lately...nothing.

Rezko got into money problems. With his back against the wall, he tried to shake down the wrong people to get himself out of a jam.
Was it bad investing or gambling?
Am I close?
The fact that he was a fund raiser opened the guilt by association door.

We really need public financed elections. The amount of money needed to compete IS criminal!

mostly because at this point i can't see where the money will come from. unless we were to just directly convert the money being spent now, illegally, for propaganda. i think that one of the most important things about the obama campaign, like the dean campaign, is the fact that small donors can out raise the fat cats for the right candidate.
we can plainly see what happens in the presidential race- bush just skipped the whole idea, and mc same took the money, then kept of going. i think that giving them some tax payer money will not stop them from taking favors and donations from the crooked and rich out there.
i think that people should participate in democracy, including donating and raising money for their candidate. what really counts is transparency and accountability. 2 things i think president obama will bring with him in everything that he will do.