Obama coy on backing Daley

Senator Obama gets philosophical:

"I think taxpayers deserve a fair day's work for a day's pay," Obama told reporters after appearing with Daley and other fellow Democrats at a downtown news conference on road construction. "They expect that people who are hired are hired because of their qualifications and not because of their contacts.

"I think the [federal] investigation will proceed, and my hope and expectation would be that across the board--not just in the city, but in the state and at the federal level--we create a culture where taxpayers can respect the work that politicians do, since I am one of them."

At least Mayor Daley's got columnist Bob Novak's strong support.Newsalert