Obama,Rezko and the Chicago Newspapers

The Beachwood Reporter has some interesting things to say about Obama's sit down with the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times:

Let's take a look at what we really learned over the weekend.

1. Obama revealed that, contrary to his insistence that he had no idea that Rezko was the subject of a federal investigation, including recent statements to national news organizations, he actually asked Rezko about the allegations that had made their way into media reports.

The Tribune knew this going in; its endorsement of Obama in the Illinois primary said: "Obama's assertion in network TV interviews last week that nobody had any indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing strained credulity."

Among those assertions:

* "Nobody had an inkling that he was involved in any problems," Obama told CBS's Harry Smith.

* "Nobody had any indications that he was engaging in wrongdoing," Obama told ABC's Diane Sawyer.

The Sun-Times knew this as well.

On Friday, though, Obama did an about-face.

"The senator said that at the time, in early 2005, he was aware of the growing controversies surrounding Rezko's dealings with state and city government," the Tribune reports. "In March 2005, for example, city officials alleged that a minority contractor at O'Hare International Airport acted as a front for a Rezko firm. 'I started reading the reports that were surfacing,' Obama said. Rezko 'gave me assurances that this wasn't a problem.' And, Obama added, 'at that time, the news around Rezko's problems had not elevated to the levels that they did later."

So, contrary to "nobody" having "any inkling" about allegations surfacing about Rezko, Obama himself was quite aware - he even talked to Rezko about it. Whether he was satisfied with Rezko's answers is besides the point, though it strains credulity in its own way.

2. Obama reiterated that Rezko never asked him for a favor. I haven't read the full transcripts or listened to the audio yet, but in their news articles there is is no indication that either paper asked Obama about this New York Times report:

"While Mr. Obama was running for the Senate, Mr. Rezko was also raising money for a huge development in the South Loop of Chicago, often playing host to dinners in a private room at the Four Seasons Hotel here.

"Former Rezko associates said that Governor Blagojevich attended one of the dinners, and that at Mr. Rezko's request, Mr. Obama dropped in at one for Middle Eastern bankers in early 2004, just as he was starting to pull ahead in the Senate primary. The visits, Mr. Rezko's partners said, helped impress foreign guests.

"'I remember that he had been on the campaign trail, and he was completely wiped out and exhausted,' said Anthony Licata, a lawyer who represented Mr. Rezko on real estate deals. 'My recollection is that he drank ice tea, and he talked about how he was really making progress, and we were all excited to see him.'"

Or this, also from the same Times report:

"Rita Rezko paid $625,000 to outbid others for the lot and later sold the Obama's one-sixth of that land land, for $104,500.

"After the Chicago Tribune reported the transactions last November, Mr. Obama said he had acted ethically, though it had been a mistake to let Mr. Rezko do anything that could be seen as a favor.

"The disclosure came four days before Michelle Obama was to appear as a special guest at a charity fashion show organized by Mrs. Rezko. Mrs. Obama attended, though others there said it seemed a bit awkward."

Which certainly doesn't sound like the biggest deal in the world, but it does indicate how close the couples appeared to be.

And, of course, there is this June 2007 report from the Sun-Times:

"Obama's letters for Rezko
NOT A FAVOR? | As a state senator, he went to bat for now-indicted developer's deal

"As a state senator, Barack Obama wrote letters to city and state officials supporting his political patron Tony Rezko's successful bid to get more than $14 million from taxpayers to build apartments for senior citizens.

"The deal included $855,000 in development fees for Rezko and his partner, Allison S. Davis, Obama's former boss, according to records from the project, which was four blocks outside Obama's state Senate district."

[The Sun-Times account on Sunday has Obama briefly defending a 1998 letter he wrote for a Rezko development.]

As for the reverse, well, when Obama says "He never did any favors for me, other than obviously supporting my campaigns," that kind of elides the point, doesn't it?

3. The media did bite on the disclosure that Rezko contributed more money to Obama than previously acknowledged. David Axelrod knew they would, and that's why they've dripped out these continual discoveries of more Rezko dollars. But it's really the least interesting and important of the revelations. The real story here is why the campaign has been disingenuous about the contributions, not the contributions themselves.

After all, the Sun-Times reported last June that "During his 12 years in politics, Sen. Barack Obama has received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted businessman Tony Rezko and his associates than he has publicly acknowledged, the Chicago Sun-Times has found.

As the latest Sun-Times report says, "Obama acknowledged that Rezko had raised $250,000 for him - about $100,000 more than had previously been disclosed and about five times more than Obama conveyed during a November 2006 question-and-answer exchange with the Sun-Times."

The Obama campaign uses its own disclosures to change the story line when it wants to, and it works. There is little harm in headlines about the senator giving more money to charity.

Obama sure is slick.