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Obama Camp Admits, Obama Knew Ayers' Past
The drip, drip, drip of information about the exact nature of the relationship between Sen. Barack Obama and former domestic terrorist and 60's radical William Ayers continued today as the Obama campaign admitted for the first time that Sen. Obama did know of Ayers' history as the head of the notorious Weather Underground. That line directly contradicts what the campaign said yesterday, that Sen. Obama did not know who Ayers was when he worked closely with him on the boards of two separate organizations in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Worse for the campaign, the admission essentially confirms Gov. Sarah Palin's claim from this past weekend that Obama, "pals around with terrorists."Obama campaign chief strategist David Axelrod told the Chicago Tribune that Obama learned of Ayers' role as leader of the Weather Underground, which declared war on the United States and carried out a string of bombings at targets including the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, and New York City Police Headquarters, "sometime after," a 1995 fundraiser that Ayers held for Obama at his Chicago home.
"It was sometime after their first meetings, you know, he became aware of that. I don't know the exact moment.But that is exactly what the Obama campaign was offering, just yesterday.
I mean the fact is, like a lot of people who, you know, didn't live through that era, particularly who didn't live through that era in Chicago, it just wasn't, I mean, when [Obama] came to Chicago, Ayers was advising Mayor Daley on school reform issues and that was his profile was that he was an expert on education issues.
My understanding was that he, when he went there [to Ayers' home], he did not know, so I would say after. No one is suggesting that he never knew. I mean that's not, we weren't offering that."
There are still more details of the Obama-Ayers relationship that the Obama campaign has not owned up to. The campaign will not confirm the exact nature of the working relationship between the two men at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, an education funding initiative started by Ayers and headed by Obama as Ayers' his hand-picked chairman. The projects that the Annenberg Challenge funded were administered by a separate group known as The Collaborative, which had Ayers as its chairman. Obama would have to have been familiar with the Collaborative's projects in order to recommend them to the Annenberg Challenge board for funding. That belies a close working relationship. The two also served together on the board of the Woods Fund between 1999 and 2002. During that time, Ayers' now infamous September 11th, 2001, op-ed was published by the New York Times and he was photographed standing on an American flag for an article in Chicago Magazine.
Axelrod's admission that Obama learned of Ayers' terrorist activities "sometime after" the 1995 fund raiser makes it very likely that Obama knew Ayers was an unrepentant domestic terrorist when he sat with him on the boards of the Annenberg Challenge and the Woods Fund and chose to associate himself with Ayers anyway. The Obama campaign calls the furor over Ayers a smear and a "distraction." But so far, everything that the McCain campaign has claimed about Obama and Ayers has been confirmed by the Obama campaign itself. That hardly makes it a smear. It will be up to the voters to decide if it is a distraction.
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Mark Impomeni
Mark Impomeni is not a journalist, or a pundit, but a citizen with a keen interest in national issues. Skeptical and argumentative...more
Comments (73)
GE
6:14PM Oct 7th 2008
WASHINGTON — John McCain's campaign is criticizing Barack Obama for his ties to a former radical who engaged in violent acts four decades ago, but McCain himself was closely connected to a private group that supplied aid to rebels trying to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua during the Iran-Contra affair.
The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. The group was dedicated to stamping out communism around the globe.
The council's founder, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, said McCain became associated with the organization in the early 1980s as McCain was launching his political career in Arizona. Singlaub said McCain was a supporter but not an active member in the group.
"McCain was a new guy on the block learning the ropes," Singlaub told The Associated Press in an interview. "I think I met him in the Washington area when he was just a new congressman. We had McCain on the board to make him feel like he wasn't left out. It looks good to have names on a letterhead who are well-known and appreciated.
"I don't recall talking to McCain at all on the work of the group," Singlaub said.
The renewed attention over McCain's association with Singlaub's group comes as McCain's Republican presidential campaign steps up criticism over Obama's dealings with William Ayers, a college professor who co-founded the Weather Underground and years later worked on education reform in Chicago alongside Obama. Ayers held a meet-the-candidate event at his home when Obama first ran for public office in the mid-1990s.
Obama was roughly 8 years old when Ayers, now at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was working with the Weather Underground, which took responsibility for bombings that included nonfatal blasts at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol. McCain's vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, has said that Obama "pals around with terrorists."
In McCain's case, Singlaub knew McCain's father, a Navy admiral who had sought Singlaub's counsel when McCain became a prisoner of war and spent 5 1/2 years in North Vietnamese hands.
"John's father asked me for advice about what he ought to do now that his son had been shot down and captured," Singlaub recalled in one of two recent interviews. "I said, 'As long as you don't give any impression that you care more about him than you care about any of the other prisoners, he won't be treated any differently.'"
In the Iran-Contra affair, the Reagan White House arranged covert arms shipments to the Contra rebels financed in part by secret arms sales to Iran.
Iran-Contra proved to be the undoing of Singlaub's council.
In 1987, the Internal Revenue Service withdrew the tax-exempt status of Singlaub's group because of its activities on behalf of the Contras.
Elected to the House in 1982 and at a time when he was on the board of Singlaub's council, McCain was among Republicans on Capitol Hill expressing support for the Contras, a CIA-organized guerrilla force in Central America. In 1984, Congress cut off CIA funds for the Contras.
Months before the cutoff, top Reagan administration officials ramped up the secret White House-directed supply network and put National Security Council aide Oliver North in charge of running it. The goal was to keep the Contras operational until Congress could be persuaded to resume CIA funding.
Singlaub's private group became the public cover for the White House operation.
Secretly, Singlaub worked with North in an effort to raise millions of dollars from foreign governments.
McCain has said previously he resigned from the council in 1984 and asked in 1986 to have his name removed from the group's letterhead.
"I didn't know whether (the group's activity) was legal or illegal, but I didn't think I wanted to be associated with them," McCain said in a newspaper interview in 1986.
Singlaub does not recall any McCain resignation in 1984 or May 1986, nor does Joyce Downey, who oversaw the group's day-to-day activities.
"That's a surprise to me," Singlaub said. "This is the first time I've ever heard that. There may have been someone in his office communicating with our office."
"I don't ever remember hearing about his resigning, but I really wasn't worried about that part of our activities, a housekeeping thing," Singlaub said. "If he didn't want to be on the board that's OK. It wasn't as if he had been active participant and we were going to miss his help. He had no active interest. He certainly supported us."
The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. The group was dedicated to stamping out communism around the globe.
The council's founder, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, said McCain became associated with the organization in the early 1980s as McCain was launching his political career in Arizona. Singlaub said McCain was a supporter but not an active member in the group.
"McCain was a new guy on the block learning the ropes," Singlaub told The Associated Press in an interview. "I think I met him in the Washington area when he was just a new congressman. We had McCain on the board to make him feel like he wasn't left out. It looks good to have names on a letterhead who are well-known and appreciated.
"I don't recall talking to McCain at all on the work of the group," Singlaub said.
The renewed attention over McCain's association with Singlaub's group comes as McCain's Republican presidential campaign steps up criticism over Obama's dealings with William Ayers, a college professor who co-founded the Weather Underground and years later worked on education reform in Chicago alongside Obama. Ayers held a meet-the-candidate event at his home when Obama first ran for public office in the mid-1990s.
Obama was roughly 8 years old when Ayers, now at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was working with the Weather Underground, which took responsibility for bombings that included nonfatal blasts at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol. McCain's vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, has said that Obama "pals around with terrorists."
In McCain's case, Singlaub knew McCain's father, a Navy admiral who had sought Singlaub's counsel when McCain became a prisoner of war and spent 5 1/2 years in North Vietnamese hands.
"John's father asked me for advice about what he ought to do now that his son had been shot down and captured," Singlaub recalled in one of two recent interviews. "I said, 'As long as you don't give any impression that you care more about him than you care about any of the other prisoners, he won't be treated any differently.'"
In the Iran-Contra affair, the Reagan White House arranged covert arms shipments to the Contra rebels financed in part by secret arms sales to Iran.
Iran-Contra proved to be the undoing of Singlaub's council.
In 1987, the Internal Revenue Service withdrew the tax-exempt status of Singlaub's group because of its activities on behalf of the Contras.
Elected to the House in 1982 and at a time when he was on the board of Singlaub's council, McCain was among Republicans on Capitol Hill expressing support for the Contras, a CIA-organized guerrilla force in Central America. In 1984, Congress cut off CIA funds for the Contras.
Months before the cutoff, top Reagan administration officials ramped up the secret White House-directed supply network and put National Security Council aide Oliver North in charge of running it. The goal was to keep the Contras operational until Congress could be persuaded to resume CIA funding.
Singlaub's private group became the public cover for the White House operation.
Secretly, Singlaub worked with North in an effort to raise millions of dollars from foreign governments.
McCain has said previously he resigned from the council in 1984 and asked in 1986 to have his name removed from the group's letterhead.
"I didn't know whether (the group's activity) was legal or illegal, but I didn't think I wanted to be associated with them," McCain said in a newspaper interview in 1986.
Singlaub does not recall any McCain resignation in 1984 or May 1986, nor does Joyce Downey, who oversaw the group's day-to-day activities.
"That's a surprise to me," Singlaub said. "This is the first time I've ever heard that. There may have been someone in his office communicating with our office."
"I don't ever remember hearing about his resigning, but I really wasn't worried about that part of our activities, a housekeeping thing," Singlaub said. "If he didn't want to be on the board that's OK. It wasn't as if he had been active participant and we were going to miss his help. He had no active interest. He certainly supported us."
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GE
6:14PM Oct 7th 2008
WASHINGTON — John McCain's campaign is criticizing Barack Obama for his ties to a former radical who engaged in violent acts four decades ago, but McCain himself was closely connected to a private group that supplied aid to rebels trying to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua during the Iran-Contra affair.
The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. The group was dedicated to stamping out communism around the globe.
The council's founder, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, said McCain became associated with the organization in the early 1980s as McCain was launching his political career in Arizona. Singlaub said McCain was a supporter but not an active member in the group.
"McCain was a new guy on the block learning the ropes," Singlaub told The Associated Press in an interview. "I think I met him in the Washington area when he was just a new congressman. We had McCain on the board to make him feel like he wasn't left out. It looks good to have names on a letterhead who are well-known and appreciated.
"I don't recall talking to McCain at all on the work of the group," Singlaub said.
The renewed attention over McCain's association with Singlaub's group comes as McCain's Republican presidential campaign steps up criticism over Obama's dealings with William Ayers, a college professor who co-founded the Weather Underground and years later worked on education reform in Chicago alongside Obama. Ayers held a meet-the-candidate event at his home when Obama first ran for public office in the mid-1990s.
Obama was roughly 8 years old when Ayers, now at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was working with the Weather Underground, which took responsibility for bombings that included nonfatal blasts at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol. McCain's vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, has said that Obama "pals around with terrorists."
In McCain's case, Singlaub knew McCain's father, a Navy admiral who had sought Singlaub's counsel when McCain became a prisoner of war and spent 5 1/2 years in North Vietnamese hands.
"John's father asked me for advice about what he ought to do now that his son had been shot down and captured," Singlaub recalled in one of two recent interviews. "I said, 'As long as you don't give any impression that you care more about him than you care about any of the other prisoners, he won't be treated any differently.'"
In the Iran-Contra affair, the Reagan White House arranged covert arms shipments to the Contra rebels financed in part by secret arms sales to Iran.
Iran-Contra proved to be the undoing of Singlaub's council.
In 1987, the Internal Revenue Service withdrew the tax-exempt status of Singlaub's group because of its activities on behalf of the Contras.
Elected to the House in 1982 and at a time when he was on the board of Singlaub's council, McCain was among Republicans on Capitol Hill expressing support for the Contras, a CIA-organized guerrilla force in Central America. In 1984, Congress cut off CIA funds for the Contras.
Months before the cutoff, top Reagan administration officials ramped up the secret White House-directed supply network and put National Security Council aide Oliver North in charge of running it. The goal was to keep the Contras operational until Congress could be persuaded to resume CIA funding.
Singlaub's private group became the public cover for the White House operation.
Secretly, Singlaub worked with North in an effort to raise millions of dollars from foreign governments.
McCain has said previously he resigned from the council in 1984 and asked in 1986 to have his name removed from the group's letterhead.
"I didn't know whether (the group's activity) was legal or illegal, but I didn't think I wanted to be associated with them," McCain said in a newspaper interview in 1986.
Singlaub does not recall any McCain resignation in 1984 or May 1986, nor does Joyce Downey, who oversaw the group's day-to-day activities.
"That's a surprise to me," Singlaub said. "This is the first time I've ever heard that. There may have been someone in his office communicating with our office."
"I don't ever remember hearing about his resigning, but I really wasn't worried about that part of our activities, a housekeeping thing," Singlaub said. "If he didn't want to be on the board that's OK. It wasn't as if he had been active participant and we were going to miss his help. He had no active interest. He certainly supported us."
The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. The group was dedicated to stamping out communism around the globe.
The council's founder, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, said McCain became associated with the organization in the early 1980s as McCain was launching his political career in Arizona. Singlaub said McCain was a supporter but not an active member in the group.
"McCain was a new guy on the block learning the ropes," Singlaub told The Associated Press in an interview. "I think I met him in the Washington area when he was just a new congressman. We had McCain on the board to make him feel like he wasn't left out. It looks good to have names on a letterhead who are well-known and appreciated.
"I don't recall talking to McCain at all on the work of the group," Singlaub said.
The renewed attention over McCain's association with Singlaub's group comes as McCain's Republican presidential campaign steps up criticism over Obama's dealings with William Ayers, a college professor who co-founded the Weather Underground and years later worked on education reform in Chicago alongside Obama. Ayers held a meet-the-candidate event at his home when Obama first ran for public office in the mid-1990s.
Obama was roughly 8 years old when Ayers, now at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was working with the Weather Underground, which took responsibility for bombings that included nonfatal blasts at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol. McCain's vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, has said that Obama "pals around with terrorists."
In McCain's case, Singlaub knew McCain's father, a Navy admiral who had sought Singlaub's counsel when McCain became a prisoner of war and spent 5 1/2 years in North Vietnamese hands.
"John's father asked me for advice about what he ought to do now that his son had been shot down and captured," Singlaub recalled in one of two recent interviews. "I said, 'As long as you don't give any impression that you care more about him than you care about any of the other prisoners, he won't be treated any differently.'"
In the Iran-Contra affair, the Reagan White House arranged covert arms shipments to the Contra rebels financed in part by secret arms sales to Iran.
Iran-Contra proved to be the undoing of Singlaub's council.
In 1987, the Internal Revenue Service withdrew the tax-exempt status of Singlaub's group because of its activities on behalf of the Contras.
Elected to the House in 1982 and at a time when he was on the board of Singlaub's council, McCain was among Republicans on Capitol Hill expressing support for the Contras, a CIA-organized guerrilla force in Central America. In 1984, Congress cut off CIA funds for the Contras.
Months before the cutoff, top Reagan administration officials ramped up the secret White House-directed supply network and put National Security Council aide Oliver North in charge of running it. The goal was to keep the Contras operational until Congress could be persuaded to resume CIA funding.
Singlaub's private group became the public cover for the White House operation.
Secretly, Singlaub worked with North in an effort to raise millions of dollars from foreign governments.
McCain has said previously he resigned from the council in 1984 and asked in 1986 to have his name removed from the group's letterhead.
"I didn't know whether (the group's activity) was legal or illegal, but I didn't think I wanted to be associated with them," McCain said in a newspaper interview in 1986.
Singlaub does not recall any McCain resignation in 1984 or May 1986, nor does Joyce Downey, who oversaw the group's day-to-day activities.
"That's a surprise to me," Singlaub said. "This is the first time I've ever heard that. There may have been someone in his office communicating with our office."
"I don't ever remember hearing about his resigning, but I really wasn't worried about that part of our activities, a housekeeping thing," Singlaub said. "If he didn't want to be on the board that's OK. It wasn't as if he had been active participant and we were going to miss his help. He had no active interest. He certainly supported us."
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(0) Itsalltrueandscarierthanyouthink
6:20PM Oct 7th 2008
Barack knew in 1995, that's another lie. How could he not have known something about the legendary Ayers? Obama had already had communist connections and mentors before then, so why not Ayers?
Ayers is just the tip of the iceberg. ACORN is the iceberg.
Ayers is just the tip of the iceberg. ACORN is the iceberg.
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(0) ship of fools
6:21PM Oct 7th 2008
"It was never a concern by any of us in the Chicago school reform movement that he had led a fugitive life years earlier," said former Illinois state Republican Rep. Diana Nelson, who worked with both Obama and Ayers over the years. "It's ridiculous. There is no reason at all to smear Barack Obama with this association. It's nonsensical, and it just makes me crazy. It's so silly."
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(0) Ruby
6:24PM Oct 7th 2008
I find it really hard to believe that Obama didn't know that Bill Ayers had been involved in the terrorist bombings before the fund raiser in Ayer's home. This is just common knowledge.
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(0) Itsalltrueandscarierthanyouthink
6:28PM Oct 7th 2008
PS Remember this is 1995, Barack Obama was 35 years old, a grown man.
What they are going to be saying is that he was a young, naive idealist running for his first office.
Running for his first office, maybe, but not that young and not that innocent. He knew exactly who he was dealing with. He then pulled ever dirty trick in the book to get his state senate seat.
PS, why can I post on this blog but not on Knowles or Christophers? Could it be that some bloggers edit (for their benefit) the comments?
What they are going to be saying is that he was a young, naive idealist running for his first office.
Running for his first office, maybe, but not that young and not that innocent. He knew exactly who he was dealing with. He then pulled ever dirty trick in the book to get his state senate seat.
PS, why can I post on this blog but not on Knowles or Christophers? Could it be that some bloggers edit (for their benefit) the comments?
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(0) Dave
6:33PM Oct 7th 2008
Not only did Barack know, he also respects what Ayers did.
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(0) Maryc
6:37PM Oct 7th 2008
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE WAKE UP BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
THE MEDIA HAS CREATED A MONSTER WHO CAN RUIN OUR BELOVED AMERICA.
The below is from an email.
Never before in the history of our nation have we faced such a grave crisis: one of the most radical political figures ever to be nominated by a major party is just minutes away from becoming President of the United States .
That man is Barack Obama.
He promises to change America forever. If elected, he will do just that - but in ways you may not like.
Remember Obama is the most liberal member of the United States Senate.
He received a 100 percent Liberal Rating from the National Journal, making him the most left-wing Senator in Washington - more liberal than even Democratic senators like Ted Kennedy.
If you look at Obama's record, you will understand just how dangerous this man is.
He even has terrorist friends he won't denounce. One such man is William Ayers, a leader in the radical terrorist group the Weatherman Underground. The group bombed several government buildings, including the Pentagon, killing civilians and police officers.
In 2001, Ayers said he had no regrets for his actions and wished he could have done more.
The ties between Obama and Ayers are tight. Both served on two non profit boards and they worked closely together. Ayers even hosted a political event at his home for Obama.
Obama has acknowledged he is a friend of Ayers and defends his association by saying he, Obama, was only 8 years old at the time of the Pentagon bombing.
However, Obama has no explanation as to why he is still a friend of Ayers.
Obama has even been endorsed by radicals such as Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan.
No one can deny hearing about Obama's relationship with the America-hating Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
There should be little doubt that William Ayers and Louis Farrakhan and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright are rooting for Obama - because he is one of them.
In keeping with such friends, Obama has promised to meet with radical leaders like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without "preconditions" even though Ahmadinejad has promised to "wipe Israel off the map" and "destroy" America .
Even radical Hamas terrorists have praised him.
"We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election," Ahmed Yousef, senior Hamas leader was quoted by ABC radio as saying.
Dangerous Economic Plan
And then there are Obama's dangerous economic plans for America.
He wants to almost double the capital gains tax. He wants to strip the FICA tax cap off every worker making more than $97,500. He wants to increase the dividend tax. He wants to let the Bush tax cuts expire - giving almost every American family an automatic tax increase.
He has called for more than $800 billion in new spending programs.
He is so radical he even backed driver's licenses for illegal aliens - even though such a move would help future terrorists move freely in the United States.
He is the most pro-abortion candidate in the history of the country. In 2001, as a state legislator in Illinois , he opposed a bill to protect live born children - children actually born alive! He was the only Illinois senator to speak out against the bill.
He opposes gun rights. He has long history of trying to deny ordinary citizens access to guns.
He originally backed Washington D.C. 's total ban on private handguns - a ban that was overturned. The NRA rated him an "F" on gun positions and says he is one of the most dangerous anti-gun politicians in the nation.
Never forget that Obama is a Harvard educated elitist. To him we Americans are simply "bitter" and he has mocked us saying "[they] cling to their guns and their religion."
Exposing the Truth
Hillary Clinton was late in recognizing the threat Obama posed to her campaign, but once she did, her strategy worked.
When Hillary exposed Obama publicly, her campaign saw a major turnaround.
Hillary won every major state primary in the nation with the sole exception of Obama's home state of Illinois.
And even though Obama was "anointed" by the media and Democratic elites, Hillary went on to win eight of the last 10 Democratic primaries.
How did Obama beat Hillary for the nomination?
Well, using a loophole in Democratic rules, he was able to rack up large majorities in caucus states where he outspent and out organized her.
But in large, contested states she won almost every time. Why? Because when Democrats heard what Obama really stood for, they turned on him.
Make no mistake about it: If we let Americans know the truth about Obama, John McCain can win this election!
But we must employ Hillary Clinton's strategy.
We must expose Obama for the dangerous radical he is.
You Can Make a Difference
THE MEDIA HAS CREATED A MONSTER WHO CAN RUIN OUR BELOVED AMERICA.
The below is from an email.
Never before in the history of our nation have we faced such a grave crisis: one of the most radical political figures ever to be nominated by a major party is just minutes away from becoming President of the United States .
That man is Barack Obama.
He promises to change America forever. If elected, he will do just that - but in ways you may not like.
Remember Obama is the most liberal member of the United States Senate.
He received a 100 percent Liberal Rating from the National Journal, making him the most left-wing Senator in Washington - more liberal than even Democratic senators like Ted Kennedy.
If you look at Obama's record, you will understand just how dangerous this man is.
He even has terrorist friends he won't denounce. One such man is William Ayers, a leader in the radical terrorist group the Weatherman Underground. The group bombed several government buildings, including the Pentagon, killing civilians and police officers.
In 2001, Ayers said he had no regrets for his actions and wished he could have done more.
The ties between Obama and Ayers are tight. Both served on two non profit boards and they worked closely together. Ayers even hosted a political event at his home for Obama.
Obama has acknowledged he is a friend of Ayers and defends his association by saying he, Obama, was only 8 years old at the time of the Pentagon bombing.
However, Obama has no explanation as to why he is still a friend of Ayers.
Obama has even been endorsed by radicals such as Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan.
No one can deny hearing about Obama's relationship with the America-hating Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
There should be little doubt that William Ayers and Louis Farrakhan and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright are rooting for Obama - because he is one of them.
In keeping with such friends, Obama has promised to meet with radical leaders like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without "preconditions" even though Ahmadinejad has promised to "wipe Israel off the map" and "destroy" America .
Even radical Hamas terrorists have praised him.
"We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election," Ahmed Yousef, senior Hamas leader was quoted by ABC radio as saying.
Dangerous Economic Plan
And then there are Obama's dangerous economic plans for America.
He wants to almost double the capital gains tax. He wants to strip the FICA tax cap off every worker making more than $97,500. He wants to increase the dividend tax. He wants to let the Bush tax cuts expire - giving almost every American family an automatic tax increase.
He has called for more than $800 billion in new spending programs.
He is so radical he even backed driver's licenses for illegal aliens - even though such a move would help future terrorists move freely in the United States.
He is the most pro-abortion candidate in the history of the country. In 2001, as a state legislator in Illinois , he opposed a bill to protect live born children - children actually born alive! He was the only Illinois senator to speak out against the bill.
He opposes gun rights. He has long history of trying to deny ordinary citizens access to guns.
He originally backed Washington D.C. 's total ban on private handguns - a ban that was overturned. The NRA rated him an "F" on gun positions and says he is one of the most dangerous anti-gun politicians in the nation.
Never forget that Obama is a Harvard educated elitist. To him we Americans are simply "bitter" and he has mocked us saying "[they] cling to their guns and their religion."
Exposing the Truth
Hillary Clinton was late in recognizing the threat Obama posed to her campaign, but once she did, her strategy worked.
When Hillary exposed Obama publicly, her campaign saw a major turnaround.
Hillary won every major state primary in the nation with the sole exception of Obama's home state of Illinois.
And even though Obama was "anointed" by the media and Democratic elites, Hillary went on to win eight of the last 10 Democratic primaries.
How did Obama beat Hillary for the nomination?
Well, using a loophole in Democratic rules, he was able to rack up large majorities in caucus states where he outspent and out organized her.
But in large, contested states she won almost every time. Why? Because when Democrats heard what Obama really stood for, they turned on him.
Make no mistake about it: If we let Americans know the truth about Obama, John McCain can win this election!
But we must employ Hillary Clinton's strategy.
We must expose Obama for the dangerous radical he is.
You Can Make a Difference
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(0) Ruby
6:37PM Oct 7th 2008
ACORN, Obama, and the Mortgage Mess
by Mona Charen - real clear politics - Sept. 30, 2008
ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform) attracted Barack Obama in his youthful community organizing days. Madeline Talbott hired him to train her staff -- the very people who would later descend on Chicago's banks as CRA shakedown artists.
by Mona Charen - real clear politics - Sept. 30, 2008
ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform) attracted Barack Obama in his youthful community organizing days. Madeline Talbott hired him to train her staff -- the very people who would later descend on Chicago's banks as CRA shakedown artists.
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(0) ship of fools
6:37PM Oct 7th 2008
No one on the board or on the Annenberg Challenge staff remembers Obama being any closer to Ayers than to any other member of the board. The Annenberg board also included several civic, business and education leaders, many of them Republicans...
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(0) ship of fools
6:40PM Oct 7th 2008
"not only was Obama working on a Republican funded initiative, but prominent Republicans were involved on the board with Ayers. Do they all hate America so much that they are "palling" around with terrorist? He had been in their midst for years, why did not the republican's run him out of town"
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(0) eric
6:45PM Oct 7th 2008
OBAMA DID A REVIEW OF ONE OF AYRES BOOKS IN A CHICAGO PAPER. HE KNEW FULL WELL OF AYRES TERRORIST BACK GROUND. OBAMA IS EITHER A LIER OR TOTALLY INEPT...EITHER WAY HE IS NOT LEADER MATERIAL.
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(0) Ron
6:48PM Oct 7th 2008
What does it matter if Obama "knew" of Ayer's past? He isn't involved nor has he ever been involved in those activities. Most important, he didn't "pall" around with Ayers. This is just another way the "Neo-Conservative" Republicans take a "half-truth" and make something much bigger out of it. Come on Johnny-boy, quit letting St. Palin fight your battles for you. If you have an issue with this, bring it up yourself. Don't have one of your "Ann Coulter Clones" do your dirty work for you. NO SPINE, NO LEADERSHIP, NO ANSWERS....Come on November Obama/Biden '08
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(0) NON SOCIALIST
6:51PM Oct 7th 2008
Ge - nice attempt at copying from the daily KOS ( OBAMA BLOG MACHINE) as did the AP and others this afternoon - however they all got it wrong - do some research like the so called Journalist should have before plagerizing the BLOG from the KOS.
The mistakes made were not even changed onthe AP..
again ..Nice try
The mistakes made were not even changed onthe AP..
again ..Nice try
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(0) fibblefester
6:52PM Oct 7th 2008
This won't work, right wingers. The nation doesn't give a damn about who Obama might have served on a commission with. You yahoos look at the DOW today? You think anyone who isn't a right wing racist jackass is going to be watching the debate tonight worrying about Ayers? Hardly. Loooossseeerrrssss!
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(0) Huli
6:55PM Oct 7th 2008
Slum Lord Obama Radio Ad Released by Black Republican Group
Radio ads exposing the real Sen. Barack Obama as a Slum Lord and a far left-wing radical have been released by the National Black Republican Association (NBRA) and are being aired in battleground states. One ad is about the shocking Boston Globe investigation that includes a video of poor blacks living in the Obama-funded slum lord projects who condemn Obama for not caring about them. That investigation can be found on the Internet at: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/?page=1
The NBRA radio ads clearly demonstrate that, when the American people look behind Obama's slick, public façade, they see an inexperienced liberal who does not have the character and judgment to be our next president. To understand what Obama has in mind for the rest of America, visit any black urban community in this nation. Liberal Democrats have been running black communities for the past 40 years, and their socialist policies have turned those communities into economic and social wastelands. If Obama's messianic message of "hope and change" was so powerful, why are the poor people in Chicago still poor?
The audio of the radio ads can be found on the Internet at: www.NBRA.info, and the text are shown below.
_____________
Script of theNBRA radio ads – Paid for by the National Black Republican Association (NBRA). Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
1. Obama The Slum Lord
Narrator:
Obama claims he cares about poor blacks, but a Boston Globe report exposed how for eight years Obama supported slum projects in Chicago.
Poor blacks living in rat and roach infested apartments condemned Obama for not caring about them.
Cynthia Ashley, a fourteen-year resident said: "No one should have to live like this, and no one did anything about it."
Anthony Frizzell a twenty-year resident said: "In the winter I can feel the cold air coming through the walls and the sockets."
Sharee Jones who has lived for years with the rats said: "You could hear them under the floor and in the walls, and they didn't do nothing about it."
Paul Johnson who helped organize a protest against Obama said: "Of course he knew. He just didn't care."
Showing he just didn't care, Obama wrote letters on Illinois Senate letterhead supporting government loans for slum projects.
Obama coauthored the Illinois law that gave tax breaks to his slum lord friends, including now convicted felon Tony Rezko who helped Obama buy a million-dollar house.
As a US Senator, Obama worked to increase federal subsidies for his slum lord pals who donated more than $175,000 to Obama's campaigns with Rezko raising another $200,000.
While running for president, Obama is promising to create a fund that gives his slum lord buddies $500 million a year. This is outrageous.
Learn the truth.
Visit our website at: www.NBRA.info
2. Obama The Radical
Narrator:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated racial tolerance.
In his "I Have a Dream" speech, he said: "The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people."
People today wonder does Barack Obama share Dr. King's positive view of racial tolerance or Rev. Jeremiah Wright's negativity and racial intolerance?
In his book "Dreams from my Father", Obama confesses that he harbors the same negative racial stereotypes as Rev. Wright, his mentor for 20 years.
On page 198 to 204, Obama says that black nationalism, a steady attack on the white race would be justified if it could deliver.
On page 100, Obama says he went out of his way to choose Marxist professors as his friends.
Obama wrote and I quote: "To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully, the more politically active black students, the foreign students, the Chicanos, the Marxist professors and punk rock performance poets."
On page 154, Obama confesses that he studied the Koran at a Muslim school.
Obama wrote and I quote: "In Indonesia, I spent two years at a Muslim school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell my mother that I made faces during Koranic studies. My mother wasn't overly concerned. Be respectful she'd say."
On page 93, Obama confesses that he drank heavily, tried drugs enthusiastically and was helped by pot, booze and cocaine.
Obama does not share our values. Obama is no MLK.
Learn the truth.
Visit our website at: www.NBRA.info
3. Obama is No MLK
Narrator:
In his "I Have a Dream" speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Dr. King's words are important for this 2008 election.
Look beyond Barack Obama's skin color and soaring rhetoric, and you will see an arrogant, elitist millionaire whose voting record is the most liberal in Congress.
Look at the people around Obama, and you will understand that Obama lacks the judgment to be our next president.
Obama's mentor for 20-years was Rev. Jeremiah Wright who said innocent Americans deserved to die on September 11th.
Obama's 20-year friend and bagman was Tony Rezko who was recently convicted of fraud.
Another Obama close friend is Weather Underground Bill Ayers, an unrepentant terrorist who bombed the Pentagon and other public buildings.
Character matters. Obama does not have the character or judgment to be our next president.
Learn the truth.
Visit our website at www.NBRA.info
4. Arrogant Obama
Narrator:
Dr. King said judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
Barack Obama sounds good, but character is judged by action when no one is looking.
Obama voted no on the minimum wage bill.
Obama said no to school choice scholarships for poor black children trapped in failing schools.
Obama voted yes for a bill to kill babies born alive in a botched abortion.
Bitter is what Obama called blacks and whites who love God.
Racist is what Obama called his white grandmother who raised him and made sacrifices so Obama could get a good education and become a millionaire.
Obama's friends are terrorist Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright who said innocent Americans deserved to die on September 11th.
Obama is an arrogant elitist who turned his back on poor blacks and his own country.
Learn the truth.
Visit our website at www.NBRA.info
Radio ads exposing the real Sen. Barack Obama as a Slum Lord and a far left-wing radical have been released by the National Black Republican Association (NBRA) and are being aired in battleground states. One ad is about the shocking Boston Globe investigation that includes a video of poor blacks living in the Obama-funded slum lord projects who condemn Obama for not caring about them. That investigation can be found on the Internet at: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/?page=1
The NBRA radio ads clearly demonstrate that, when the American people look behind Obama's slick, public façade, they see an inexperienced liberal who does not have the character and judgment to be our next president. To understand what Obama has in mind for the rest of America, visit any black urban community in this nation. Liberal Democrats have been running black communities for the past 40 years, and their socialist policies have turned those communities into economic and social wastelands. If Obama's messianic message of "hope and change" was so powerful, why are the poor people in Chicago still poor?
The audio of the radio ads can be found on the Internet at: www.NBRA.info, and the text are shown below.
_____________
Script of theNBRA radio ads – Paid for by the National Black Republican Association (NBRA). Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
1. Obama The Slum Lord
Narrator:
Obama claims he cares about poor blacks, but a Boston Globe report exposed how for eight years Obama supported slum projects in Chicago.
Poor blacks living in rat and roach infested apartments condemned Obama for not caring about them.
Cynthia Ashley, a fourteen-year resident said: "No one should have to live like this, and no one did anything about it."
Anthony Frizzell a twenty-year resident said: "In the winter I can feel the cold air coming through the walls and the sockets."
Sharee Jones who has lived for years with the rats said: "You could hear them under the floor and in the walls, and they didn't do nothing about it."
Paul Johnson who helped organize a protest against Obama said: "Of course he knew. He just didn't care."
Showing he just didn't care, Obama wrote letters on Illinois Senate letterhead supporting government loans for slum projects.
Obama coauthored the Illinois law that gave tax breaks to his slum lord friends, including now convicted felon Tony Rezko who helped Obama buy a million-dollar house.
As a US Senator, Obama worked to increase federal subsidies for his slum lord pals who donated more than $175,000 to Obama's campaigns with Rezko raising another $200,000.
While running for president, Obama is promising to create a fund that gives his slum lord buddies $500 million a year. This is outrageous.
Learn the truth.
Visit our website at: www.NBRA.info
2. Obama The Radical
Narrator:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated racial tolerance.
In his "I Have a Dream" speech, he said: "The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people."
People today wonder does Barack Obama share Dr. King's positive view of racial tolerance or Rev. Jeremiah Wright's negativity and racial intolerance?
In his book "Dreams from my Father", Obama confesses that he harbors the same negative racial stereotypes as Rev. Wright, his mentor for 20 years.
On page 198 to 204, Obama says that black nationalism, a steady attack on the white race would be justified if it could deliver.
On page 100, Obama says he went out of his way to choose Marxist professors as his friends.
Obama wrote and I quote: "To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully, the more politically active black students, the foreign students, the Chicanos, the Marxist professors and punk rock performance poets."
On page 154, Obama confesses that he studied the Koran at a Muslim school.
Obama wrote and I quote: "In Indonesia, I spent two years at a Muslim school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell my mother that I made faces during Koranic studies. My mother wasn't overly concerned. Be respectful she'd say."
On page 93, Obama confesses that he drank heavily, tried drugs enthusiastically and was helped by pot, booze and cocaine.
Obama does not share our values. Obama is no MLK.
Learn the truth.
Visit our website at: www.NBRA.info
3. Obama is No MLK
Narrator:
In his "I Have a Dream" speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Dr. King's words are important for this 2008 election.
Look beyond Barack Obama's skin color and soaring rhetoric, and you will see an arrogant, elitist millionaire whose voting record is the most liberal in Congress.
Look at the people around Obama, and you will understand that Obama lacks the judgment to be our next president.
Obama's mentor for 20-years was Rev. Jeremiah Wright who said innocent Americans deserved to die on September 11th.
Obama's 20-year friend and bagman was Tony Rezko who was recently convicted of fraud.
Another Obama close friend is Weather Underground Bill Ayers, an unrepentant terrorist who bombed the Pentagon and other public buildings.
Character matters. Obama does not have the character or judgment to be our next president.
Learn the truth.
Visit our website at www.NBRA.info
4. Arrogant Obama
Narrator:
Dr. King said judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
Barack Obama sounds good, but character is judged by action when no one is looking.
Obama voted no on the minimum wage bill.
Obama said no to school choice scholarships for poor black children trapped in failing schools.
Obama voted yes for a bill to kill babies born alive in a botched abortion.
Bitter is what Obama called blacks and whites who love God.
Racist is what Obama called his white grandmother who raised him and made sacrifices so Obama could get a good education and become a millionaire.
Obama's friends are terrorist Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright who said innocent Americans deserved to die on September 11th.
Obama is an arrogant elitist who turned his back on poor blacks and his own country.
Learn the truth.
Visit our website at www.NBRA.info
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(0) Huli
6:57PM Oct 7th 2008
This is what you can expect from Obamas wasy of doing things................................................http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/?page=1
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(0) misty
7:02PM Oct 7th 2008
It isn't who Obama befriends, it's who befriends Obama. Bill Ayers has a political agenda and wouldn't recommend, support and endorse someone who didn't have the same politics.
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(0) Huli
7:03PM Oct 7th 2008
By Binyamin Appelbaum
Globe Staff / June 27, 2008
CHICAGO - The squat brick buildings of Grove Parc Plaza, in a dense neighborhood that Barack Obama represented for eight years as a state senator, hold 504 apartments subsidized by the federal government for people who can't afford to live anywhere else.
But it's not safe to live here.
About 99 of the units are vacant, many rendered uninhabitable by unfixed problems, such as collapsed roofs and fire damage. Mice scamper through the halls. Battered mailboxes hang open. Sewage backs up into kitchen sinks. In 2006, federal inspectors graded the condition of the complex an 11 on a 100-point scale - a score so bad the buildings now face demolition.
Grove Parc has become a symbol for some in Chicago of the broader failures of giving public subsidies to private companies to build and manage affordable housing - an approach strongly backed by Obama as the best replacement for public housing.
As a state senator, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee coauthored an Illinois law creating a new pool of tax credits for developers. As a US senator, he pressed for increased federal subsidies. And as a presidential candidate, he has campaigned on a promise to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund that could give developers an estimated $500 million a year.
But a Globe review found that thousands of apartments across Chicago that had been built with local, state, and federal subsidies - including several hundred in Obama's former district - deteriorated so completely that they were no longer habitable.
Grove Parc and several other prominent failures were developed and managed by Obama's close friends and political supporters. Those people profited from the subsidies even as many of Obama's constituents suffered. Tenants lost their homes; surrounding neighborhoods were blighted.
Some of the residents of Grove Parc say they are angry that Obama did not notice their plight. The development straddles the boundary of Obama's state Senate district. Many of the tenants have been his constituents for more than a decade.
"No one should have to live like this, and no one did anything about it," said Cynthia Ashley, who has lived at Grove Parc since 1994.
Obama's campaign, in a written response to Globe questions, affirmed the candidate's support of public-private partnerships as an alternative to public housing, saying that Obama has "consistently fought to make livable, affordable housing in mixed-income neighborhoods available to all."
The campaign did not respond to questions about whether Obama was aware of the problems with buildings in his district during his time as a state senator, nor did it comment on the roles played by people connected to the senator.
Among those tied to Obama politically, personally, or professionally are:
Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama's presidential campaign and a member of his finance committee. Jarrett is the chief executive of Habitat Co., which managed Grove Parc Plaza from 2001 until this winter and co-managed an even larger subsidized complex in Chicago that was seized by the federal government in 2006, after city inspectors found widespread problems.
Globe Staff / June 27, 2008
CHICAGO - The squat brick buildings of Grove Parc Plaza, in a dense neighborhood that Barack Obama represented for eight years as a state senator, hold 504 apartments subsidized by the federal government for people who can't afford to live anywhere else.
But it's not safe to live here.
About 99 of the units are vacant, many rendered uninhabitable by unfixed problems, such as collapsed roofs and fire damage. Mice scamper through the halls. Battered mailboxes hang open. Sewage backs up into kitchen sinks. In 2006, federal inspectors graded the condition of the complex an 11 on a 100-point scale - a score so bad the buildings now face demolition.
Grove Parc has become a symbol for some in Chicago of the broader failures of giving public subsidies to private companies to build and manage affordable housing - an approach strongly backed by Obama as the best replacement for public housing.
As a state senator, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee coauthored an Illinois law creating a new pool of tax credits for developers. As a US senator, he pressed for increased federal subsidies. And as a presidential candidate, he has campaigned on a promise to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund that could give developers an estimated $500 million a year.
But a Globe review found that thousands of apartments across Chicago that had been built with local, state, and federal subsidies - including several hundred in Obama's former district - deteriorated so completely that they were no longer habitable.
Grove Parc and several other prominent failures were developed and managed by Obama's close friends and political supporters. Those people profited from the subsidies even as many of Obama's constituents suffered. Tenants lost their homes; surrounding neighborhoods were blighted.
Some of the residents of Grove Parc say they are angry that Obama did not notice their plight. The development straddles the boundary of Obama's state Senate district. Many of the tenants have been his constituents for more than a decade.
"No one should have to live like this, and no one did anything about it," said Cynthia Ashley, who has lived at Grove Parc since 1994.
Obama's campaign, in a written response to Globe questions, affirmed the candidate's support of public-private partnerships as an alternative to public housing, saying that Obama has "consistently fought to make livable, affordable housing in mixed-income neighborhoods available to all."
The campaign did not respond to questions about whether Obama was aware of the problems with buildings in his district during his time as a state senator, nor did it comment on the roles played by people connected to the senator.
Among those tied to Obama politically, personally, or professionally are:
Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama's presidential campaign and a member of his finance committee. Jarrett is the chief executive of Habitat Co., which managed Grove Parc Plaza from 2001 until this winter and co-managed an even larger subsidized complex in Chicago that was seized by the federal government in 2006, after city inspectors found widespread problems.
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(0) Huli
7:07PM Oct 7th 2008
Allison Davis, a major fund-raiser for Obama's US Senate campaign and a former lead partner at Obama's former law firm. Davis, a developer, was involved in the creation of Grove Parc and has used government subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,500 units in Chicago, including a North Side building cited by city inspectors last year after chronic plumbing failures resulted in raw sewage spilling into several apartments.
Antoin "Tony" Rezko, perhaps the most important fund-raiser for Obama's early political campaigns and a friend who helped the Obamas buy a home in 2005. Rezko's company used subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,000 apartments, mostly in and around Obama's district, then refused to manage the units, leaving the buildings to decay to the point where many no longer were habitable.
Campaign finance records show that six prominent developers - including Jarrett, Davis, and Rezko - collectively contributed more than $175,000 to Obama's campaigns over the last decade and raised hundreds of thousands more from other donors. Rezko alone raised at least $200,000, by Obama's own accounting.
One of those contributors, Cecil Butler, controlled Lawndale Restoration, the largest subsidized complex in Chicago, which was seized by the government in 2006 after city inspectors found more than 1,800 code violations.
Butler and Davis did not respond to messages. Rezko is in prison; his lawyer did not respond to inquiries.
Jarrett, a powerful figure in the Chicago development community, agreed to be interviewed but declined to answer questions about Grove Parc, citing what she called a continuing duty to Habitat's former business partners. She did, however, defend Obama's position that public-private partnerships are superior to public housing.
"Government is just not as good at owning and managing as the private sector because the incentives are not there," said Jarrett, whose company manages more than 23,000 apartments. "I would argue that someone living in a poor neighborhood that isn't 100 percent public housing is by definition better off."
In the middle of the 20th century, Chicago built some of the nation's largest public housing developments, culminating in Robert Taylor Homes: 4,415 apartments in 28 high-rise buildings stretching for 2 miles along an interstate highway.
By the late 1980s, however, Robert Taylor Homes and the rest of the Chicago developments had become American bywords for urban misery. The roughly 30 developments operated for poor families by the Chicago Housing Authority were plagued by crime and mired in poverty.
In Stateway Gardens, a large complex just north of Robert Taylor, a study of 1990 census data found the per-capita annual income was $1,650. And the projects were falling apart after decades of epic, sometimes criminal, mismanagement.
Similar problems plagued public housing in other cities, leading the federal government to greatly increase funding to address the problems. Many cities, including Boston, mostly used that money to rehabilitate their projects, maintaining public control.
Antoin "Tony" Rezko, perhaps the most important fund-raiser for Obama's early political campaigns and a friend who helped the Obamas buy a home in 2005. Rezko's company used subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,000 apartments, mostly in and around Obama's district, then refused to manage the units, leaving the buildings to decay to the point where many no longer were habitable.
Campaign finance records show that six prominent developers - including Jarrett, Davis, and Rezko - collectively contributed more than $175,000 to Obama's campaigns over the last decade and raised hundreds of thousands more from other donors. Rezko alone raised at least $200,000, by Obama's own accounting.
One of those contributors, Cecil Butler, controlled Lawndale Restoration, the largest subsidized complex in Chicago, which was seized by the government in 2006 after city inspectors found more than 1,800 code violations.
Butler and Davis did not respond to messages. Rezko is in prison; his lawyer did not respond to inquiries.
Jarrett, a powerful figure in the Chicago development community, agreed to be interviewed but declined to answer questions about Grove Parc, citing what she called a continuing duty to Habitat's former business partners. She did, however, defend Obama's position that public-private partnerships are superior to public housing.
"Government is just not as good at owning and managing as the private sector because the incentives are not there," said Jarrett, whose company manages more than 23,000 apartments. "I would argue that someone living in a poor neighborhood that isn't 100 percent public housing is by definition better off."
In the middle of the 20th century, Chicago built some of the nation's largest public housing developments, culminating in Robert Taylor Homes: 4,415 apartments in 28 high-rise buildings stretching for 2 miles along an interstate highway.
By the late 1980s, however, Robert Taylor Homes and the rest of the Chicago developments had become American bywords for urban misery. The roughly 30 developments operated for poor families by the Chicago Housing Authority were plagued by crime and mired in poverty.
In Stateway Gardens, a large complex just north of Robert Taylor, a study of 1990 census data found the per-capita annual income was $1,650. And the projects were falling apart after decades of epic, sometimes criminal, mismanagement.
Similar problems plagued public housing in other cities, leading the federal government to greatly increase funding to address the problems. Many cities, including Boston, mostly used that money to rehabilitate their projects, maintaining public control.
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