The Obama Illusion - Presidential Ambitions from the start

"Never mind that Obama (consistent with Brooks’s description of him) has lent his support to the aptly named Hamilton Project, formed by corporate-neoliberal Citigroup chair Robert Rubin and “other Wall Street Democrats” to counter populist rebellion against corporatist tendencies within the Democratic Party (David Sirota, “Mr. Obama Goes to Washington,” the Nation, June 26). Or that he lent his politically influential and financially rewarding assistance to neoconservative pro-war Senator Joe Lieberman’s (“D”-CT) struggle against the Democratic antiwar insurgent Ned Lamont. Or that Obama has supported other “mainstream Democrats” fighting antiwar progressives in primary races (see Alexander Cockburn, “Obama’s Game,” the Nation, April 24, 2006). Or that he criticized efforts to enact filibuster proceedings against reactionary Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito."

Read The Obama Illusion

"nviros have also knocked Obama for his support of corn-derived ethanol and liquid coal, both of which would benefit industries in his home state of Illinois but do little if anything to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions."

Obama's backing of Nuclear Power and financial support of his campaigns
Per Counter Punch-
Barack, for the second quarter in a row, has surpassed the fundraising prowess of Hillary Clinton. To be sure small online donations have propelled the young senator to the top, but so too have his connections to big industry. The Obama campaign, as of late March 2007, has accepted $159,800 from executives and employees of Exelon, the nation's largest nuclear power plant operator.

The Illinois-based company also helped Obama's 2004 senatorial campaign. As Ken Silverstein reported in the November 2006 issue of Harper's, "[Exelon] is Obama's fourth largest patron, having donated a total of $74,350 to his campaigns. During debate on the 2005 energy bill, Obama helped to vote down an amendment that would have killed vast loan guarantees for power-plant operators to develop new energy projects the public will not only pay millions of dollars in loan costs but will risk losing billions of dollars if the companies default."

During a Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works hearing in 2005, Obama, who serves on the committee, asserted that since Congress was debating the negative impact of CO2 emissions "on the global ecosystem, it is reasonable -- and realistic -- for nuclear power to remain on the table for consideration." Shortly thereafter, Nuclear Notes, the industry's top trade publication, praised the senator. "Back during his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2004, [Obama] said that he rejected both liberal and conservative labels in favor of 'common sense solutions.' And when it comes to nuclear energy, it seems like the Senator is keeping an open mind."

Sadly for the credibility of the atom lobby, some of their more eye-grabbing numbers don't check out. For example, as noted in a report by the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuke industry claims that the world's 447 nuclear plants reduce CO2 emissions by 30 percent. But the true villain behind global warming is carbon. Existing nuclear plants save only about 5 percent of total CO2 emissions, hardly a bargain given the costs and risks associated with nuclear power. Moreover, the nuclear lobby likes to compare its record to coal-fired plants, rather than renewables such as solar, wind, and geothermal. Even when compared to coal, atomic power fails the test if investments are made to increase the efficient use of the existing energy supply. One recent study by the Rocky Mountain Institute found that "even under the most optimistic cost projections for future nuclear electricity, efficiency is found to be 2.5 to 10 times more cost effective for CO2-abatement. Thus, to the extent that investments in nuclear power divert funds away from efficiency, the pursuit of a nuclear response to global warming would effectively exacerbate the problem."

Clearly Senator Obama recognizes the inherent dangers of nuclear technology and knows of the disastrous failures that plagued Chernobyl, Mayak and Three Mile Island. Yet, despite his attempts to alert the public of future toxic nuclear leaks, Obama still considers atomic power a viable alternative to coal-fired plants. The atom lobby must certainly be pleased.
Jeffrey St. Clair is the author of Been Brown So Long It Looked Like Green to Me: the Politics of Nature and Grand Theft Pentagon. His newest book is End Times: the Death of the Fourth Estate, co-written with Alexander Cockburn. St. Clair's new book on the environment, Born Under a Bad Sky, will be published in December.

More details on Obama and Exelon

Another Obama donor, John W. Rowe, chairman of Exelon, is also chairman of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear power industry’s lobbying group, based in Washington. Exelon’s support for Mr. Obama far exceeds its support for any other presidential candidate.

In addition, Mr. Obama’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod, has worked as a consultant to Exelon. A spokeswoman for Exelon said Mr. Axelrod’s company had helped an Exelon subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison, with communications strategy periodically since 2002, but had no involvement in the leak controversy or other nuclear issues.

more:

In place of the straightforward reporting requirements was new language giving the nuclear commission two years to come up with its own regulations. The bill said that the commission “shall consider” — not require — immediate public notification, and also take into account the findings of a task force it set up to study the tritium leaks.

New York Times

ABC's George Stephanopoulos to Obama, "Your hometown paper, The Chicago Tribune, endorsed John McCain today. And had some kind words for you as well. But they went on to talk about your relationship with the real estate developer now indicted Tony Rezko. And they wrote this in their editorial. "Obama's assertion in network tv interviews last week that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing strains credulity. Tribune stories linked Rezko to questionable fund-raising for Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2004. More than a year before the adjacent home and property purchases by the Obamas and the Rezkos. One more time, senator, you need to divulge all there is to know about that relationship." ...

Obama and Rezko problems

Also track back to this blog who's done some detailed posting on Obama's skeletons

Despite Rhetoric, Obama Pushed Lobbyists' Interests

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has quietly worked with corporate lobbyists to help pass breaks worth $12 million.

In his speeches, Obama has lambasted lobbyists and moneyed interests who "have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play."

"It's an entire culture in Washington -- some of it legal, some of it not," the Democratic hopeful told a New York crowd in June, rallying support for his ethics reform agenda.

But last year, at the request of a hired representative for an Australian-owned chemical corporation Nufarm, Obama introduced nine separate bills exempting the company from import fees on a range of chemical ingredients it uses in the manufacture of pesticides and herbicides. Nufarm's U.S. subsidiary is based in Illinois.

Nufarm wasn't the only beneficiary of Obama's efforts to reduce customs fees and duties. In early May of 2006, two Washington lobbyists registered to work on behalf of Astellas Pharma, a Japanese-owned drug company which also has offices in Illinois. (more above at the link)

Obama and Illinois Veterans

There are reports that Obama “has missed an astonishing number of hearings and meetings of the Senate Veterans committee.” His graphic dereliction on veteran services and health is disturbing in light of reports showing that Illinois’ disabled veterans are at “rock bottom” — “dead last” — in benefits and claims processing of applications for disability. It is doubly distressing since Obama has repeatedly trumpeted his supposed grand commitment to veterans as one his special strong points on the path to the presidency. A recent detailed investigation published in the online journal No Quarter (and titled “While Illinois’ and the Nation’s Veterans Suffer, Obama Campaigns”) notes that Obama “is nothing if not audacious in touting his veterans committee membership as contributing to his ‘foreign policy’ experience for the presidency, while his own state’s veterans suffer.” Further: “Obama claimed that the veterans committee was ‘one of my first priorities.’ He said, ‘One of my first priorities was obtaining a seat on the Veterans Committee...And the thing that I pledged when I was sworn in as the Senator was that if nothing else in the first couple of years in the Senate, I could make absolutely certain that there would have been a strong advocate in the United States Senate,’ at a Veterans Town Hall Meeting, May 23, 2005. But Obama has skipped 19 of 37 VA committee meetings in the 109th congress... Obama’s attendance record was the second worst of all Democrats on the committee. He attended just 18 of the committee’s 37 meetings in Washington D.C”

"The Audacity of Deception"

Follow the money. Obama's presidential campaign has received nearly $5 million dollars from securities and investment firms - and - 'Protecting' Rev. Wright."

Obama Fundraiser, Rezko Arrested on Bond Revocation

Chicago: Indicted political fundraiser for the Barack Obama campaign for president, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who has poured thousands of dollars into Barack Obama’s political campaigns, was arrested by federal agents Monday after his $2 million bail was revoked.

According to Chicago Tribune:
Antoin "Tony" Rezko was roused at daybreak Monday from his Wilmette mansion by federal agents and ordered jailed by a judge who was disturbed that the politically connected businessman concealed a $3.5 million payment from overseas

Rezko is scheduled to begin trial next month. Obama has had a long time relationship with the businessman dating back to before the beginning of his political career in the early 1990s.

Barack Obama's ex boss is a Resko partner
Back in 1993 when Hillary was trying to make health insurance available to all Americans, Obama was working far away from government in a private firm with the name 'Allison S. Davis' on the door of the office.

Five years later, having left his Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland firm, Davis invested in Antoin "Tony'' Rezko's final government-subsidized, low-income housing project, state records show, in a deal handled by Davis' former law firm.
Davis and Rezko also went into business together, building upscale homes in the booming Kenwood neighborhood where Davis lives. The legal work on those deals was also done by Davis' former law firm, where Obama was working.

In October 2006, Rezko was indicted for extortion of businesses seeking to do business with the Illinois Teachers Retirement System Board and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. In addition, he has been charged with wire fraud for staging false transactions of his pizza stores in order to secure $10 million in loans from GE Capital. The case is being prosecuted by Patrick Fitzgerald who prosecuted the case against Scooter Libby arising from the CIA leak scandal.

One case of extortion being brought against Obama's major fund raiser - Rezko is accused of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking state business under Gov. Blagojevich, the government alleges. In one case, Rezko allegedly tried to shake down an investment firm trying to land state pension work for $1.5 million in campaign contributions for the governor.

Obama said yesterday on ABC's George Stephanopoulos Show that he will return all campaign funds that are connected to indicted Chicago developer Antoin Rezko. Obama has already returned $85,000 in Rezko-related contributions, but news reports have suggested recently that he has not returned all Rezko-related money. (Washington Post)

Yesterday George called Obama out on his questionable ethics-Your hometown paper, The Chicago Tribune, endorsed John McCain today. And had some kind words for you as well. But they went on to talk about your relationship with the real estate developer now indicted Tony Rezko. And they wrote this in their editorial. "Obama's assertion in network tv interviews last week that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing strains credulity. Tribune stories linked Rezko to questionable fund-raising for Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2004. More than a year before the adjacent home and property purchases by the Obamas and the Rezkos. One more time, senator, you need to divulge all there is to know about that relationship." ...

As reported at the Lyndon LaRouche PAC-

In their January 24 coverage, CNN went on to show what has long been very public in the Chicago newspapers: that Rezko will soon be tried in two separate cases for extortion, money laundering and fraud; and that when Obama entered politics he got from Rezko his "first significant campaign contribution" and much more later: "tainted cash, some illegal, some just unsavory." CNN showed buildings that Rezko had developed with public funds solicited for him by Obama, where the tenants were left heatless while Rezko's donations continued to Obama. CNN mentioned the deal involving Rezko, in which Obama got his own expensive house, bought below the asking price; and how Obama has now donated, to charity, $86,000 of Rezko's contributions to him.

- Rezko's Web -

But behind the story, the federal case against Rezko is based on a detailed picture of the web of influence Rezko and his cohorts exerted over state agencies managing Illinois' financial assets. Barack Obama's political career was spun out in tandem with this Rezko apparatus, particularly through Rezko's partner and Obama's former boss, Allison S. Davis.

Start with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's December 21, 2007 proffer in the Rezko case, with its charges of extortion and kickbacks taken in 2004 from the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System: $10,000 from this crime was channeled to a "political candidate" not named by the prosecutor. The fact that Rezko was on the finance committee of Obama's campaign for U.S. Senate, and the other facts in the case, make it clear that Barack Obama was the candidate in question.

Having raised half a million dollars for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Tony Rezko got the Governor to appoint Rezko's own men to the Teachers' Retirement System, among them Stuart Levine, now indicted. And Rezko got Allison S. Davis appointed to the Illinois State Board of Investment, in control of billions in state retirement funds. Although Davis has not been charged with wrongdoing, the feds are reportedly pressing a probe of that agency. Davis is currently the president of that State Board.

Barack Obama was a Harvard Law student in 1990 when he interviewed for a job with Tony Rezko's slum-redevelopment firm. He didn't go directly into the Rezko company. But in 1993 Obama was hired by Allison S. Davis, whose law firm (Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland) represented Rezko's operations over the years, while Rezko raised cash for Obama's electoral campaigns. Davis became Rezko's personal financial partner in slum-redevelopment deals, which were then backed by State Senator Obama.

In one of those deals, after both Obama and Davis had left the law firm, Obama wrote letters to state and city housing officials supporting the proposed Cottage View Terrace apartments, a project run by Tony Rezko and Allison S. Davis. The deal cost taxpayers $14 million and the partners got $855,000 in fees. Completed in 2002, the project is now managed by Davis's son Cullen Davis.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported in 2007 that Cottage View Terrace was originally supposed to be managed by Davis's longtime business partner, William Moorehead, until Davis's son was substituted. Moorehead was sent to prison in 2007 for stealing more than $1 million from the public housing projects he managed, including two he co-owned with Allison S. Davis.

- The University of Chicago and the CBOT -

The Obama-Davis nexus also reflects the higher echelon Anglo-American financier oligarchy, that influences politics and culture through such power centers as the University of Chicago and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).

When Barack Obama ran for U.S. Congress against incumbent Rep. Bobby Rush in 2000, the Chicago Reader reported "whispers" that "Obama is being funded by a `Hyde Park mafia,' a cabal of University of Chicago types, and that there's an `Obama Project' masterminded by whites who want to push him up the political ladder."

Obama was then a state senator and University of Chicago law lecturer. The district was 65% black, but included the rarified Hyde Park neighborhood, home of Obama and of his employer, the University of Chicago. The black community was markedly unfavorable to Obama's challenge against Rush, a former Black Panther, who defeated Obama 61-30 in the Democratic primary.

The "Hyde Park Mafia" purportedly backing Obama's rise was centered in the University's campaign for school reform, along the lines of the Ford Foundation and British efforts to corral American slum residents into blind, self-defeating local politics.

Meanwhile, the media love affair and early coronation of Obama continues, as they did with Bush in 2000. They will report on nothing of signifigance regarding Barack Obama, nothing that should matter in a presidential race. They continue to play him up as if his great orator abilities are the only qualifications needed to be president. But alas, if he should get the party nomination, we can be sure the Republican party will rip him to shreds, and probably, rightly so.