Posted on 02/07/2008 9:27:50 PM PST by NormsRevenge
NEW ORLEANS - Democrat Barack Obama suggested Thursday that Hillary Rodham Clinton follow his lead and release her and her husband's income tax returns so the public can see where the $5 million she loaned her presidential campaign came from.
A day earlier, Clinton acknowledged that she had made the loan late last month. At the time, Obama was raising and spending more money than her heading into the round of presidential primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday.
Asked whether he would call on the Clintons to release their tax returns, Obama stopped short of saying they should.
"I'll just say that I've released my tax returns. That's been a policy I've maintained consistently. I think the American people deserve to know where you get your income from. But I'll leave it up to you guys to chase it down," he told reporters on the flight to Omaha, Neb., for a rally.
"I've disclosed my income tax returns," he said. "I think we set the bar in terms of transparency and disclosure that has been a consistent theme of my campaign and my career in politics."
There was no immediate comment from Clinton's campaign.
Obama noted that Clinton is wealthier than he is. Asked whether he would rule out tapping his personal funds to pay for his presidential campaign, he said, "I don't have enough money to drop $5 million into a campaign."
Clinton's financial disclosures, which reveal only broad ranges of assets, place her and former President Clinton's wealth between $10 million to $50 million.
Obama released tax documents last year showing income of more than $991,000 for him and his wife, Michelle. The figure included his Senate salary as well as her income as an administrator of the University of Chicago Hospitals.
Yeah, right. And John Kerry is going to release his military records.
Why does a presidential candidate have to ask the media to track this stuff down on his opponents? Shouldn’t the media pursue this without needing to be prompted?
That's a pretty large total - a million/yr or so. Unless his wife's job is extraordinarily high paying there's a chunk of income there from something else too.
“$991,000 for him and his wife, Michelle. The figure included his Senate salary as well as her income as an administrator of the University of Chicago Hospitals.” With a senate salary of around 200k, $791,000 for his wife seems REALLY high for an administrator.
Ironically, this was the same park in which Vince Foster...
And we all know the MSM's track record on that one.
-PJ
Book sales, I would imagine they sold more once he announced running for the WH.
He he. I love it. Has anyone else challenged the Clintons like this? Watch your back Obama, the Clintons are not going to be happy.
If my memories serve me well, Michelle was pulling down good bucks as a hospital exec or such.. well into the 6 digits, in the 300K range plus or such, not sure about other investment income..
“Administrator” is just a lofty title that provides cover for the usual sort of Chicago patronage. Kind of like Obama’s so-called job before he was elected to the Senate, “community organizer”.
Ooh, bad move.
He probably had some income from the 2 books he wrote
I’m not sure you can accuse the University of Chicago of shelling out $300,000 for a “patronage” job - not without evidence. Even in Chicago!
The problem the Clinton’s have is re-surfacing carefully laundered money.
Her job is a patronage position for a woman with a BS from Princeton and a JD from Harvard. It is not called “patronage” when the recipient is in the upper middle-class, just as it isn’t called “welfare” when affluent people get money from the government.
http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2005/20050509-obama.html
“My goal in this position,” Obama said, “is to continue to broaden the Hospitals’ relationships with our neighborhood and with our city.” The University of Chicago Hospitals is one of the largest employers on the South Side and one of the most renowned medical institutions in Chicago and even the Midwest. “We have an obligation,” she said, “to ensure that we use our resources on behalf of our neighborhood and our city. In this new role, my goal is to better integrate community engagement into the culture of this institution and to expand our partnerships with local organizations and institutions.”
Nice work, if you can get it.
Thanks for the info. Smells like featherbedding, all right.
That’s probably a better term than “patronage”. It is simply a very convenient situation for the Obamas, not necessarily the result of illicit dealings.
Some of the money might a retainage from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Obama to propagate the religion of peace and provide a good image for mohammed (piss be upon him)
I hope someday that the evidence will emerge to prove that $200 million was on the table for Clinton to pardon Marc Rich. I have been told that the first trip the impeached president made after he left the White House was to Switzerland. Can anyone confirm that?
Not sure,, he’s like a gadfly, all over the damn place.. interpol may know..
Good grief what a joke. Illinois tax payer funds at work. No one should earn even a 100K for that type of BS position. Let's assume she has a cushy job and makes 300K. That still leaves 400+K in other income. Curious.
What truly depresses me is that McCain and Obama have no significant work experience in the private sector and Hillary's only business experience is the Rose Law Firm! All of these jerks suck at the government teat while the rest of us saps pay for their lifestyle and ambitions.
Registrar of voters, Chicago style?
yitbos
Just another way of getting a state senator in your pocket.
Next move for the Daley machine, POTUS.
yitbos
Does Obama want to die?
In the case of the Clintoons, the media will have to be whipped and beaten to investigate anything.
Not even a body in a park or a ransacked office will cause the media to do more than shrug if a Clintoon is possibly involved.
Looks like Obama is finally taking the gloves off. 'Bout time. I've got all this popcorn stockpiled just waiting for the Dim fur to start flying.......
One would have to know several things to assess this: the administrative structure and pay scale of the University of Chicago Hospital system; whether the job was pre-existing or created for Michelle Obama; when she took the job; and whether there is actually a serious work component expected and delivered.
We have created a real mess with congressional "ethics" rules. Among other things, we have steadily closed off avenues for outside income. This forces Members to sever long-existing professional and business ties with their communities. It isolates them inside the congressional bubble, makes them totally dependent on their congressional salaries, and thus reinforces the trend to careerism. It creates another disincentive to service for highly accomplished people, who frequently have diversified financial interests that may be difficult to untangle; these are the kinds of people that we presumably want to get into politics but the ethics rules make it harder than it ought to be.
The pay of congressional wives (and other family members) has therefore emerged as a trendy loophole. The obvious point of suspicion about Michelle Obama is that -- if I recall correctly, and this needs to be checked -- she got the high paying U. of Chicago job shortly after Barak was elected Senator. Now, Michelle Obama is a very accomplished professional lady who already (I believe) had a solid career and income of her own. She is, as far as I know, a perfectly plausible hire for the U. of Chicago. Provided it was a preexisting job ... provided she puts in the hours ... provided the pay is commensurate with the U. of Chicago's overall compensation structure.
Inquiring reporters should check all this out. They certainly would if Obama was a Republican. However, since Obama is the second coming of JFK, probably none of the MSM will risk the sacrilege of actually investigating. Just remember, however, that if we start digging into Michelle Obama's salary, there are probably a lot of congressional wives on both sides of the aisle whose jobs came with a wink and a nod. What makes it hard is that most of these are real jobs and most of the wives are perfectly qualified; it's just that they got them because of their ties to the Member.
I wonder if they are still deducting Bill’s used underwear as a charitable deduction?
Are you kidding?-
that was peanuts!
Hillary,Bill and Chelsea have their OWN charity now!
AND guess what- they are ALL on the board and get paid-
Think there was EVER an audit of this Sham-
and of WHO donates to this farce of a charity-?
Go get her Barry!
Like it didn't matter in 1996?
``The Obama people have an obvious advantage in going to a grassroots network,'' said Democratic consultant Chris Lehane, a White House spokesman under President Bill Clinton. ``That doesn't mean the Clinton folks can't create the same network. Obviously, you need to develop a broader base from the smaller donors.''
They need a way to cover up their duplicity and I think they have found it.
“Good grief what a joke. Illinois tax payer funds at work. No one should earn even a 100K for that type of BS position. Let’s assume she has a cushy job and makes 300K. That still leaves 400+K in other income. Curious.”
Book sales. Let’s all say it together.
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