Posted on 06/10/2008 3:19:25 AM PDT by Kaslin
Ever since Barack Obama chose former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson to vet potential vice presidential choices, critics have questioned Johnson’s ties to Countrywide Financial Corporation, a mortgage lender that gave Johnson millions in below-market loans.
The Obama campaign issued a vehement statement Monday calling questions about Johnson’s loans “overblown and irrelevant.”
Obama’s GOP opposition, however, is showing no tolerance for Johnson’s role in Obama’s campaign and is eagerly tying the scandal to Obama’s disgraced landlord friend, Tony Rezko. While Obama was kicking off a two-week battleground state economy tour in Raleigh, North Carolina on Monday, the Republican National Committee was busy blasting out emails to reporters with “Obama’s Hypocrisy on Housing” in the subject line. Dueling statements from RNC spokesman Alex Conat said “It takes a lot of nerve for Barack Obama to stand before voters, speak to the rising costs hurting families, attack his opponent on the housing crisis, and completely ignore the fact that both he and his campaign leadership have enjoyed housing deals that no average North Carolinian would be able to access” and “His campaign’s suggestion that controversy surrounding his senior adviser’s favorable loans is ‘overblown’ is out-of-touch, but it’s what we’ve come to expect from a candidate who lives in a multi-million dollar house thanks to Tony Rezko.”
(Rezko, a former Chicago-based fundraiser for Obama, was convicted on 16 of 24 counts of corruption last Friday.)
Johnson, a former Obama campaign “bundler,” was selected by the Obama campaign to be a member of a three-person team to vet Obama’s vice-presidential short list with Caroline Kennedy Shlossberg and former Attorney General Eric Holder last week.
Since then, a spate of new stories have been published criticizing Johnson because he secured $7 million in loans through Countrywide largely because of his close relationship with Countywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo. The Wall Street Journal published a story Saturday that said: “Countrywide Financial Corp. makes mortgage loans through a vast network of offices, brokers and call centers. But a few customers have gotten their loans a special way: through Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo ... One was James Johnson, a longtime Democratic Party power and an adviser to Sen. Barack Obama's campaign, who this past week was named to a panel that is vetting running-mate possibilities for the presumed nominee.”
Complicating the issue for Obama is the fact that he has attacked the housing industry for granting too many irresponsible loans, much like the ones Johnson secured. Obama specifically singled out Countrywide in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by saying, “These are the people who are responsible for infecting the economy and helping to create a home foreclosure crisis.”
Rather than defend or denounce Johnson in their statement, the Obama campaign sought to tamp down the importance of the story. “Americans know we face a critical choice in this race—and isn’t [sic] about the terms of an outside advisor’s loans,” it said. “This race is about leadership and which candidate will crack down on fraudulent lenders and bring real relief to American struggling in the grip of the housing crisis.”
The statement also reiterated Obama’s support for a $10 billion “Foreclosure Prevention Fund” to provide federal aid for homeowners who can’t make their house payments.
Dear God, He is Bill Clinton + Jimmy Carter revisited. Bring on the problems an character defects and let’s put them in the White House.
FOX NEWS.com (AP): Chicago - "POLITICAL FUNDRAISER TONY REZKO FOUND GUILTY ON 16 COUNTS IN CORRUPTION TRIAL" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A prominent fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted Wednesday of fraud and money laundering after a high-profile federal trial provided an unusually detailed glimpse of the pay-to-play politics that has made Illinois infamous.") (June 4, 2008)
On tough questions, Obama never answers the question, always attacks the questioner. That becomes annoying real quick, and in real life is one sign of a confidence man, a crook.
Like Bill Clinton.
Must be Obama’s plan. Only associate with people who have checkered pasts. (and presents)
That way no surprises later.
The Democratic Party is an Organized Criminal Organization - led at present by two Mafia families - one in ascendance (Chicago / Massachusetts Mafia) - and one moving more underground - (Dizie/NYC Mafia)
America’s Mainstream Media has close ties to the criminal organizations (obviously) since they routinely ignore or sweep under the rug any and all criminality (of either HRC or Obama or any within the Dem Rat Crime family) with attacks on any who expose the crimes.
Of course the danger of these crooks is that they also happen to hate freedom, to hate whites, to hate men, and to love communist/Islamic butcher/enslavers.
They long to be able to bully Americans out of as much of their hard earned cash and holdings as possible, destroying what is left of the middle class, and putting as many into poverty BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY - AS POSSIBLE.
He is not any different then any other liberal. If you have noticed they all dance around question instead of answering them, hoping you forget what you wanted to ask.
question=questions
It's also a sign of his Saul Alinsky training. Downright scary.
This race is about leadership, and what type of person the next President would pick for important positions. Obama picked Johnson to choose the Vice President.
How does Obama think he can crack down on Fraudulent lenders when his VP is chosen by a guy who profited by access to those fraudulent lenders?
I don't like "guilt by association" -- But now it's about Obama thinking that Johnson's getting special treatment by fraudulent lenders that went broke costing taxpayers millions is "no big deal".
Hilarious to watch Peter Fenn trying to defend this man.
Seems everyone in the obambi camp is out to make George W Bush the most gifted orator of all time.
Also the guilt by association will make it very hard for anyone to run for office including people on our side.
Must be Obama’s plan. Only associate with people who have checkered pasts. (and presents)
That way no surprises later.
Maybe Hillary can use that against Obama to snatch the nomination away from him ( </sarcasm>, I think)
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