Inside story of Michelle's trip (Damage control)

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | August 9, 2010 | Lynn Sweet

[maggief]

WASHINGTON--Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha returned from Spain on Sunday, a vacation at a lavish hotel on the Mediterranean coast that triggered her first controversy since becoming first lady. I'm told she made the trip because she promised one of her closest friends, a longtime Chicago pal who just lost her father, she would spend time with her.

(snip)

So why did Mrs. Obama go to Spain at this time? She's not tone-deaf politically. What was behind the "mother-daughter" vacation?

A White House source told me that Blanchard's father passed away and Mrs. Obama was not able to make the funeral at the beginning of July. Blanchard had promised her daughter she would take her to Spain for her birthday. She asked Mrs. Obama and Sasha to come with. (Malia is at overnight camp.)

"She felt it was important as a dear friend to do this," I was told.

[hoosiermama]

There is a big parking scandel in Chicago...DOn’t remember all the details , but I’m going to look.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

"She felt it was important as a dear friend to do this," I was told.

I'd like to go to a five star 600 room luxury resort in Spain with my dear friends -- at taxpayer expense -- too.

[STARWISE]

The latest spin.

Boy, is it ever! And good ole buddy Lynn Sweet plays their cards just like a mind numbed automaton she is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She vacationed with two women, one of them a longtime Chicago pal, Anita Blanchard, who is the obstetrician who delivered Sasha and Malia. Blanchard is married to Marty Nesbitt -- President Obama's buddy and the treasurer of Obama's presidential campaign fund.

There was one other woman. Total: four daughters among the three women. They paid for their hotel rooms and other personal and travel expenses.

The trip involved six White House advance staffers and two East Wing staffers, deputy Chief of Staff Melissa Winter and Mrs. Obama's personal assistant, Kristen Jarvis, according to Mrs. Obama's spokeswoman Catherine McCormick Lelyveld.

Mrs. Obama does travel with significant security -- and in a trip like this, three shifts of uniformed and plain-clothes agents and military personnel flew with her on a big Air Force 757. No matter where she goes -- domestic or international -- any first lady gets protection and she does not decide how many agents are needed.

So why did Mrs. Obama go to Spain at this time? She's not tone-deaf politically. What was behind the "mother-daughter" vacation?

A White House source told me that Blanchard's father passed away and Mrs. Obama was not able to make the funeral at the beginning of July. Blanchard had promised her daughter she would take her to Spain for her birthday. She asked Mrs. Obama and Sasha to come with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaine Defends Michelle Obama's Spain Trip: 'She's A Mom'

Excerpt:

Kaine said, "She's a mom." He said this was an opportunity for her to take nine-year-old daughter Sasha to a part of the world she hadn't seen before. Kaine said President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are "focused on being good parents."

JUST GIMME A BREAK !!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And this was Politico's front page ..with a HUGE picture of her ..early this am. They've since moved it WAY down the front page, with NO photo, but that photo still headlines the article below.

Michelle Obama's star power in demand

Excerpt:

Michelle is "still a reminder of what people liked about President Obama," added Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer. Unlike her husband, the first lady "can retain some of the image and the excitement from the campaign because you're not pushing policy, you're not angering members of Congress.”

~~~~~~~~~

Sidebar - Blago trial update: Jury's back in -- Day 9

By Natasha Korecki on August 9, 2010 10:53 AM, Reporting with Sarah Ostman

Jurors deciding the fate of Rod and Robert Blagojevich are back at it his morning, beginning day 9 of their deliberations.

Lawyers gathered for a 10:30 a.m. court status but Judge James Zagel's staff said there was no business this morning.

That means the panel of six men and six women hasn't sent any additional notes to the judge asking for guidance.

On July 30, they asked Zagel for all the transcript testimony. He denied the request but said he may give them specific witnesses.

Jurors haven't followed up.

But -0 and posse were in Chicago just last week.

~~~~

___________________________________________________________

~~~~~

Meanwhile yesterday, during all this shameful ostentation, the arrogant prince of DC, along with Education Secretary Arne Duncan played with Chicago Bulls players Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose, as well as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Hall-of-Famers Bill Russell and Earvin "Magic" Johnson.... but it was for the troops. Video

Right ..

ROFL and eyerolls!!! Ooh, the rich WH spin, the willing, unprofessionally biased reporters and pundits who carry their water, and the insane myth of any popularity. They really think folks are that stupid.

[printhead]

So what about the other 40-60 “friends” that went on that trip?

Not to worry, Kirsten Powers column in today’s NYP ( http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/foolish_trip_U9ovxbpefIXEOlmbzshMRL )

debunks the 40-60 friends;
“Yes, the initial reports of Michelle Obama’s traveling with a 40-person posse were wrong; it’s actually two friends and four of their daughters, a couple of aides and advance staff members. But at this point, it hardly matters; the damage has been done.”

See, no harm done.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

LOL as always the left hand didn’t tell the left hand what the new lie was.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_politics;_ylt=AqU_Xpq6DHRqdlHKz.LuMpyyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTI5OHNqNTBzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwODA5L3VzX29iYW1hBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDOQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNrYWluZWRvbnRwb2w-

[hoosiermama]

Am at the beginning Here is a start

From:

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:TqPSBVbBJCgJ:www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/03/09/sunday-scoops-rezko-gate-and-adviser-gate/+Martin+Nesbit+%2B+Eric+Whitaker+%2B+Rezko&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

---

He [Obama] invited a group of African-American professionals to the house of Marty Nesbit, who had served as finance chairman of his congressional campaign. Nesbitt is the president of a Chicago parking management company and vice president of the Pritzker Realty Group, part of the Pritzker family empire…He had been friends with Obama for years. Their wives were also close…

---

Marty Nesbitt, 44, founded an airport-parking operation called the Parking Spot ( PRG Parking Management LLC, a Chicago company, )(its biggest investor is the Pritzker family) and chairs the Chicago Housing Authority. He’s also presidential campaign treasurer for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, godfather to Mr. Nesbitt’s youngest son.

[Siena Dreaming]

She vacationed with two women, one of them a longtime Chicago pal, Anita Blanchard, who is the obstetrician who delivered Sasha and Malia. Blanchard is married to Marty Nesbitt -- President Obama's buddy and THE TREASURER OF OBAMA'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN FUND.

Ah, so one of these two "personal friends" Michelle travelled with just happens to be married to Obama's main money guy?

Stinky, stinky, stinky.

[KeyLargo]

[ebiskit]

Michelle Ontoinette. . .

tD

[hoosiermama]

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:etOwjL8qW9oJ:thecommonconservative.com/%3Fp%3D161+Rezko+%2B+Pritzker+Realty+Group&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

...First, let’s start with the Superior Bank in Chicago. That bank failed directly under the control of Penny Pritzker. She is Obama’s Campaign Finance Chairman and has been instrumental in raising millions for his campaign. The regulators closed Superior Bank in 2001 because of a vast number of sub-prime mortgage loans. She took over a failed savings and loan in 1988 and it was renamed Superior Bank. ...

...Superior Bank was very active in the sub-prime lending and no doubt, Obama knew exactly who Penny Pritzker was and her involvement in the ACORN sponsored lending practices

...Remember the name Quintin E. Primo III, as he is CEO of Capri Capital in Chicago. Capri Capital will reemerge later in this article as they have direct ties to Obama, Pritzker, and also direct ties to Rezko.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What happened to the parking:

FROM: http://www.corruptpolitics.net/?tag=chicago-parking

... In the midst of our current financial crisis, Chicago, IL. attempting to ward off all the crisis it has has laid off a slew of their tradesmen or limited their services. This past few days snowfall and cold weather has run havoc on the people and their cars. The drivers of plows and salt trucks sent home at end of normal day and if something happens on the weekend it will have to wait till Monday.

Now for the parking! Chicago has subbed out a lease for the parking meters. A 75 year lease! It is expected that the price for a vehicle parked for an hour will go up from $.25 to up to $6.00.

Now I don’t know what the situation is with welfare at the moment but what will this increase do to all the folks working at minimum wage there at $7.75 an hour and driving downtown???

[hoosiermama]

COmpletely off topic:

...snip...

Interestingly, First Hawaiian’s ownership structure leads back to Nadhmi Auchi, a former Iraqi Baathist official of Saddam Hussein’s government, who more recently financed business ventures with now-convicted-felon and Chicago political ‘fixer’ Tony Rezko creating a condition of “longstanding indebtedness” of Rezko to Auchi’s holding company. Rezko funded the political campaigns of impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and President Barack Obama. Rezko also assisted Obama in the purchase of his Chicago mansion.

...snip...

“Founded in 1858, First Hawaiian is a unit of BancWest Corp., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank by market value.....”

To put the pieces together, here are a selection of articles on Barack Obama, Rod Blagojevich, Tony Rezko, and Nadhmi Auchi, once described as BNP Paribas’ largest private shareholder:
(Links at site)
Obama’s Iraqi Oil-for-Food Connection

Iraqi Billionaire threatens reporters investigating Obama-Rezko affair

Lehman Bros: Obama’s Rezko-Auchi Conflict of Interest

Obama’s Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac connection

Mansion ‘mistake’ piles the pressure on Barack Obama

[Uncle Hal]

I find it amazing that the White House could not come up with a better excuse than this. What a lame story.

[maggief]

http://www.chicagonewscoop.org/abu-dhabi-shares-profits-from-parking-meters/

Abu Dhabi Shares Profits From Parking Meters
By DAN MIHALOPOULOS
December 6, 2009

When Mayor Richard M. Daley traveled to Abu Dhabi in February, his office announced that the trip was intended to sell Chicago as a place to do business. Left unsaid was that that Persian Gulf emirate was about to become one of the biggest investors in a deal to lease Chicago’s parking meters for 75 years.

The city signed the now-controversial, $1.15 billion lease with a new company called Chicago Parking Meters LLC in February, and city officials said two funds of the Morgan Stanley investment fund made up 99 percent of the new company, with “several other entities” sharing the remaining 1 percent.

In fact, a Chicago News Cooperative investigation has found that investment arms of the oil-rich Abu Dhabi government hold more than a 25 percent stake in the company that privatized the city’s 36,000 parking meters. German financial company Allianz also has a large minority interest, and the remaining 50.1 percent is held by partnerships assembled by Morgan Stanley.

(snip)

[hoosiermama]

JJJ was also vacationing in Spain....right next door to MO.

ANd his position to the campaign is.....

[Liz]

I sure don’t want to defend Lynn Sweet——but she was one of the first to criticize the trip.

I’m reading this latest piece with tongue in cheek-—Sweet seems to be saying,” NO WAY are Americans gonna believe this crap from the WH. The WH handed me a hot story here, and I’m gonna milk it for all its worth.”

[Siena Dreaming]

My brain doesn't seem to be kicking in today.

Who is JJJ?

[hoosiermama]

Jesse Jackson Jr.

[onyx]

Lynn Sweet of Chicago - what a coinky doink.

[Chode]

w00t...

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

re: "liberals thinking Americans are stupid"

Well, you know, the losers in small towns, "they get bitter and cling to guns and religion."
Limousine liberals from Harvard and Chicago political machines?
They go to Spain and luxury hotels, stiffing the losers with the tab. "Everybody does it."

This should make her a great spokesman for living more frugally, cutting back, clipping coupons, turning the AC back, saving energy to cut down on those carbon footprints. People should really carpool more and "live within their means" to fight global warming.