All party politics has an inherent risk of conducting its business not for higher principles but for the banal benefit of the party’s people. But Democrats carry this to a high art form that few Republicans could ever hope to match.
OMG!!
“Ethics waiver”
The desolation and profanation of the Supreme Law of the Land, summed up in two words.
They do what ever they want....who’s gonna stop them?
Judicial Watch. Ho, hum. More donation letters expected.
An over-looked piece of the puzzle???
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2333626/posts
Who “Advises” Valerie Jarrett?
Jarrett has surrounded herself with some rather unsavory characters who appear to be more like ‘enforcers’ than ‘advisers.’
Meet Mike Strautmanis, Jarrett’s Chief of Staff.
Strautmanis is one of Barack and Michelle Obama’s closest friends, going all the way back to the beginning in Chicago. He has worked not only for the Obamas but for disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
But here is an interesting tidbit concerning Strautmanis, in Jarrett’s own words:
Obama describes him as a “utility man,” and campaign advisor and Obama family friend Valerie Jarrett says he’s the person you call when you need help with a delicate situation. “He understands the importance of the personal touch and that e-mails and phone calls are not always appropriate,” she said, talking about a specific example that she wouldn’t describe in detail…
http://www.examiner.com/x-3704-Columbia-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m9d5-The-powers-behind-the-throne
In classic Chicago style, he moved up in law and politics partly through the relationships he forged.
He was befriended by the Obamas before he even went to law school. At the University of Illinois Law School, he spent late-night study sessions at the International House of Pancakes with now-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who describes Strautmanis as “in a permanent state of Zen, very even-handed, very mild-mannered.”
Making connections
When as a young lawyer he developed an interest in politics, he seized an opportunity at an office Christmas party to introduce himself to South Side political boss Tom Hynes and wound up assisting Hynes’ son Dan with the statewide Democratic coordinated campaign for Bill Clinton and Al Gore the next year.
When he wanted to move to Washington, Strautmanis thrust his resume into the hands of then-U.S. Assistant Atty. Gen. Deval Patrick, now governor of Massachusetts, as Patrick left a speech in Chicago. A Clinton administration political appointment followed.
(snip)
Chance encounter: Met Michelle Robinson as a summer intern at Sidley Austin and befriended her boyfriend, Barack Obama.
(snip)
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(no link)
Working in the White House a ‘pinch yourself thing’ every day - Highlights — Michael Strautmanis works in public engagement, intergovernmental affairs office — Strautmanis has known the Obamas since his days working as a paralegal — “I get to see a man that I’ve known ... really step into this role,” he says
CNN Wire - Thursday, July 23, 2009
Author: Xuan Thai CNN White House Producer
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Michael Strautmanis knew the Obamas before they were the Obamas.
While working as a paralegal for a large law firm in Chicago, Illinois, he met the then-Michelle Robinson and her fiancn, Barack Obama.
Strautmanis , 40, looked to the Obamas as both friends and role models. He and his wife got married the same year as the Obamas and followed their path into law.
Since then, Strautmanis has volunteered for Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign, worked as a staffer in his Senate office and now serves as White House chief of staff for the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.
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2 more with Chicago ties join White House staff
Chicago Sun-Times (IL) - Saturday, December 6, 2008
Author: Lynn Sweet, The Chicago Sun-Times
President-elect Barack Obama added two more high-level staffers with Chicago ties to his White House staff on Friday: attorney Tina Tchen and his former Senate counsel, Michael Strautmanis .
Both will work for Valerie Jarrett, the confidant to Obama and wife Michelle who will be a senior adviser and assistant to the president for intergovernment relations and public liaison. Jarrett, in preparing for her new post, was in New York Friday holding separate meetings with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Gov. David Paterson.
Tchen was appointed White House director of public liaison and Strautmanis will serve as Jarrett’s chief of staff and assistant to the president.
Tchen is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and a longtime Democratic activist who advised the Obama presidential campaign on women’s issues. Tchen was also a major fund-raiser for the campaign, a member of Obama’s National Finance Council.
The public liaison office is the White House link to constituency groups, though it may have added tasks in the Obama administration. Tchen is “extraordinarily gifted in listening and reaching out,” Jarrett said.
Tchen has known Jarrett for years; both are part of a close-knit, well-connected network of powerful Chicago women. Mayor Daley appointed Tchen to the Chicago Public Library Board in 2003.
Strautmanis first entered the Obama orbit when he was a paralegal for Michelle Obama at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin who encouraged him to attend law school. He was chief counsel and deputy chief of staff in Obama’s Senate office, moving over to the presidential campaign where he was a senior counsel.
Jarrett met Strautmanis after he joined Obama’s Senate staff and they worked closely together in the campaign. “Steady as a rock,” Jarrett said.
Earlier, Strautmanis , a Chicago native, was legislative director and counsel for then-Rep. Rod Blagojevich who went on to work for his first gubernatorial campaign.
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http://24ahead.com/whitehousegov-omits-blagojevich-link-michael-strautmanis-bio
Whitehouse.gov omits Blagojevich link from Michael Strautmanis biography
I wonder why no numbers for Air Force One, backup airplane, plane for limos etc. I don’t think this is the total cost and if they were going to release figures, then let’s see all of them. On second thought, we probably couldn’t stand it.
Excerpt:
An organization that investigates and fights government corruption announced this week that it obtained records detailing costs associated with a trip made by President and Mrs. Obama and key members of the administration to Copenhagen, Denmark, for the expressed purpose of securing the 2016 Olympics for the city of Chicago.
Expenses for the two-week trip appear to have far exceeded $467,175, in light of the fact that costs associated with the aircrafts ? two Boeing 747s and several Air Force cargo planes – have not been made available...
bttt