Posted on 08/23/2008 6:27:04 PM PDT by shrinkermd
Four years ago Obama was in a tight race with a Republican opponent--Jack Ryan. Wikipedia records what happpened.
...Ryan married actress Jeri Ryan in 1991; together they have a son, Alex Ryan. They divorced in 1999 in California, and the records of the divorce were sealed at their mutual request. Five years later, when Ryan's Senate campaign began, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have the records released. On March 3, 2004, several of Ryan's GOP primary opponents urged release of the records.Both Ryan and his wife agreed to make their divorce records public, but not make the custody records public, claiming that the custody records could be harmful to their son if released. On March 16, 2004, Ryan won the GOP primary with 36 percent to 23 percent against Jim Oberweis who came in second. Obama won the Democratic primary, with 53 percent to 23 percent against Dan Hynes, who came in second.
Barack Obama's backers emailed reporters about the divorce controversy, but refrained from on-the-record commentary about the divorce files. On March 29, 2004, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider ruled that several of the Ryans' divorce records should be opened to the public, and ruled that a court-appointed referee would later decide which custody files should remain sealed to protect the interests of Ryan's young child. The following week, on April 2, 2004, Barack Obama changed his position about the Ryans' soon-to-be-released divorce records, and called on Democrats to not inject them into the campaign. The Ryan campaign characterized Obama's shift as hypocritical, because Obama's backers had been emailing reports about the divorce records prior to Judge Schnider's decision.
On June 22, 2004, after receiving the report from the court-appointed referee, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider released the files that were deemed consistent with the interests of Ryan's young child. In those files, Jeri Ryan alleged that Jack Ryan had taken her to sex clubs in several cities, intending for them to have sex in public. The decision to release these files generated much controversy because it went against both parents' direct request, and because it reversed the earlier decision to seal the papers in the best interest of the child. Jim Oberweis, Ryan's defeated GOP opponent, commented that "these are allegations made in a divorce hearing, and we all know people tend to say things that aren't necessarily true in divorce proceedings when there is money involved and custody of children involved."
Prior to release of the documents, Ryan had told leading Republicans that five percent of the divorce file could cause problems for his campaign. But after the documents were released, GOP officials including state GOP Chair Judy Baar Topinka said they felt Ryan had misleadingly indicated the divorce records would not be embarrassing.That charge of dishonesty led to intensifying calls for Ryan's withdrawal, though Topinka said after the June 25 withdrawal that Ryan's "decision was a personal one" and that the state GOP had not pressured Ryan to drop out. Ryan's campaign ended less than a week after the custody records were opened, and Ryan officially filed the documentation to withdraw on July 29, 2004. The same party leaders who called for Ryan's resignation controversially chose Alan Keyes as Ryan's replacement in the race; Keyes lost to Obama, 27% to 70%.
I>Subsequent to his withdrawal from the U.S. Senate race in Illinois, Jack Ryan has characterized what happened to him as a "new low for politics in America". According to Ryan, it was unprecedented in American politics for a newspaper to sue for access to sealed custody documents. Ryan opposed unsealing the divorce records of Senator John Kerry during Kerry's race against George W. Bush in 2004, and Kerry's divorce records remained sealed. Ryan has made this request: "let me be the only person this has happened to. Don’t ask for Ted Kennedy’s. Don’t ask for John McCain’s. Don’t ask for Joe Lieberman’s. Just stop. This is not a good precedent for American society if you really want the best and brightest to run."
The Wikipedia link is: HERE.
Obama has been groomed by the far left, liberal intellgentsia and they have made the way for him such that his present race is a real contest. Ordinarily he is just given a pass to office holder status.
Hope for a fair election, but the norms are based on South Chicago.
bump
I remember it quite well. The RINO/Rodent Combine ran out the best Senator from IL since Ev Dirksen with Pete Fitzgerald, and thanks to that, we all got Obama.
yeah, i read the same.
also, the way that his organization surprised a political pro like hillary
is interesting.
someone went around the country district by district and calculated an edge for obama.
I remember, it was big news up in Chicagoland on WLS/the ‘rokon show’.
They slobber over Nobama nowdays. Its a pathetic radio show.
this is one of the reasons that rush
keeps saying that there’s someone behind obama.
I don’t trust divorce records anyway. People will say anything when it comes to trying to get a big share of the money or when it comes to custody.
Ryan is right. Those records should be private.
I remember it well too, however I’m pretty sure Obama was leading Ryan. These jackals have no problem going after those who they deem evil (Republicans, Christians) because they feel they deserve it. Different story when it’s John Edwards, NJ’s governor, someone on their side.
“I remember, it was big news up in Chicagoland on WLS/the ‘rokon show’.”
Uh, that would be the “Roe Conn Show.” Roe is a liberal who used to be fairly indiscriminate with whom he blasted (he was an equal-opportunity satirist, so to speak). However, he has pretty much made it clear he is in the tank for Obama.
Not only was Ryan run out by the media/courts but the Democrat expected to win the primary was whacked with the release of information regarding a sexual harassment suit which amounted almost to a hill of beans.
BUT the Democrats this time underestimated the opposition the rest of the nation will show to electing an Illinois politician. Those not corrupt to the core are dumb as hell. This one is both.
Interesting- Pat Caddel was just on the panel on FOX- someone said isn't Biden a good pick for Obama- Caddel said he'd like to know who's REALLY doing the picking and mentioned the Daley machine in Chicago..and that if the press wasn't so busy covering for Obama they might be looking into his background.
Not guilty!
...but we still like Seven-of-Nine....:^)
I recall Obama claiming that he had “always been the underdog.” If he was leading Ryan, I’m sure it wasn’t by the margin by which he eventually beat Keyes.
Obambi would be bussing tables in some Chicago restaurant right now if the IL GOP had any brass ones. What the Chicago LIBune did was uncalled for, but Judy Barr Topinka literally through Jack Ryan under the bus. She had higher office aspirations, so she had to eliminate any controversy (she eventually got her butt kicked in the Governor’s race).
Jack Ryan is a good man. He would have served his IL constituency with integrity. Instead we ended up with carpetbagger Keyes and the rest is history. Now we have the unique distinction of having two of the most liberal U.S. Senators...Durbin and Obambi.
What happened to Jack Ryan was completely unjust. The Chicago media is so biased, it’s a virtual auxiliary of the state Democrat Party.
Chicago observers might remember that Obama’s first election to the state Senate was similar to this. State Senator Alice Palmer ran for Congress and indicated support for Obama to succeed her in the state Senate. But Palmer was defeated in the DemocRAT primary by Jesse Jackson, Jr. So she decided to run for reelection, but Obama, who was already running, got her disqualified from the race by challenging some of her campaign’s signatures.
For what it’s worth, Palmer endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.
No accident. The community organizer was successful in challenging enough signatures on his opponents, I forget the name of the form candidates have signed by voters to be eligible, to have them disqualified. Including the incumbent, Alice Palmer. Essentially he ran unopposed.
Maybe someone else will know, but I think there is another case of unsealed divorce records in his background. Perhaps his Senate primary, perhaps his Congressional primary challenge to Bobby Rush.
Yes, I heard that story yesterday. In his book he says he just went door to door talking to people, and golly, enough of them must have liked what he said, because somehow he ended up winning the election. It’s pure fiction.
Truth is, there was a long time extreme left wing activist in that State Senate seat, who decided to run for Congress. She told her “friend” Obama that she wanted him to succeed her. Then, Jesse Jackson Jr., and the head of the Cook County Democratic Party both decided to run for that seat, and sucked away all her support. So she decided to run for reelection. She had only a few days to collect 750 signatures, and turned in 1600. Barak, with $15,000 donated by his backers, hired lawyers to go over each and every signature and challenge them in court. They also did the same with the other candidates. When they were done, Obama was the only Democratic primary candidate left on the ballot in an overwhelmingly Democrat district. No wonder Barry left it out of his book.
Sort of reminds me of the Inver Brass in Robert Ludlum’s book “The Icarus Agenda” Hummmmmm?
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