Rezco Guilty.

CBS:

A federal jury has found a prominent political fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty of 16 of 24 counts in his Illinois corruption trial.

Illinois Republicans say:

Now that the trial has come to an end, it's time Rod Blagojevich came clean with the people of Illinois and answered the numerous questions surrounding his involvement with Tony Rezko.

[Update: ABC 7 Chicago has the breakdown:

• Guilty on 6 of 6 counts wire fraud
• Guilty on 6 of 9 counts mail/wire fraud
• Not Guilty on 1 count attempted extortion
• Guilty on 2 of 6 counts corrupt solicitation
• Guilty on 2 counts money laundering

The media are already spinning this as not related to Obama, pointing out that neither Obama (D-Chicago) nor Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Chicago) "have been accused of wrongdoing". Officially accused of a crime by the police or prosecutors, that is. But their close association with Rezko make the chances pretty good they were involved in crooked stuff, too.]

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List of Issues for Obama Keeps Growing

I decided to make a little list of the problems with the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama (D-IL).

• Antoin "Tony" Rezco is a Chicago political fixer who is on trial for doing illegal stuff. He helped Obama buy his house, and Obama has other machine-politics ties to him
• Hamas endorses Obama
• Louis Farrakan endorses Obama, and Obama's church gave Farrakan an award
• Reverend Jeremiah Wright called 9/11 our fault, said God should Damn America for her faults, said the government invented AIDS to kill blacks. Obama never said a word, but continued to be a member and to give money to the church
• Reverend Wright is building a house, except it's owned by his church (so he doesn't pay taxes on it)
• The Antisemitism of Rev. Eric Lee, key not speaker at an event honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., after thanking Jesus for Obama
• Throws grandmother under the bus
• Granny is typical white person fearing people who aren't like her
  
• Geraldine Ferraro charged with racism for saying race was a key factor in Obama's success
  
• William Ayers was a domestic terrorist in the 60's and 70's, who was acquitted by government bungling of his case. He launched Obama's career in politics with a party at his house
• Obama equated his relationship with Ayers to that with Senator Tom Coburn
• Obama's economic advisor told Canadian officials that his anti-NAFTA campaign rhetoric would be dropped after the election
• Obama campaign says "We don't take money from lobbyists or political action committees", but that's not accurate
  
• After losing a debate, he gave Hillary a passive-aggressive finger
• Obama sees Taxes as a way to punish the wealthy, not as a necessary evil for financing government
  
• Iraq exit strategy, which is almost the same as John McCain's: get out as soon as we can.
  
• Dishonest hypocrisy over McCain saying we could be in Iraq long term, as in Germany or Korea.
  
• Because the government hasn't helped them, people in Pennsylvania and rest of country cling to their guns and religion and hatred for those not like themselves
  
• Will not upset Chinese bankers by boycotting Olympic opening ceremony
  
• Taking credit for legislation he didn't work on
• Literally favors infanticide, and works to make it legal
  
• Michelle Obama has never been proud of America until the campaign
• Lapel flag pin: now you don't see it, now you do
• $1M for the hospital where his wife was an executive
• Michelle Obama says all their friends are lawyers
• Walking around money in Philadelphia
• Campaign official says they don't need working class whites to win
  

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Barack Obama's Extremely No Good Very Bad Day

Barack Obama must be thinking "What am I, Job?"

Two days ago he was enjoying the small victory of having brought down Geraldine Ferraro. Then yesterday:

• Ferraro rebounded, as a backlash against Obama's constant barrage of charges of racism
  
• His pastor and "mentor" is himself an America-hating racist
  
• It was reported that in 2006 (as Senator) Obama arranged a $1 million earmark for the hospital where is wife had just gotten a promotion to Vice President, with a $200, 000 raise
  
• The Rezco trial in Chicago shows that Obama lied about the extent of his relationship to the sleazy political fixer and campaign donation launderer.

These are all equally bad news for his campaign. Whether the anti-racism, anti-demagogue, conflict of interest with a touch of graft, or good old Chicago corruption charges would individually be enough to tarnish his reputation as a different kind of politician, I don't know. But taken together even his most ardent acolyte will have to reassess the Obama candidacy.

And surely the superdelegates to the Democratic convention will now have a much easier time supporting Hillary. All of this corruption and ickiness would make Huey Long vote Republican; if moderate, apolitical voters were to hear about it in the general election, they'd pull for John McCain.

Methinks the Obama campaign is played out.

But what will happen to the Democratic Party? Will they go to their convention in Denver and fight it out, with a willing but conflicted media delivering the show?

Mmmm, popcorn.

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