madlee wrote:re: credentials, I think one example of his leadership is his ability to raise all that money in such a short time. the guy's probably a good manager, delegates to smart people and can get things done.
in comparison, the others are just part of the machine, that has been built up over time. generally one's ability to raise funds should only indicate how corrupt they are, but in this instance, since no one in the democratic leadership wanted him to run, yet he still beat clinton in fundraising, seems to show that the man is a good leader.
Not part of the machine my ass.
"Obama's biggest single source of corporate money - $160,000 - came from executives at Exelon Corp., the nation's largest nuclear power provider, and its subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison, an Illinois utility," the Times reports.
ComEd, of course, is also one of the biggest supporters of Emil Jones, whom Barack Obama calls his political mentor and who just used a parliamentary maneuver to keep the utility's controversial rate hike on track.
(The Rockford Register Star says: ComEd has been one of Jones' top two campaign contributors. In 2005, according to Crain's Chicago Business, Jones was the guest of honor at a fundraiser at the home of ComEd President Frank Clark. Crain's reported that the event generated about $127,000 in donations for Jones' campaign, with at least $78,000 of the contributions coming from dozens of executives and board members with ComEd and parent company Exelon Corp., as well as ComEd and power industry lobbyists.")
"Exelon spent $500,000 to influence policy in Washington last year," the L.A. Times report says. "Although Obama took no money from Exelon's Washington lobbyists, he accepted $1,000 checks from lobbyists John P. Novak and James Monk of Springfield. In Springfield, Novak represents Exelon., and Monk is president of the Illinois Energy Assn., a trade group that represents Commonwealth Edison.
"In Tallahassee, Obama held a fundraiser attended by several statehouse lobbyists, taking checks from lobbyists for trial attorneys, the insurance industry, fast-food chains and sugar cane growers. State and federal issues often are related, as noted by the law firm Akerman Senterfitt, whose Florida-based members donated $7,000 to Obama. On its website, Akerman notes it combines Tallahassee connections with 'an involved federal political action committee' to provide its clients 'with an enviable level of access.'"
"In his column on the Commentary page on Monday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) wrote: 'To set an example in the in the 2008 presidential election, I am refusing to accept campaign contributions from registered lobbyists, political-action committees, and I won't take contributions bundled by lobbyists.' A spokesman for his campaign clarified that the policy of Obama's campaign is to not accept contributions from registered federal lobbyists. He is accepting contributions from registered state lobbyists."
- Tribune, May 22
Deceiving while receiving.
