Richard Daley, Barack Obama, and the "Chicago Way" of politics

We're pretty sure that Chicago Mayor, Richard Daley, didn't want to go ont he stump for Obama, or even officially defend him. That would attract attention to the very machine that produced Obama, and would likely do significant damage to the campaign, but yesterday he lost his mind over a McCain ad that associated his brother with Obama, and labeled him a lobbyist:

HT to Captain Ed

The TV ad claims that Democratic presidential candidate Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, was "born of the corrupt Chicago political machine." The commercial seeks to link Obama to four power-brokers: mayoral brother Bill Daley, convicted former fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, Obama mentor and Illinois Senate President Emil Jones and embattled Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"People get desperate in their political life," the mayor said when asked about the ad. "My theory about politics and government: You build yourself up. You don’t have to tear people down."

Daley also warned that McCain has his own vulnerabilities, noting the Arizona senator's involvement in the "Keating Five" influence peddling scandal that involved his ties to banker Charles Keating Jr., a poster boy for the savings and loan meltdown.

"If people start throwing dirt and mud – remember, it comes back and hits you right in the face," the mayor said. "I think, to put my brother Bill there – they want to put me there, fine, they put me there all the time anyway."

The ad described Bill Daley, a former U.S. Commerce secretary, as a "lobbyist" and "the mayor's brother."

"First of all, my brother is not a lobbyist. He’s not a lobbyist. He’s not a lobbyist. He’s never been a lobbyist," the mayor said.

Um, hey Dick, you sure about that? It seems that you know less about your brother than you claim:

In fact, Bill Daley was a key Washington lobbyist for top U.S. and foreign companies and President Bill Clinton picked him to lobby Congress for passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. When he was president of SBC Communications Inc. in 2003 he coordinated lobbying campaigns to sway both state and federal lawmakers.

Whoops. But did Daley stop there? Hell no! He showed people what the "Chicago Way" of politics means. It means mud. It means dirt. It means threatening those that come after you with unfounded and historically inaccurate ads:

Asked if he is suggesting a Keating Five ad, Daley shot back: “It would be a great ad. People lost their life savings. Life savings, their own homes, for a guy named Keating out of Arizona.

"You want to get tough in politics, I can get tough in politics as anyone else," Daley said. "When you start throwing mud, mud is going to be thrown at you and it’s going to be sticky.”

Captain Ed posits the idea that Obama is probably assembling a Keating Five ad anyway, and we're pretty sure he's going to be as inaccurate as Daley is. John McCain has never run away from his inclusion in that scandal, and he has cited that at the catalyst for him moving forward with reform in Washington, DC. What both Obama and Daley will likely forget is that John McCain was cleared after the investigation was concluded.

Let's review history here. The five senators involved were: Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, Donald Riegle, John Glenn, and John McCain. The conclusion of the investigation resulted in Cranston being reprimanded, Riegle and DeConcini were criticized for acting improperly, and Glenn and McCain were criticized for poor judgment. So, for the record, there's no there there when it comes to John McCain.

Could such an ad give Obama traction? Given what's going on right now with the economy it's a distinct possibility, and it might fly until the McCain camp comes out and throws cold water on the insinuation that he broke the law. On the flip side, the McCain ad has done exactly what needed to be done. Barack Obama has NEVER taken on the Chicago Machine. In fact, as David Freddoso has written, he's been more than reluctant to bite the hand that feeds him. He's a child of the machine, raised and reared through it's dirty corridors of power. He hasn't taken it on, or tried to change one aspect of it. For that matter, he won't square off against his party if he's facing a majority of opinion in opposition to his own opinions. John McCain has, and he's occasionally honked off the base in doing so.

Let Barry run whatever ads he wants to, but this one from McCain hits him where it counts. It goes directly to Obama's judgment and integrity. That will resonate with the electorate that's sick of this garbage out of Washington, DC.

Publius II