Great news for Hillary! Recent polls show her winning by pretty substantial leads in OH, TX and PA.
Rasmussen
TX: Clinton 54% - Obama 38%
OH: Clinton 51% - Obama 37%
Quinnipiac
OH: Clinton 55% - Obama 34%
PA: Clinton 52% - Obama 36%
This is definitely welcomed news for the Hillary campaign. There appears to be a series of events that are stacked in Hillary's favor: the Texas debate and the March 3rd Rezko trial. (That's right, the Rezko case starts exactly one day before March 4th voting!) The trial will show whether or not he has truly been vetted.
Obama cleverly states that if he had any scandals in his past that Clinton's opposition team would have found it by now. It's clear that Obama has failed to learn the lessons of 2004. John Kerry wasn't defeated because of some scandal, John Kerry was defeated because the republicans were vicious with their attacks. They made people question his Vietnam service and republicans also raised doubts as to whether or not John Kerry would be able to stick to a single position. These weren't scandals, these were created from whole cloth.
We already know Hillary, we know her past and anything that people bring up about her is already known and has been widely reported. That cannot be said about Obama. Yes, Obama has loose connections to some shady characters, but who ever said that republicans play fair?
Republican spin: Obama has relationship with terrorists
Besides his relationship with indicted businessman Antoin Rezko, Obama might face Republican criticism over contacts with a former leader of the Weather Underground, a banker with ties to a convicted felon and even his church.
Republican spin: Obama campaign office supports communism:
Mind you that this is an independent office not affiliated with his campaign, but since when do republicans fight with accurate info?
Now, let's look at would could possibly be the biggest story that will be pushed by republicans.
Court papers describe Mr Rezko as a "close friend" of Mr Auchi. The two are involved in a large Chicago land development together, but it is unclear how long they have known each other or whether they were linked before the 2003 Iraq war. Neither side would discuss the relationship.
The Times has, however, discovered state documents in Illinois recording that Fintrade Services, a Panamanian company, lent money to Mr Obama’s fundraiser in May 2005.
Fintrade’s directors include Ibtisam Auchi, the name of Mr Auchi’s wife. Mr Auchi’s spokespeople declined to respond to a question about whether he was linked to this business.
Who is Nadhmi Auchi?
Now another deal is coming under scrutiny. A senior Pentagon official told Time that the U.S. is reviewing its decision to grant the mobile license for Baghdad and central Iraq to a consortium led by Egyptian telecom giant Orascom because of its ties to Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born billionaire who built his fortune partly through arms deals with the Iraqi regime in the 1980s.
No Quarter has been following this story and earlier this month, received a letter from Mr. Auchi's solicitor.
Larry Johnson's reply:
Dear Ms. Guiney,
For the record, can you please explain why Mr. Auchi allowed the substantial sum of money to be wired to Mr. Rezko? Also, would you please explain under what circumstances they became business partners and what the nature of that business was? It strikes me odd that someone of Mr. Auchi’s wealth would want to get in bed with someone like Mr. Rezko. Seems to defy commonsense.
Also, I have been told that your firm has had contact with a person or persons connected to Senator Barack Obama. Is that true?
Sincerely yours,
Larry Johnson
I'm sure many will see this as a "hit diary," but it is important to understand what we're up against. If the republicans can take an honor as high as a purple heart and turn them into a negative, I can't imagine what they'll do with this information - all the speeches and hope in the world wouldn't be able to blunt those attacks.