On May 12, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle came down to the South Suburbs to talk to "Team Obama" at the Flossmoor Station as part of her outreach to the suburbs as she gathers momentum in her race for the Cook County Board President.  She mentions near the end that the previous evening she had been in Glenview (in the north suburbs).

She started off talking about what the Cook County Board does and her approach to County government.  But she quickly turned to answering the questions of the 50-odd people who showed up for our May meeting.

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Many here tout the endorsements the candidates for the Presidency receive.  Ignored in all this chatter, however, are the endorsements the candidates have made.  The latter, I believe, provides a rare view into the priorities, values and judgment of the candidates.  Because susanhu has broached a discussion on Obama's judgment as it relates to his collusion with Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the indicted slumlord who owned and operated dilapidated tenements in inner city Chicago, I will revisit a diary I wrote in July on the ethically challenged Illinois politicians Barack Obama endorsed in 2006 and 2007.  Obama, after all, is campaigning on his judgment, an object all of us should scrutinize if we are to cast informed votes in the Democratic primary.

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Many here tout the endorsements the candidates for the Presidency receive.  Ignored in all this chatter, however, are the endorsements the candidates have made.  The latter provides a rare view into the priorities and values of the candidates.  Because each diary can only accomodate one candidate's endorsements, I will limit my discussion to those made by Barack Obama.

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"Read My Lips No New Taxes" Democrats. They're here. Have they gone too far?

How far will and should Democrats go to shed the "tax and spend" labels that have been foisted on them by the Republicans and the media?  How many legitimate government services can they allow to be cut on their watch without facing a backlash?  Do we need a Democratic party that simply echoes the Republicans on tax issues?

The George Bush tax cuts have already had severe impacts on state and local governments.  Thus far Democrats in my state, Illinois, have basically accepted the cuts without protest and cut services.

Should Democrats be making more of an issue about this?  Shouldn't we be braver about it?

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