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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I wrote this for today's Beyond Chron.

If you work for Hillary Clinton and your candidate's ahead in the polls, your job is to avoid unpleasant surprises - even if it means planting questions in the audience.  Last week, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, a 19-year-old college student, attended a campaign event in Iowa - where a Hillary staffer asked if she wanted to ask a question.  When Muriel told them what question she wanted to ask, they said "no" and gave her a typed query - one that would not make news, and allow Clinton to repeat her campaign talking points.  I got to ask Hillary a tough question at the Yearly Kos Convention in August - but Clinton has done her best to avoid such unscripted moments, as her "inevitable" nomination rolls along.  After Muriel got some media attention, the Hillary camp asked her to stop talking to the press.  Kind of reminds me how two Clinton staffers confronted me after my exchange with the Senator.  Hillary's campaign is running a tight ship, but planting questions to control the message speaks volumes about a candidate we simply can't trust.

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Today the LA Times has a very interesting article about the contrast of the Clinton and Obama campaigns in California. I think this contrast is true nationally and it defiantly is true here in Minnesota. It's also a contrast that has lead me to support Senator Obama's campaign.

The contrast is how the Clinton campaign is mostly running a traditional campaign with the backing of big names and focus on big metro areas while the Obama campaign is focusing on empowering the grassroots and running everywhere.

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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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Chris made a Breaking Blue post about Jesse Jackson Jr challenging Mayor Daley in the primary next year.  He calls for "death to machine politics" and says "I hope Jackson wins."

Why do you hope he wins?  How much time have you spent in Chicago?  What do you know about Jackson?  What do you know about Daley?  Do you realize the city of Chicago has developed into a low-crime, progressive city?  In many ways Chicago is my second home.  Daley's administration has had its share of controversy but overall it is a success.

Jackson's claim is that it's a black man's turn to run the city again.  Race doesn't matter, good governing does.  Chris, come spend some time in Chicago before making your judgements.

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