Obama's Whitewater

In the candidate mud fight last night, Hillary Clinton made a drive-by reference to Obama's "representing your constituent Rezko in his slumlord business," and the Illinois Senator responded by passing the association off as "I worked for someone and a church group and I did a few hours work." Both were being, to put it kindly, disingenuous.

For weeks now, Clinton supporters under the radar have kept up an accusatory drumbeat about Obama's connection to Antoin Rezko, who goes on trial next month for corruption in federal court, and Obama is vulnerable about a relationship that goes back to 1990, involving transactions he will ultimately have to explain in detail.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, "In 13 years in politics, Obama has gotten at least $168,000 in campaign donations from Rezko, his family and business associates....

"Eleven Rezmar buildings were in the state Senate district Obama represented between 1996 and 2004. Many of the buildings ended up in foreclosure, with tenants living in squalid conditions, the Sun-Times reported last year. In one instance, Rezko’s company left tenants without heat for five weeks. Obama said he was unaware of problems with the buildings and minimized the legal work he’d done.

"Obama’s relationship with Rezko grew closer in June 2005, when Obama and Rezko’s wife bought adjoining real estate parcels from a doctor in the South Side Kenwood neighborhood. Obama paid $1.65 million for the doctor’s mansion, while Rezko’s wife paid $625,000 for the vacant lot next door. Obama’s purchase price was $300,000 below the asking price; Rezko’s wife paid full price.

"Six months later, Obama paid Rita Rezko $104,500 for one-sixth of the vacant lot, which he bought to expand his yard."

In 2006, the Senator expressed regret about the transaction. “It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else,” Obama said, “to believe that he had done me a favor.”

Last week, after a published report that a $10,000 donation to his 2004 Senate campaign came from a fraud that Rezko is accused of devising, Obama's campaign announced it would give charities $40,350 in donations linked to the developer, in addition to more than $44,000 it divested last year.

The Clintons' Whitewater dealings, ultimately not found to be illegal, nevertheless ended up with Ken Starr and impeachment on unrelated matters. Now that Rezko is in the limelight, Sen. Obama would be well-advised to clear up accusations that fail to pass the smell test. Otherwise, they may continue to haunt him all year, with a little help from the Clintons and, should he win nomination, the Republican remnants of the Rove smear machine.