The Obamas Get a Look

Take a good look at the Obamas. This is the first time many people have, close to a wrap-up for the Dem nomination.

Chris Muir's take on Michelle's words. (The first bizzare pronouncements preceding her latest.) More on Michelle here. VDH on their Ivy League populism.

Fearless change-agent Barack Obama's selective Teamster Diplomacy. Karl Rove on Barack's new vulnerability, as an unvarnished leftist:

The truth is that Mr. Obama is unwilling to challenge special interests if they represent the financial and political muscle of the Democratic left. He says yes to the lobbyists of the AFL-CIO when they demand card-check legislation to take away the right of workers to have a secret ballot in unionization efforts, or when they oppose trade deals. He won't break with trial lawyers, even when they demand the ability to sue telecom companies that make it possible for intelligence agencies to intercept communications between terrorists abroad. And he is now going out of his way to proclaim fidelity to the educational unions. This is a disappointment since he'd earlier indicated an openness to education reform. Mr. Obama backs their agenda down the line, even calling for an end to testing, which is the only way parents can know with confidence whether their children are learning and their schools working.

These stands represent not just policy vulnerabilities, but also a real danger to Mr. Obama's credibility and authenticity. He cannot proclaim his goal is the end of influence for lobbies if the only influences he seeks to end are lobbies of the center and the right.

Daniel Henninger on Obama the disappointment.

A nervous Obama supporter here.

Dem debate tonight--one more look for Dems before Texas and Ohio.

UPDATE: Governor's clout list surfaces in Rezko trial. Sun Times:

“There is no connection between the state hiring process and the ... scheme to control” two state government boards outlined in the charges, Rezko lawyer Mariah E. Moran wrote in a motion to U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve.

Rezko lawyers noted that federal prosecutors have submitted as evidence 26 pages of “clout lists” that identify people who Rezko and other political figures wanted placed in the governor’s administration.

Those lists show that dozens of people, including Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) and House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego), recommended people for jobs and appointments to state boards and commissions.

Another Sun Times story:

Besides the criminal cases, the real estate developer and fast-food magnate -- whose fund-raising prowess once boosted the campaign bank accounts of Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, among others -- also faces a daunting array of lawsuits. Rezko and his businesses currently are the target of about 30 lawsuits. In all, he's being sued for more than $34 million, state and federal court records show.

The civil cases against Rezko range from an accusation that shoddy construction at a Rezko-developed property caused an injury, to claims that Rezko and others defrauded investors and partners out of millions on real estate deals.

WSJ picks up on Rezko's underwear complaint. And in Obama's target upscale demographic in Texas, the Dallas Morning News blog makes a few remarks.

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