Victim or Corrupt Power Broker

Usually among the Dems it's competing over who's the biggest victim--this time it's over who's the most corrupt. NY Times heralds the story, "Democratic Fund-Raiser’s Trial Starts in Illinois":

CHICAGO — A prosecutor on Thursday described Antoin Rezko, a businessman and political fund-raiser, as “the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings” in an influence-peddling scheme to extort millions of dollars from companies that wanted to do business with the State of Illinois.

In her opening statements at a much anticipated trial here, the prosecutor, Carrie E. Hamilton, told how Mr. Rezko and Stuart Levine, a lawyer who was on two state boards, tried to use Mr. Levine’s positions and Mr. Rezko’s influence to obtain kickbacks.

Mr. Rezko’s lawyer, Joseph J. Duffy, told jurors that his client was the innocent victim of Mr. Levine, whom he painted as a devious drug addict who was using Mr. Rezko’s name just to make himself seem more powerful.

Well, when all is said and done, maybe this trial will at the very least result in cleaning some of the slime off the slate of Illinois politics, for both parties here. Investor's Business Daily recaps the Rezko-Obama relationship and the questions it raises, while the Tribune hosts a know your Barack quiz and editorializes on the Rezko trial. It revolves around the governor of course, but he got around bigtime.

The parade of horribles goes on in the lull before the key Keystone State primary in late April, focusing attention on Barack's less than salubrious political bedfellows in Illinois.

UPDATE: Samantha Powers apologizes. The Swamp. Tom Bevan, RCP Blog comments on the political significance of the Rezko trial.

UPDATE: Power out.

Related posts: The Sanjaya Effect, Barack is Not Ready at 3 a.m., Obamauchi: Oil for Food, FARC Terrorists Heart Obama, Dem Shoes in the Closet