Obama's Hometown Hot Seat

The Chicago Tribune steps up and examines Obama and the hometown image:

He meant it as a joke, but when Barack Obama recently parodied a famous line from "The Untouchables" he also dredged up the reputation of his longtime home as a place that is rough, raw and unlikely to breed reform.

"If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun," Obama said during a Philadelphia fundraiser, explaining the Chicago-style approach to hard-nosed politics. [snip]

For all his talk about change, Obama remains a product of a Chicago and Illinois political culture renowned for corruption and filled with characters who range from felonious to just outrageous.

Even Jesse Jackson Jr., an Obama supporter has his doubts about whether the Chicago Way will play in Peoria, not to mention the rest of the country. Then there are the unprecedented number of unsavory friends of Barack from his adopted hometown:

Indeed, the most damaging controversies of Obama's presidential bid have been rooted in Chicago, where he is hardly alone among mainstream politicians in cozying up to controversial ministers like Jeremiah Wright Jr. and Michael Pfleger, fundraisers like Antoin "Tony" Rezko and even former radicals like William Ayers.

Yes, but Barack Obama is very cozy with this bunch, and has been for years. And mainstream in Chicago is not mainstream for the country. Obama will have his hands full, as his perennial quest for headlines is shared by his friends. For one, Pfleger has returned "Rocky-like" to his church this Sunday, unabashed. Tony Rezko may be in jail for now, but he has plenty of time to think about whether he wants to spend the rest of his life there or cut a better deal with the Feds by implicating others. And the Rev. Wright may or may not be retired, but he is still around.

UPDATE: Other stories, NY Times, Obama's ethanol supporters, a big special interest, further undermining his sainted message. And he's losing the Boomer vote, bigtime--these are seniors who turn out, (and it's the old hippies vs. the Reagan Democrats). Charlie Cook. Also, GOP targeting other key voting blocs:

The party also is aggressively pursuing female, Catholic and Hispanic voters - groups that lean Democrat but which Republicans think could defect this year to likely Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said Frank Donatelli, deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee.

"We have to go beyond [the conservative base] in this election, and we are doing that," Mr. Donatelli told The Washington Times.

He said Mr. McCain's reputation as a Vietnam war hero, national security hawk and crusader against government waste is appealing to white blue-collar voters, a bloc that switched sides in the 1980s and earned the moniker "Reagan Democrats."

"I think we are going to get a larger share of that vote than any Republican candidate since Reagan," said Mr. Donatelli, who worked as a White House political adviser to President Reagan.

Some of these voters are in Chicago, where unlike the primary, Democrat pollwatchers won't be able to tell which party you pick in the presidential race. I'm not saying Illinois is in play, but tip enough of these voters around the country and you have a new map for McCain.

UPDATE: Tribune online poll on whether being from Chicago helps or hurts Obama.

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