Andrew Zajac
The March issue of Vanity Fair has a profile of Barack Obama that includes a slick account of Obama's courtship of Illinois Senate President Emil Jones in the run-up to the 2004 U.S. Senate race.
Obama had already made one big political blunder when he challenged Bobby Rush for Congress in 2000 without winning the support of the black establishment. It was an error he didn't repeat, as his alliance with Jones attested.
As Jones tell VF's Todd Purdum:
“After I was elected president, in 2003, he came to see me, a couple months later,” Jones recalled, relishing the tale. “And he said to me, he said, ‘You’re the senate president now, and with that, you have a lot of pow-er.’ ” Jones stretched out the word, as if savoring the pleasure of it, and his voice became very quiet as he continued: “And I told Barack, ‘You think I got a lot of power now?,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, you got a lot of power.’ And I said, ‘What kind of power do I have?’ He said, ‘You have the power to make a United States senator!’ ” Jones let out a soft, smoky laugh. “I said to Barack, I said, ‘That sounds good!’ I said, ‘I haven’t even thought of that.’ I said, ‘Do you have someone in mind you think I could make?,’ and he said, ‘Yeah. Me.’ ”
Jones describes a not inconsiderable role in helping Obama best a field that included millionaire commodities trader Blair Hull and State Comptroller Dan Hynes, an Irish political royal from Chicago's North Side.
Jones' support "had the effect of tying the hands of Mayor Richard Daley and Governor Rod Blogojevich. “He knew if he had me in the run for the Senate, it would put a block on the current mayor,” Jones recalled. “The current mayor and the father of the controller, which was Dan Hynes, they were roommates in Springfield when the mayor was a state senator, so they had a relationship. Another big financial backer for the governor was Blair Hull. Barack knew if he had me it would checkmate the governor, ’cause the governor couldn’t come out and go with Blair Hull, ’cause the governor needs me. Same with the mayor. So he had analyzed and figured all of that out. He knew I could help him with labor support. And I could put a checkmate on some of the local politicians that didn’t know him, but they couldn’t really go against me. It was just like in a football game: you got this talented running back, but without those linemen opening the holes and blocking, the running back would never get out of the backfield.”
The profile also explores how various Obama family members, in particular his mother, father and grandmother in very different ways helped shape his ambitions.
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Comments
Dear Paul Krugman of NYTIMES: (revised)
Thank you. Your perspective on Hillary's great health care plan is excellent.
It has been silly out there. The anti-woman press is all male & Dowd, Collins,(females) as well, is well, surprising. Hillary is a very smart woman, she can stand Rep. dirty tricks (and they will be dirty just ask losers Gore, Dean, Kerry)and here in Chicago Il., we know Obama only got in after 2 failed republicans and one resignation( Fitzgerald). He and campaign manager have tons of Exelon & Comm. Ed. money in their pockets and worked for promoting them against consumers. Rezko mob trail starts soon with Obama now returning a second helping of cash to him last week? ($72,000, 2 weeks ago $44,000)
He used and sold drugs, wrote about it in his book and the republicans/ Mc Cain will tear him and that apart.
He's a nubie and will be eaten alive and Mc Cain w/war and tax cuts for rich will continue if Obama, ultra left, in a middle of the road country, is nominated. All this to replace the anti-Gay Aldli Stevenson - Kennedy w/ children family values stuff. Obama w/ kids and religion
Deems may blow it yet. Thank you Paul. Your a civil and intelligent man.
Feinstein, Durbin, Rockefeller, Reid and all Deems. have all given bush everything thing he wants war, spying et.al. and have no GUTS to stand up to him. Hillary, with her foreign relations committee chair and toughness will. Intelligent women scare men and Bill lead a great economy thru a tough republican mess. Gingrich had an affair, JFK, Bobby Kennedy had several, so did all the republicans and Ted went over a bridge and his secretary died-she drowned, while he waited to call police for 5 hours? Ted got no child left behind thru w/ bush and it's failure?
Who are they kidding that they are holy? St. Obama, the weak, did nothing here in Il. or senate and will be the next Carter, if elected.
C. Robin, LCSW
Posted by: c.Robin | February 4, 2008 1:37 PM
Excuse me while I yawn and continue not to care. When is this man's free ride going to be over? Maybe they should explore his connections to Rezko and his questionable affiliation with a racially intolerant church. Or question his refusal to answer tough questions.
Posted by: Allison | February 4, 2008 2:10 PM
"Free ride" has taken on a whole new meaning with Obama. I've never seen anything like this. It makes me think that they are afraid of talking about him. The L.A. Times wrote a column a couple of weeks ago that dug deep into Obama's relationship with Rezko which went back to right after Obama graduated law school. So much for the "five hours of work" he talked about. This is the most disgusting bunch of reporters and media people.
Posted by: C.Rosenberg | February 4, 2008 3:53 PM
Shouldn't the Chicago Tribune get basic facts right on this story, such as Dan Hynes' power base coming from the SOUTH side where the family's political muscle is, even if his house is not in the 19th ward, and you know being the "Comptroller" of Illinois and not the "controller"?
Posted by: Wow | February 4, 2008 3:56 PM
I remember riding in an elevator to an Al Gore speech at Navy Pier. An elevator full of African American Daley Admin. types. I joked (joked!) that my public speaking students from DePaul were there to evaluate Richie Daley and Al gore's speeches. Long silence. Someone asked what my students thought they'd see. "Oh, the students think Gore will nail it and Daley will fall on his face." Long pause. No smiles. "Free speech must be a nice thing," one of them said. Sneers at me all around. I want to make sure Barack hasn't gone along too much to get along. This 'uniter' with Republicans line scares me. It wouldn't have if the GOP hadn't morphed into Godzilla, but well, it has. And the people supporting Obama don't seem all that informed, from the non-political wing of the Kennedy family on down to students I know who don't ever read a newspaper or a political piece but are happily singing the 'yes we can' song. I want to wait and see what happens with Hilary and Barack. Will the continue with the ethos and policies they took from Edwards mainly and also a bit from Kucinich? Will they pledge to reform media so that we actually can have a REAL chance for 'CHANGE'?
Democrats lose nothing by voting Edwards through the primary season and letting this honest man influence tickets, cabinets and policies.
Posted by: Lisa | February 4, 2008 9:40 PM
You folks may remain in your insular little world.. as the rest of us pass you by.
We will send you post cards:
"Having a wonderful time, wish you were here." Please try to have some imagination and hopw will ya? Jeez
Posted by: Gehrig | February 5, 2008 10:18 AM