Chicago Tribune: Obama Sets a "Standard for Candor"

NPR


On Friday afternoon, Sen. Barack Obama sat down to talk with the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune. It was a 92-minute discussion in which he talked at length about his relationship with now-indicted businessman Tony Rezko. And the Tribune editors believe that he "offered a lengthy and, to us, plausible explanation for the presence of [Rezko] in his personal and political lives."

"The most remarkable facet of Obama's 92-minute discussion was that, at the outset, he pledged to answer every question the three dozen Tribune journalists crammed into the room would put to him," writes The Tibune in an editorial. "And he did."

During the conversation Obama acknowledged that Rezko had raised more money for his earlier political campaigns than was previously known.

"We fully expect the Clinton campaign, given its current desperation, to do whatever it must in order to keep the Rezko tin can tied to Obama's bumper. When we endorsed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination Jan. 27, we said we had formed our opinions of him during 12 years of scrutiny. We concluded that the professional judgment and personal decency with which he has managed himself and his ambition distinguish him.

"Nothing Obama said in our editorial board room Friday diminishes that verdict."

Obama admitted during the interview that he should have had the discussion 16 months ago, and talked "uncomfortably" about what it's like living in a fishbowl and that he was too eager to "control the narrative."

"Less protection, less control, would have meant less hassle for his campaign," the editorial continues. "That said, Barack Obama now has spoken about his ties to Tony Rezko in uncommon detail. That's a standard for candor by which other presidential candidates facing serious inquiries now can be judged."