Obama The Chicago Way
It is a hard climb up the Chicago political ladder. Did Obama get his hands dirty on the way up? Leading American commentator John Kass thinks so. 'The only way to rise [in Chicago] is to look the other way'
Chicago is a byword for corruption. '27 councilmen have gone to prison in the last 25 years, 3 govenors' says journalist John Kass. 'The whole town is one crooked mess'. It was here that Barrack Obama came as a 22 year-old fresh out of college. But those who knew Obama say that his public image as a dreamy idealist is off the mark. 'Obama is a very smart politician... a very tough guy' says political consultant Don Rose. 'He knows how to play the game and he knows how to employ people who play the game.' Obama's dealings with Tony Rezko, a corrupt property dealer, has caused embarrassment to supporters. Toni Preckwinkle, who has known Obama since the early days claims Obama is a hard pragmatist who could not have won political office 'if he was going to make corruption an issue.' Obama, they say, has done things 'the Chicago Way'.
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