Same as it ever was

Patrick Fitzgerald is in the spotlight again, although in a much less glamorous adventure this time. He's prosecuting alleged Chicagoland fixer Tony Rezko, whose trial started Monday, a trial that would be no interest to anyone outside Chicago if it weren't for his Barack Obama connection. The media is finally curious about it, although perhaps a day late and a dollar short after tonight's primary results. Meanwhile, bloggers have been doing a fine job helping to sort out this convolution:

It seems that Tony was in dire straits financially. He offered to sell a 10 X 150 foot parcel of the lot, valued at $40,500 dollars to Obama. His long time pal agreed, paying more twice the appraised value – $104,000. Obama claims it was to increase the size of his garden.

It'll be interesting to see if Fitzgerald's old cheerleaders on the left will be joining the team this time, especially with Barack's many references to "Scooter Libby justice" on the campaign trail.

Land, influence, politicians--hey this brings to mind a deal right here in Memphis involving current Mayor W.W. Herenton! The local paper explains

The land deal involved a one-third-acre lot where Herenton built a $236,000 two-story home. In 2005, Herenton sold the then-vacant lot in Banneker Estates for $50,000 to Moon. Months later, Moon quit-claimed the still-vacant property back to the mayor for just $10, according to deeds filed with Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood's office. Herenton has since built the home on the lot.

No shocker--deals like this happen in every corner of America every day and usually involve some kind of quid pro quo when politicians are involved. But is it possible to paint oneself as a new breed of politician and still have friends like Tony Rezko in the background? Is it judgmental to even ask? Had the media asked more questions earlier would Barack be where he is today?

Hard to say. Hillary had Mr. Hsu and the Chinatown dishwashers so maybe one shady land deal in comparison wasn't going to matter. Again, the only context here is Barack's vision of changing the tone in DC, the resulting response which made his wife proud of the electorate for the first time. Hmm, maybe God will sort everything out.