The Party of Slumlords
Ace highlights an article from the Boston Globe today, which points out that Obama has some "slight" issues with one of the housing projects that he's championed before. And, he passes on an observation from Mickey Kaus, saying:
Of course, it's not like this is the first time that a Democratic presidential candidate has had his hand in an unlivable slum, is it?
Set your watches back to the grand olde year of 2000, when another contender for the White House was revealed to be a miserable landlord:
Kaus calls this "Obama's Katrina," explaining that if Obama is running on his record as a community activist and advocate, it's a pretty big deal a housing project he had his hand in is an almost-unlivable slum.
Of course, it's not like this is the first time that a Democratic presidential candidate has had his hand in an unlivable slum, is it?
Set your watches back to the grand olde year of 2000, when another contender for the White House was revealed to be a miserable landlord:
Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass jokingly called it "a tempest in a toilet." That seems to be the media reaction to the news that a family renting a house within sight of Al Gore’s Carthage, Tennessee home were so upset they went to Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF-TV to get landlord Gore or his property helpers focused on their broken toilets and other problems. Tracy Mayberry called Gore a "slumlord" on TV, prompting Gore to call and promise to put the Mayberry family up in another house while the home is repaired.
The story broke on Saturday morning with an Associated Press dispatch. The Washington Post and The New York Times ran the AP story inside their Sunday papers. NBC’s Sunday Today aired a few seconds and CNN’s Inside Politics spent 38 seconds on it Monday afternoon (neither had video). With the exception of Fox News, there has been no other national coverage. ABC‘s Good Morning America even interviewed Gore on Tuesday morning without a landlord question.
Did that hurt Gore's chances at the White House? Hardly. The guy is held up as being practically a saint today.
Remember, folks:—What matters here is that Gore cared. Nevermind that he forced his tenants to live in squalor—He cared, dang it.
And you know what? The same standards will ultimately apply to Obama. He may accidentally associate with questionable characters (all of whom he apparently never knew), fail to pay attention to the housing projects he is responsible for, etc, etc, etc, but that's easily overpowered by his massive sense of caring.
That, and an extremely protective national media. Which is one thing that we Republicans will never have.
In any case, if this does nothing else, it helps us illustrate once again that Obama's map to the White House might begin with "hope," but it apparently bypasses "accountability" completely.
That's a rickety old area of town, anyway.
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