Obama's "tone deafness."

I've remarked before on what might charitably be called Obama's being tone deaf on matters involving Islam. With the concept of "tone deafness" in mind, consider Andrew Walden's description of who dual U.S.-Syrian citizen Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko is. He quotes this Chicago Tribune report:

In June 2005, even as Rezko was widely reported to be under federal investigation, the Tribune reports, “Obama bought a $1.65 million South Side home on the same day that Rezko's wife purchased the adjoining garden lot for $625,000. Obama and Rezko then engaged in a series of private transactions to redivide and improve their adjoining parcels.^[1]

Did the intelligent and ambitious Barack Obama have any curiosity about his friends the Rezkos? Was Obama aware of any of the facts reported by Walden?

As we seek answers to the questions "What did Obama know and when did he know it?," let's keep before us the fact that every politician on the face of the planet encounters well heeled people who are willing to part with money in exchange for political favors. No one can possibly believe that Obama – he of Chicago machine politics provenance – is a virgin in this regard. So . . . when Obama gets a $300,000 discount on some Chicago real estate but Rezko's wife pays market price for her adjoining lot owned by the same seller,^[2] what kind of questions does he ask himself? If any?

For example, might he have asked himself, "I wonder if there's an explanation for why I got such a good deal on this house that has something to do with my being a politician, or am I just lucky?"

Or, "I'm really eloquent. I wonder if I got this great deal because I am also a good bargainer?"

With respect to this extraordinary $300,000 benefit, which is the more reasonable conclusion? Obama is:

1. Stupid (what $300K?)?
2. Naive (so nice of the seller to give me break)?
3. Lucky (market broke in his favor around that time, Rezko just didn't do her homework)?
4. Negligent (no due diligence)?
5. Willfully blind (I just signed the papers they gave me)?
6. Given to expediency (got to play the game to do good)?
7. Cynical (everybody does it)?
8. Corrupt (it's why I serve)?

Given Obama's experience in Chicago politics and his law degree from Harvard, it's difficult to credit the first two as explanations. Obama has just acted as if no one will ever raise any questions about his behavior, as though he can associate with and cooperate with absolutely anyone and the rest of us will just take it on faith that the explanation will invariably reveal something quite benign.

This is just one more of the issues that are beginning to pile up and await an Obama clarification. Like his incredibly close association with Farrakhan and Wright, this is yet another issue that calls Obama's political judgment into question. At a minimum.

This real estate deal is a stinky deal involving one degree of separation between Obama and a man with a Syrian background, much recent Syrian travel,^[3] and federal criminal charges.

Obama can allay all suspicions by answering some of the following questions:

• Why did Ms. Rezko purchase the lot next to yours?
• Who was the seller of your real estate, and what dealings did you had with this person before the sale of the land?
• How were you able to purchase the property in question $300,000 below the asking price?
• How did you find out about this property?
• Did you receive money from anyone to help you purchase this property?
• After you purchased the property, what was the purpose of the transactions involving the property with Ms. Rezko?

I do not doubt for a moment that these kinds of questions would not be being asked about Alan Keyes now had he beat Obama for that U.S. Senate seat. I've never read anything about Keyes to suggest he was a person likely to compromise his principles in any way. Quite the contrary.

Yet, the more I read about Obama, the more firmly I believe that he's an extraordinary orator with an exotic history, but otherwise a quite ordinary product of Chicago politics with too many close associates in love with the politics of race resentment and black separatism.

There's a lot that doesn't "feel" right about this man of the far left. We are beginning to find out why.

Notes
^[1] "Obama's Syrian Connection." By Andrew Walden, FrontPageMagazine.com 3/11/08.
^[2] "Timeline: British billionaire and Barack Obama." Times Online, 2/25/08.
^[3] John Fund quoted at "Revetting Obama." Prairie Pundit, 3/3/08.