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Paper: Obama Gave Internship to Mucky Donor's Kid
The Chicago Sun-Times has steadily efforted to chip away at the pedestal on which supporters and the media have placed Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), the perch from which he happily mulls a run for the White House.
In its latest piece, the paper seems to have knocked away some plaster: last year, Obama gave an internship in his office to the kid of a big-money donor who's alleged to have taken a $250,000 kickback as part of a state-level graft scheme.
Worse, the paper says Obama did the favor on the advice of Illinois Democratic moneyman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, currently indicted for his role in the aforementioned graft scheme.
Now, Obama gave the internship to the young man -- John Aramanda, son of Joseph Aramanda, whom the paper ID's as an unindicted co-conspirator in Rezko's scheme -- in the summer of 2005, before news of the Rezko investigation came out.
But some might say that the alleged crimes aren't what make the story so disheartening. Rather, it's that Obama, who is seen by many as a modern-day Horatio Alger -- "proof that this country affords equal opportunities to anyone who works hard enough," as New York magazine described him in October -- would apparently give a such a coveted position to a kid on the basis of how much his rich dad ponied up for the senator's election.
Perhaps young Mr. Aramanda is bright and talented. Perhaps he demonstrates the "audacity of hope." Still, was he really the most deserving candidate for such a beneficial gig?
Comments (13)
Conan the Grammarian wrote on December 26, 2006 1:32 PM:The Chicago Sun-Times has steadily efforted to chip away at the pedestal on which supporters and the media have placed Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), the perch from which he happily mulls a run for the White House.
The security code for this comment is "shame", as in "it's a shame that such an interesting topic is mired down by such an awkward opening sentence.
My vote is that this get sent back for re-write, ideally by someone with more respect for existing verbs and less for neologisms and backformations. For extra points, consider the advantages of not mixing metaphors or using two sentences for two sentences worth of content!
SAM wrote on December 26, 2006 1:45 PM:Oh, brother!! THIS is all they can come up with? Are they telling us that someone who isn't perfect may become president someday? Well, that's simply never happened before in US history....has it?!?!
AP wrote on December 26, 2006 1:48 PM:Even RealClearPolitics isn't biting on this: http://tinyurl.com/yf4y5a
"If we went and made a federal case over every Congressional internship that's been doled out over the years to the child of a friend or political contributor we'd run out of trees and ink by next Thursday."
Mike Manh wrote on December 26, 2006 2:34 PM:Jeez, this is one 98 $160/week internships that were given out of 350 applications. That's about a 1 in 3.5 chance that anyone who applies gets the job. Probably half had recommendation letters which gave them a better shot. I don't really think it counts as doing anyone a favor to have their friend's kid answer phones for less than minimum wage.
A MUCH more interesting story is "OBAMA ABUSES CHILD LABOR BY HAVING THEM ANSWER PHONES IN BORING OFFICE FOR LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE" Of course it is an internship, but still. I mean, he's a good guy, but now we are holding him to standards that only saints can fill.
Barkleyg wrote on December 26, 2006 2:58 PM:It's good to get stories like this out. I agree with the other opinions that it is petty. But is it good practice for the future.
I hope Obama is the man that so many others think he is. His good point is that the Repugs only have 2+years of Obama's votes in the Senate to scrutinize and destort. So petty crap like this, with maybe real crap in the future, is what Obama and Dems should get used to. When I say maybe real crap in the future, it is not a hope or a hint; it's just that sht happens.
So, this is good. This will keep Obama on his toes to do right with the legal plus preceived interpretations of his future actions.
This cheap shot looks like a cost now, but it will be an asset in the future. He's seen what a cheap shot can look like, should learn the lesson, and avoid all appearances of inappropriate actions in the future.
Personally, and who cares, I like Gore on top paired with Obama or Edwards. Go DEMS!
beachmom wrote on December 26, 2006 3:45 PM:Funny how perception and reality don't always line up. We're told about how Obama is a man of the people and connects with folks of all walks of life, and now we read this unfortunate intern story. Contrast that with the supposedly "elitist" John Kerry and an intern he hired:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/24/shields.kerry/index.html
Let me tell you about a John Kerry much different from that glib stereotype. Seven years ago, Kerry personally recruited Brendan O'Donnell, then 19, to become an intern in his Senate office in Washington. Senate internships are coveted positions, often reserved for the children of well-connected or deep-pocketed campaign donors. Brendan O'Donnell's mother, Kathryn, was an honored elementary teacher and a widow. Her husband and Brendan's father, Kirk, was an enormously talented lawyer-politician had died unexpectedly the previous September. In the cold calculus of power, neither Brendan O'Donnell nor his family could do anything politically for John Kerry or anybody else.
What I forgot to mention is that Brendan is learning disabled. In 1999, he explained his condition this way in a statement John Kerry later quoted on the Senate floor: "I think there should be a different name for learning disabilities ... to me, it's not a disability -- it's just that I have something which causes a storm in my mind. When I look at something, I have to take my time and take it all in." But take it in he does, performing all his assigned tasks in the Senate office with enthusiasm and dispatch.
Really nice story. Kind of represents the "audacity of hope" that someone with a learning disability can move up the ladder and become a Senate staffer, doesn't it, if you work for the right person.
TheOtherWA wrote on December 26, 2006 4:15 PM:"Aramanda was one of nearly 100 interns who worked for Obama in 2005, Gibbs said."
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/184540,122306obama.article
This quote is from a longer article published the 23rd that no one picked up on. It's a longer version of the article this post is about.
Karen wrote on December 26, 2006 6:32 PM:Internships like the Kerry internship that beachmom posted about are nice to hear about but for the most part, the page slots and internships go to young people with connections. Why should there be actual programs for members of Congress to help the children of the privileged? I don't understand it and having just heard that 15 Americans - probably around the age of this intern - died in Iraq in the last 4 days, its kind of sickening.
ecd wrote on December 26, 2006 8:12 PM:Ummm ... "efforted?"
pjcamp wrote on December 27, 2006 12:00 AM:Steadily efforted?
Curlew wrote on December 27, 2006 8:08 AM:Why is this an issue? The former Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service gave an internship position to the daughter of one of the honcho's of the National Rifle Association. She was "Special Assistant to the Director." Of course at the time the former director of the agency was in bed with his buddies at NRA hoping to get a job there after he quit.
I guess this means that its OK for Repugnicans to hand out plum internships for political reasons but its not ok for Democrats to do the same?
Castor Troy wrote on December 27, 2006 8:47 AM:Non-story. Boy, muckraking around Democrats must be proving pretty darn boring... Couldn't Obama at least be accused of messaging this kid or something?
I mean, seriously, where in the world does anyone believe that it's what you know, not who you know? I don't see anything surprising whatsoever about hiring some kid in as a temp intern.
And other comments were right- Justin, before you jump all over this, how about back-checking on temp intern positions with other Senators? I will bet my next months' salary that kids of a lot of donors will show up...
goethean wrote on December 27, 2006 11:42 AM:"Why is this an issue?"
Because "efforted" isn't a word, dammit!