By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

March 31, 2008 – Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) is railing on unscrupulous lending practices by sub-prime mortgage lenders and offering up solutions to mitigate the crisis while one of her top advisers had been on the board of one of the nation’s biggest culprits in housing scandal.

Maggie Williams, Clinton’s campaign manager, joined the board and advised the now bankrupt sub-prime lender Delta Financial Corporation for seven years, according to Security Exchange Commission.  Williams was recruited for the board after the New York-based lender came under federal scrutiny for discriminatory lending practices.

 But there is no indication Williams, an African American, worked to protect folks from the practices that made tons of money for investors and cost working-class people their homes.  

Williams did, however, make her share of cash while on the board.  As of September of 2007 Williams’ shares of Delta’s stock earned her at least $175,000. 

How?

 Delta Financing did just what Clinton says she wants stopped.  Under a subsidiary, Delta Funding, the company made huge profits by turning around and selling loans it purchased for profit.  The company offered refinancing to homeowners of moderate and middle incomes – often in Black neighborhoods.   The company even penalized folks who tried to pay the loans off early, a practice Clinton has been grandstanding against in recent days.

Williams had to know how the Long Island-based company was raking in millions during her tenure on the board, but she stayed until the bubble burst and the company filed bankruptcy.  She left in December 2007,  just a couple of months before she came to her current position with the Clinton campaign. I would like to give Williams the benefit of the doubt and say she didn’t sell Black folks down the river, but she had to know how Delta Financing was making some serious cash. 

Homeowners were talked “out of” fixed 30-year mortgages, at 6.2 percent, and “in to” loans with rates anywhere from 11.3 percent to 13.6 percent, according to Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), an inter-agency body that recommends standards for U.S. financial institutions,.  These were rates they couldn’t afford to pay back, and borrowers found themselves forced into foreclosure.

Williams’ close relationship with the lender ended just two months before she became a top Clinton adviser, this brings into question how tough the New York senator could really be on these lenders.  It’s not clear if Williams filled any volunteer position with the Clinton campaign while at the same time serving on board of Delta Financing.

It also calls into question if the Clinton’s have investments in or have profited from companies like Delta Financing?  The campaign continues to stall on the release of the Clinton’s tax returns and have worked feverishly to keep the list of donors to President Clinton’s library under wraps.

Wonder why? 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer 

Posted March 28, 2008  - The stress level in the Clinton campaign became more evident this week as they struggled to get pledged delegates to switch, super delegates to back the New York senator and finagle a way for do-overs in Michigan and Florida.

The week didn’t end much better than it started; today Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.  This endorsement looks like another push back from a super delegate sending a coded message to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) that Obama should be the nominee.   

This endorsement is the second high profile introduction for Obama on the trail in what should be considered “Clinton territory.”  On Thursday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced Obama before he delivered his speech on the economy in the Big Apple. Bloomberg hasn’t endorsed any candidate, but his appearance with Obama has generated  a variety of speculation.

Casey will join Obama on a six-day bus tour throughout the state in hopes of boosting his appeal to Pennsylvania voters.   Clinton has been favored in the state and leading in polls there, so the Obama camp has decided to increase their visibility and reorganize the team on the ground.  

They announced they’ve replaced Pennsylvania campaign manager Jim DeMay with Paul Tewes, for a more aggressive strategy in the state.  Tewes is credited with Obama’s impressive win in the Iowa caucuses.

The Clinton camp was delivered another harsh blow from polls showing the controversies over the comment by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright haven’t been a big negative for the first term Illinois senator.     

The survey by Pew Research Center found while both Democratic candidates were favored for commander and chief over Republican John McCain (R-Ariz.), Obama garnered 49 percent of Democrats surveyed to Clinton 39 percent.  (The margin of error 5.5 percent)

But negatives have been mounting towards the New York senator according to a survey released Thursday by NBC and The Wall Street Journal.  The poll found Obama with a positive personal rating of 49 percent, down 3 percent from two weeks ago, and Clinton with a 37 percent positive personal rating, “Her lowest rating in the poll since 2001,” according to the paper.

But Clinton supporters are flexing their muscles too.  Earlier this week a letter signed by 21 donors to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee  (DCCC) was sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warning her to back down on her direction for super delegates.  Pelosi had suggested it would be dangerous for super delegates to override the pledge delegates in the party.
The letter stops short of delivering a direct threat, but says, “We have been strong supporters of the DCCC. We therefore urge you to clarify your position on super-delegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August.”

Clinton’ communication director Phil Singer told reporters the campaign was given a “heads up” about the letter but they didn’t contribute to its content.

If the Dems keep at it like this, President Jimmy Carter may be called in to monitor the convention.  
 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Poltical Producer

Posted March 27, 2008 – Maryland congressman Albert Wynn (D), has decided to leave office early, hoping to allow his presumed successor Donna Edwards to step in quickly.

Wynn lost to Edwards in the February primary.  He’ll now re-start his career as a partner at Washington law firm Dickstein Shapiro LLP.  

 Wynn released a statement saying, “It has been a great honor to serve as a member of Congress representing the wonderful people of the 4th District. However, it is time to move into another phase of my life and I am very excited to be joining such an outstanding firm.”

Edwards, a community activist, will face off with the Republican challenger now in a special election.  Because the district is heavily Democratic, she will most likely win the seat.  If so, she would be the first Black woman to represent Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.
 
“My leaving early will also allow our Democratic nominee Donna Edwards the opportunity to successfully navigate a special election and be sworn in this summer. This will not only give her seniority in the incoming Congressional class of ’09, but more importantly, will allow her to get off to a fast start in serving the citizens of our community. I offer her my best wishes and stand ready to assist in any way possible,” said Wynn.

 New ethics rules don’t allow former members of congress to lobby their congressional colleagues for one year. Wynn’s early resignation will start the clock giving him a head start on completing the required moratorium.

There is also some good news for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).   Wynn endorsed the senator earlier this year and his apparent successor has as well.  Should Edwards win the special election she too will give her super delegate vote to the Illinois senator.
 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Poltical Producer

Posted March 27, 2008 – Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has decided she’s in this race, regardless. Does she know something we don’t about the delegate tallies and the popular vote?

I think so.  

 I’ve heard from some Texas Democrats that Clinton’s ground troops in the Lone Star State, in preparation  for the state convention, were given marching orders to do “whatever it takes” to nab more pledged delegates from her rival, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

But for the second time in as many days Clinton told reporters that the pledged delegates, which are awarded based on the results of their state elections, have the right to change their minds, and don’t have abide by election results.

  “We talk a lot about so-called pledged delegates, but every delegate is expected to exercise independent judgment,” she said.

That sounds like what I heard from folks in Texas.  They’ve been asked to ignore the “pledged” election results? Earlier this week during a conference call, Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s campaign spokesman, flatly denied the campaign was using this tactic. 

Now a new Gallup poll shows the Dems’ battle for the nomination could be driving each candidate’s supporters to Republican challenger John McCain.   The survey found that 28 percent of Clinton’s supporter would vote for McCain if Obama got the nomination, and 19 percent of Obama’s supporters would vote for McCain, if Clinton got the nomination.

 This could be part of the Clinton’s strategy as well.  If she stays in long enough to cripple the party, the power play could cost the Democrats the White House. 

The leadership of the Democratic Party should take some advice from Obama Girl’s new video, and persuade Clinton to step aside.   If the party can’t deal with the Clinton machine, the party doesn’t deserve to win. 
 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted March 26, 2008 – Democrat Hillary Clinton decided Tuesday to deflect questions about her misleading recollection of her trip to Bosnia, by providing her rival with advice on how to deal with the fiery comments by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Clinton admitted she misled people about her humanitarian trip in 1996.  “I made a mistake. That happens,” she told reporters during a news conference in Pennsylvania. “It proves I’m human, which, for some people, is a revelation. ”

Well, “being human” could be an excuse for most folks who make mistakes. But it isn’t one she’s been willing to allow Wright.

The media has shied away from publicly calling the New York senator a liar, but she didn’t tell the truth about this trip, and it begs the question, ”What else could she be misleading the American people about?” 

What troubles me more is her comments regarding Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) decision not to leave his church. 

“I think, given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor,” the New York senator told a Pittsburgh newspaper this week.    That’s some tough talk from someone whose choices were questioned when she declined to renounce her husband’s behavior involving Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton has never really explained why she decided not to leave her husband, if only for a short time, after she discovered his involvement with the White House intern.  President Bill Clinton lied to his family and the American people about the extra-marital affair, and he was punished with impeachment.  But why did she stay?

On Tuesday, Chelsea, on the campaign trail for the senator, was speaking to college students in Indiana.  She was asked about the Lewinsky affair.  She told the student that, in all of her 70 college visits, the question had never been asked. “And I do not think that is any of your business,” she responded.

It’s difficult to draw lines in the sand when you’re running for public office, which requires public trust.  The Clintons want all unpleasant and unpopular parts of their past off-limits.  

“We don’t have a choice when it comes to our relatives. We have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the church we attend,” Clinton told reporters.

Most folks would agree with the senator.  But for the thousands of women who divorced their husbands for similar breaches of trust, they might ask her why she made a choice to stay. She made her choice, and no one questioned it.  

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer 

Posted March 25, 2008 – Sen. Hillary Clinton  (D-N.Y.) in efforts to boost her international experience “misspoke” about her March 1996 trip to Bosnia. The former First Lady recalled landing there under “sniper fire.”  But one passenger on the plane: comedian Sinbad, also along on the humanitarian trip, disagreed.

“I never felt that I was in a dangerous position,” Sinbad told the Washington Post last week. “I never felt being in a sense of peril, or ‘Oh, God, I hope I’m going to be okay when I get out of this helicopter or when I get out of this tank,” he said.

But just last week, when asked about the same trip, Clinton said, “I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia,” she said, in remarks that aides described Monday as not being part of her prepared speech. “I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

Well, it looks like after more in-depth “fact checking.”  Sinbad was right.

Clinton admitted while campaigning in Pennsylvania Monday she “misspoke” about the circumstances surrounding their arrival.  She didn’t offer up an explanation, but admitted making the mistake.  

She didn’t recant her earlier statements until several news organizations confirmed Sinbad’s version of the event.  The Washington Post published a “fact check” on the trip with their reporter who was also there, and CBS News ran the footage of Clinton and her daughter Chelsea walking calmly on the tarmac.  The landing and arrival was uneventful and no one on the trip ever heard or reported gunfire.

Clinton had recalled the trip as “harrowing.”  While Sinbad said it involved no greater decision-making skills than “Do we eat here or at the next place?” according to an interview with the Washington Post.

On Monday, Clinton told the Philadelphia Daily News editorial board she was told “that we had to land a certain way and move quickly because of the threat of sniper fire,” not that actual shots were being fired.

“So I misspoke,” she told the paper.

This now opens the door to challenge her claims of “experience” that she has built her campaign around.  Clinton has maintained she would be “ready on day one” and would be a better commander and chief because of her White House years and her role as First Lady. 

Sinbad, an Obama supporter, may have the last laugh, because I’m sure no one in the Clinton camp is laughing.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted March 25, 2008 – Every relationship has its highs and low’s, and the relationship between Bill Clinton and Black folks has hit a new low.   

A new survey by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal shows that the former president’s love fest with Black folks has hit a rough patch. That’s no surprise.  Developments on the campaign trail over the last 10 months have contributed to the decline, and neither political camp should be surprised.  

It seems the early signs of a deteriorating romance began during the primary season when President Clinton, while campaigning for his wife, blew his capital.  It all started to unravel with Black folks when the former president became the surrogate attack machine targeting her closest rival, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

The polls revealed that more than 45 percent of the respondents view Clinton negatively and 42 percent positively.  In comparison, in 2007, the 42nd president received a positive rating of 48 percent, compared with a negative rating of 35 percent.  This is a significant drop for the man once called the “first Black president.”

So what happened?

It’s a combination of things. First, Clinton overestimated his so-called Blackness and his political clout with African Americans.  He was confident his influence with the community would give him license to go after Obama and not sacrifice Black support. 

The next big gaff came days before the South Carolina primary, where Clinton likened Obama’s candidacy to a “fairy tale,” and followed up with a comment on Obama’s victory that implied Illinois senator won because he is Black.  Because South Carolina’s electorate is more then 50-percent African American, the former president credited Obama’s win to similar results in 1984 when the Rev. Jesse Jackson won the state.  

Clinton even went so far to offer up a “dream ticket,” leading into the Mississippi primary, suggesting Obama could fill the No. 2 spot on the ticket with his wife. And the put-downs continue from the former commander and chief. Just this week, he made comments Obama’s camp contend challenge the senator’s patriotism.

In August 2007 Obama was in the early stages of introducing himself to voters, and was struggling to win the African-American vote.  A poll by USA Today/Gallup taken then found Clinton’s lead over the Illinois senator had gained 8 percentage points in recent weeks.  Clinton was leading Obama with African-American voters by a 22-percent margin.

With the contest for the nomination still in play, one thing is for sure: The Black vote will not be taken for granted this time around.  
 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted March 24, 2008 – The Easter weekend allowed both Democratic candidates some down time, but there was no rest when it came to exchanging barbs and accusations about their rivals. 

On Friday Bill Clinton said: “I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country. And people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues, instead of all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics.”

Clinton’s reference to “two people who loved this country” was an apparent allusion to his wife, New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton and Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain.   Many inferred that the former president was saying that Obama does not love his country.

An Obama supporter, retired Air Force Gen. Merrill McPeak, said the remark was reminiscent of McCarthysim, a comment that sent the Clinton campaign into a spin.

On Sunday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who announced his endorsement for Obama on Friday, said he didn’t  believe the former president had accused Obama of being unpatriotic. “The campaign has gotten too negative – too many personal attacks, too much negativity that is not resounding with the public,” Richardson told Fox News Sunday.

Clinton supporter James Carville, obviously pissed, told The New York Times that Richardson’s endorsement of Obama was “an act of betrayal.”

“Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic,” Carville said.

The war of words is escalating. If it continues, the Dems might as well hand the election over to McCain, because alienated Democratic voters may stay home in November. 

Posted March 21 2008 – It looks like the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has rubbed elbows with President Bill Clinton.   A Web site wanting to set the record straight about their beloved pastor has posted a picture from Wright’s 1998 White House visit. 

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By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted March 21, 2008 – Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) speech on race must have hit the mark, it was the most popular video on the internet and folks apparently liked what they heard, but it’s unlikely that story will get much press today. That’s because the Obama campaign was slammed with a bombshell last night that shook the national airwaves. The State Department announced that the Illinois senator’s very private passport file had been accessed at least three times over the past three months by a contract employee.   The first breach, on Jan. 8, was shortly after Obama defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the Iowa caucus.  The second time somebody tapped his file was on Feb. 21; it was accessed again on March 14.

“This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, Bill Burton, spokesman for Obama said.  “We demand to know who opened Sen. Obama’s file,” he said.  For now a senior State Department official will only say the “curious” officials opened the file but there was no political or malicious intent.

Obama learned of this latest infraction while on the campaign trail in West Virginia.  This isn’t the first time a passport file of a presidential candidate has been peeked at.  In 1991 the then-Gov. Bill Clinton’s passport file was compromised while he waged a campaign for the White House against President George H. Bush. 

Before the passport problem was discovered, the popular YouTube Web site reported the Obama speech on race in America had been clicked 1.6 million times.  The speech, which lasted close to 40 minutes, was greatly anticipated to see how Obama would handle the controversy surrounding his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. 

Wright, who is now retired, made news last week when clips from a 2001 sermon showed him saying, “God damn American” in reference to the United States policies he linked to the Sept. 11 bombings.
This latest development may get the attention of the FBI, and Obama’s folks may call for an independent investigation into the numerous breaches, understandable since security issues have been a high priority and the junior senator from Illinois was given Secret Service protection just months into his presidential campaign.