"I smell Barack Obama Baloney" re. ties to Exelon Nuclear & Wall St. [View All]

[KoKo]

I smell Barack Obama baloney

by Juan Gonzalez

Friday, January 11th 2008, 4:00 AM

There was Sen. Barack Obama the other night, surrounded by his legions of young supporters, proclaiming the Iowa primary a "defining moment in history."

Maybe I'm getting old, or have watched too many silver-tongued politicians promise heaven on Earth only to shatter our hopes, but count me a doubter of the Obama revolution.

Anyone who delves past his soaring speeches and mesmerizing gaze and follows the money trail will find plenty to question.

The Democratic candidate of "change," for example, has raised nearly $100 million in campaign contributions, nearly as much as the Hillary Clinton money machine. Three of his four largest group of bankrollers are executives of Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and JPMorgan Chase.

What kind of change is that?

Among his other top contributors are executives of Exelon Corp., the largest nuclear power operator in the nation. In 2005, Obama talked in a Senate hearing of leaving "on the table" the building of new nuclear power plants - the kind of change that has Exelon ecstatic.

There is much to admire in the Obama campaign, but his attempt to be both champion to the downtrodden and cultivator of corporate titans is not one of them.

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Today's Obama supporters are convinced they can bring about a whole new era with Facebook networks, BlackBerrys, a big "Change" banner and phone banks.

For all their many flaws, at least Hillary Clinton and John Edwards have no illusions about how fiercely contested the presidential race of 2008 will become.

In a nation suffering from the greatest wealth disparity in its history, those who tell us we can all get along are selling snake oil.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/01/11/2008-01-11_i_smell_barack_obama_baloney.html