The Next Obama Scandal?

The Times of London hints that there may be yet another scandal coming at Barack Obama, again triggered by one of his political allies and mentors. It is not really Obama so much as it is the unsavory company he keeps. In this case, Illinois power broker state Senator Emil Jones.

Obama has often described Jones as a key political mentor whose patronage was crucial to his early success in a state long dominated by near-feudal party political machines. Jones, 71, describes himself as Obama’s “godfather” and once said: “He feels like a son to me.”

Like the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the outspoken pastor of Obama’s Chicago church, and like Tony Rezko, the millionaire fundraiser and former friend of Obama who is on trial for corruption, Jones is in danger of becoming a hindrance to his protégé’s presidential ambitions.

For almost a year Jones has used his position as leader of the state senate to block anticorruption legislation passed unanimously by the state’s lower house. He has also become embroiled in ethical controversies concerning his wife’s job and his stepson’s business.

None of them is linked to Obama, but the Democratic contender can ill afford another scandal related to his former Chicago allies. Despite his electrifying speech on race last week, the opinion polls make worrying reading for the senator and his aides. Hillary Clinton appears to be regaining lost ground and John McCain, the Arizona senator who has sewn up the Republican nomination, has edged ahead of his warring rivals.

Illinois has a long and colorful (if that is the right word) history of political corruption. I remember talking to one utility executive who said that in order to get a meeting with Illinois politicians it was necessary to bring cash or one would not even get in the front door. It is more than a little hard to believe that Obama was never aware of the crooked politics in that state. The company a politician keeps can cause genuine damage. Now, is the Clinton campaign trying mightily to get stories like this into the media? I would not be at all surprised. Does that change Obama's problem? Not in the least.