Australian news report: 'Obama - The Chicago Way'

September 16, 10:37 AMPolitical Issues ExaminerJudah Freed

Previous Next

7 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Political Issues Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Media outlets outside the United States have a way of viewing people and events inside the United States with the objectivity we often lack. You cannot see the outside of a house from the inside. Paying attention to reports from foreign correspondents gives us a chance to discover news and views we may never hear from U.S. mainstream media.

One such media outlet is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which on August 26 ran a 20-minute report by correspondent Mark Corcoran, who visited the south side of Chicago to get the lowdown on Barack Obama. The report is called "Obama - The Chicago Way."

The report features interviews with Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, City Council Alderwoman Toni Preckwinkle, long-time friend and supporter Linda Thomas, and south side civil rights activist Don Rose, former press secretary to Martin Luther King Jr.

Corcoram makes the case that no politician in Chicago can rise to power without making an accommodation with "The Outfit," the Chicago Mob that's the source of penetrating corruption in city government.  This is "The Chicago Way." 

In Obama's case, Corcoram charges, his only ties to the Mob was an admittedly "bonehaded" real estate deal with an alleged con-man to obtain a house in Hyde Park. Although Obama himself seems to be otherwise clean, concluded the ABC reporter, the rising political star has chosen to "look the other way" rather than fight political corruption directly and derail his ascent as a community organizer, state legislator, U.S. Senator, and now as a U.S presidential nominee.

The picture that emerges from the report is that Barack Obama is a tough-minded pragmatist, not a soft-headed idealist, as some Republicans contend. The point is illustrated by Obama's reluctant choice to distance himself from the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who has conveniently gone to Africa until after the November election.

So, whether you are an Obama fan or not, I invite you to view this Australian Broadcasting Corporation report below and add your comments on this page. At minimum, I hope the discourse that follows will be enlightening.

CLICK IMAGE for ABC page, then click "Flash Video" at bottom of page.
 

A Personal Note: For the sake of full disclosure, I need to report that my paternal grandfather lived in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, where my dad grew up, and my grandfather for an extended period was Al Capone's barber. Back then barbers routinely would both cut the hair and shave the faces of their customers. Imagine if you will what life must have been like for this short, pudgy Jewish barber, coming to his shop every morning knowing that sometime that day he'd have a straight razor at the throat of the city's top mobster. I have to wonder how his hand never shook or left a nick. At least, he certainly must have been careful, for the man survived and eventually retired to Phoenix. True story.

 (M. Damiano in "Oz" provided the news tip on the ABC story.)