Botching the basic facts of the transaction, Morris again suggested the Obamas got a discount on the price of their house
SUMMARY: On Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, Dick Morris again suggested that Sen. Barack Obama and his wife got a discount on the price of their house and botched several basic facts of the real estate transaction. Morris suggested that "Obama got $300,000 off market price" of the house because former Obama contributor Tony Rezko "pa[id] the full market price" for an adjacent property -- an assertion that has been refuted by both Obama and the seller.
Contrary to documentation and reported facts, syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor Dick Morris once again suggested that Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, got a discount on the price of their house and, in the process, botched the basic facts of the transaction. Morris has repeatedly distorted the facts surrounding the Obamas' purchase of their home, as Media Matters for America has documented.
During a segment on the June 9 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, Morris asserted that "[Chicago businessman and former Obama contributor Antoin "Tony"] Rezko paid full market price for his land. Obama got 300,000 off market price for his land. How do we know that that 300,000 off that Obama got was not paid for by Rezko paying the full market price?" But Morris' suggestion that "Obama got 300,000 off market price" of the house because Rezko "pa[id] the full market price" for an adjacent property has been refuted by Obama and the seller. Documents available on the Obama campaign's website indicate that the original asking price of the house was $1.95 million and that the Obamas paid $1.65 million. According to a February 18 Bloomberg News article, "The couple who sold Barack Obama his Chicago home said the Illinois senator's $1.65 million bid 'was the best offer' and they didn't cut their asking price because a campaign donor bought their adjacent land, according to e-mails between Obama's presidential campaign and the seller."
On November 1, 2006, the Chicago Tribune first reported on the purchase of the house by the Obamas and the adjacent property by Rezko's wife. On November 5, 2006, the Chicago Sun-Times published a Q&A in which the paper asked Obama: "Why is it that you were able to buy your parcel for $300,000 less than the asking price, and Rita Rezko paid full price? Who negotiated this end of the deal? Did whoever negotiated it have any contact with Rita and Tony Rezko or their Realtor or lawyer?" In a written response, Obama stated:
Our agent negotiated only with the seller's agent. As we understood it, the house had been listed for some time, for months, and our offer was one of two and, as we understood it, it was the best offer. The original listed price was too high for the market at the time, and we understood that the sellers, who were anxious to move, were prepared to sell the house for what they paid for it, which is what they did.
Later in the segment, Morris got wrong several basic facts of the real estate transaction, claiming: "[W]hen they originally purchased the land, Rezko paid something like 1.3 [million dollars], which was the asking price, and Obama paid something like 600 [thousand dollars], whereas the asking price was 900 [thousand dollars]. Why was the same man selling the properties willing to discount the Obama portion? And why was Rezko not asking for a discount on his portion?" In fact, Rezko's wife paid the asking price of $625,000 (not $1.3 million, as Morris claimed) for the adjacent lot, and Obama paid $1.65 million (not $600,000) for his property -- $300,000 less than the original asking price of $1.95 million (not $900,000).
From the June 9 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:
MORRIS: In your previous segment with Buchanan, you talked about Rezko. And I think that everybody here missed the point about Rezko. There were two parcels of land. Rezko bought one and Obama bought the other.
SEAN HANNITY (co-host): Same day.
MORRIS: Same day.
HANNITY: His wife did.
MORRIS: Adjoining parcels. Rezko paid full market price for his land. Obama got 300,000 off market price for his land. How do we know that that 300,000 off that Obama got was not paid for by Rezko paying the full market price?
ALAN COLMES (co-host): [unintelligible] you have no proof of that, number one. And number two --
MORRIS: No, the facts --
COLMES: You're always looking at him, aren't you?
MORRIS: -- the fact are exactly --
COLMES: He got a sixth of --
MORRIS: The facts are exactly as I said.
COLMES: -- that slice of land that Rezko bought, as far as I understand it.
MORRIS: No, that's a separate deal.
COLMES: And paid a sixth of the price.
MORRIS: That's a separate deal. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about when they originally purchased the land, Rezko paid something like 1.3, which was the asking price, and Obama paid something like 600, whereas the asking price was 900. Why was the same man selling the properties willing to discount the Obama portion? And why was Rezko not asking for a discount on his portion?
COLMES: But why are you presuming that some kind of a nefarious deal took place without any proof?
MORRIS: Because on -- the same purchaser to the same two sellers on the same day, with adjacent parcels, and one of them is at full market price and the other one is discounted?
COLMES: And I don't know the difference between the land. Maybe there's some reason for that. I don't -- I don't know why. Let me get back to some of the issues McCain has.
DICK, DICK, DICK, DICK, What are we going to do with you? We can't keep you down. We can't beat you anymore. We can't just cut you off and throw you away. We can't play with you like we used to. Not sure what to do with you.
DICK, DICK, DICK, DICK, Why do you like to expose yourself like you do? I forgot, you get money to expose yourself while reading those flash cards. And SISSY SEAN, why do you keep using your guest, DICK, to do your dirty work?
Even Obama has admitted this whole episode was "bone-headed."
Yet here comes MM running to Obama's defense over an obvious political favor.
Please connect the dots so that the rest of the world can see how OBVIOUS it was. Seems like the entire Repub smear machine cannot come up with any facts, there is that swear word again, but keep repeating innuendo after innuendo concerning this matter. SHOES, do you really believe that this transaction has not been sliced and diced a million times and the best that comes out of it is that Little Dick and Sissy Sean create lies? You are better off with Rev. Wright.
Come on SHOES, don't be such a heel. Save your tongue lashing for some other site. Don't let them string you along or lace your kool aid with drivel. We don't want you to lose your soul. So, SOCK It TO 'EM.
P.S. It is really getting sad watching the RIGHT fall apart. Soon the hatred will subside, they will realize that 2012 isn't that far away. And Sissy Boy and No Dick will continue to parlay hatred into a big payday. Has anyone ever heard ToeBoy in an area outside of the Fox compound? Or does he just live there?
Shoes,
Please tell us all how having the highest bid on a house that has been on the market for a long time is a political favor? In fact when they bought the strip of land from Rezko they paid more than twice the appraised value because they believed it was right to pay the percentage of what the land was purchased for.
Amazingly, with Rezko on trial, Obama never came up. He did nothing other than know someone who eventually did something wrong and paid for it. If this is all the right wing has they are doomed.
SHOES: "...over an obvious political favor."
Hate to quibble over semantics but it is my impression that the term political favor more correctly applies to a politician performing a favor for someone else by using political powers unigue to office. Even if, for the sake of argument, Obama received a good deal on the property in question, can you point out exactly what was the quid pro quo? What political favor did Barack Obama perform for Antoin Rezko?
You see this as an OBVIOUS political favor.
Is it as OBVIOUS as GWB's missing National Guard duty?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the illegal wiretaps?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the systematic torturing of prisoners?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the results of the secret energy meetings?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the lack of WMDs in Iraq?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the ties between AlQaeda and Saddam Hussein?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the purging of the Federal Prosecutors?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the missing billions of dollars in cash in Iraq?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the patronage jobs awarded to those who were in charge of rebuilding Iraq?
Is it as OBVIOUS as the outing of a covert CIA operative?
I could keep coming up with more OBVIOUS crimes all day.
Do you even know the definition of the word OBVIOUS?
This post by you reminds me of the detailed articles of impeachment that Dennis Kuchinich read on the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday evening. It is undeniable, using the examples he provided, that the Bush Administration will go down in history as the worst ever.
It's obvious that Bush hurt our nation and violated his oath of office in numerous ways. That's what obvious means.
Bottle, Fox News reported on Kucinich's impeachment proceedings this morning.
Sort of...
There was one sentence devoted to that actual news, then the remainder of the report (with on screen graphic) ignoring the real story, and focusing on a Republican's "blasting" of Kucinich, as the hearings were distracting from other issues. I can't remember the entire list,but it included measures to deal with fuel prices, and FISA reform (that would allow the Government to keep us safe)
In other words, Kucinich is keeping gas prices high and trying to get us all killed.
Even Obama has admitted this whole episode was "bone-headed."
Yet here comes MM running to Obama's defense over an obvious political favor.
The only thing that's obvious here, Shoes, is your stupidity.
Notice that once again, Shoes has made a post and failed to stick around and defend it. Her posts are nothing more than the Internet equivalent of placing a bag of poo on someone's doorstep, lighting it on fire, and ringing the doorbell.
Chances are that right now, she's over at Free Republik, World Nut Daily, CNS, or some other cybersewer. When she gets more "facts" with which to "enlighten" us, she will return......
Shoes my friend, does someone pay you to post this garbage?
If they're paying her minimum wage, she's being paid too much.....
At least as interesting a question -- does Shoes BELIEVE these posts?
The corporate owned right-wing slime machine is going into over drive now that Obama is the nominee!
I might otherwise say that this would be fun to watch, as their collective heads all explode, but the sickness this is becoming is going to be a dangerous one, in that a very small fraction, but real piece of our society might just take this sliming game to a level beyond just words.
I admit, this particualr thread is about a non-issue land deal, but we all know that there are a few idiots out there that might well read into this and all the other racially motivated attacks, add it up in their warped mind(s) and take it too far.
Fox, "THE URBAN MYTH CHANNEL"...nice ring to it, thanks 101. Of course with the mindset of the Foxies they hear the word URBAN and connect it to CITY, then within their brain paths means BLACK. Good way to get them to quit watching, or should I say listening to FOX, "THE URBAN MYTH CHANNEL."
IRONY, after reading many of your posts, have you ever thought about IRONY 202? Can't wait til you hit IRONY 1000.