The American Mind

A real estate purchase in 2005 has been the only blemish on Sen. Barack Obama’s hockey stick trajectory to a possible Presidential run. He finally talked about the house purchased next to land bought by the wife of Chicago fixer Tony Rezko calling it “boneheaded.” The Washington Post summarizes the land deal:

The Obamas purchased the house, which had been on the market for several months, for $300,000 below the list price. On the day they closed, Rezko’s wife, Rita, closed on the 9,000-square-foot lot next door for the asking price of $625,000.

Obama said Rezko, who knows the neighborhood, was one of several people he called for advice on the real estate market. Rezko told him he knew the developer who renovated the house. In a later conversation, Rezko said he intended to buy the empty lot and build on it.

Later, the Obamas bought a 10-foot-by-150-foot piece of the lot for $104,500. An appraisal put the value of the strip at $40,500, a spokesman said, but Obama considered it fair to pay one-sixth of the original price for one-sixth of the lot.

“It wasn’t something we needed to have,” Obama said. “It was something I thought would be nice, if it worked economically for him.”

The $64,000 question is why was Obama so nice to pay so much more than the appraised value for the strip? Did the subsequent cost of building the fence amount to $64,000 to Rezko? Or maybe Illinois’ junior Senator is a generous soul who does a poor job managing his assets. If so keep him far away from the federal treasury where he can be even more “generous” with taxpayers’ money.

Obama’s explanation deflated the story. Taking it on is a good indication he’ll run for President. Other than being a month behind the story he handled it well. Unless new evidence comes out the land deal story is kaput. But Illinois politics is a murky place. If someone wants something to be found it will be found.

“Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser” [via Michelle Malkin]