McCain Hits Obama Over Chicago Ties; Obama Responds With Rick Davis Links To Mortgage Meltdown

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is reviving his opponent's association with convicted lobbyist Tony Rezko in a new TV ad that also links several other Chicago politicians to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).

In the 30-second ad "Chicago Machine," Obama is described as having been "born of the corrupt Chicago political machine." It shows footage of the Democrat saying, "In terms of my toughness, look first of all, I come from Chicago," before an announcer says, "His economic adviser, William Daley. Lobbyist. Mayor's brother. His money man, Tony Rezko. Client. Patron. Convicted Felon."

The announcer continues, "His "political godfather." Emil Jones. Under ethical cloud. His governor, Rod Blagojevich. A legacy of federal and state investigations. With friends like that, Obama is not ready to lead."

Rezko was convicted of 16 of 24 charges including fraud and money laundering earlier this year. He was one of Obama's early donors; Obama has defended himself by saying Rezko "had supported a wide range of candidates all throughout Illinois" and that his campaign had returned the contributions.

Blagojevich was one of the officials identified in court documents during Rezko's trial. The governor's administration has faced accusations of hiring fraud and irregularities about programs related to the Illinois' Tollway System.

Washington Post's Howard Kurtz fact-checks the ad and says Daley "is a former Commerce secretary with a solid reputation" while "Obama has no connection to allegations that Jones has helped some family members on the state payroll."

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in response that the Democratic candidate was "an independent Democrat" elected to the Illinois Senate and who "has challenged the Old Guard for landmark ethics reforms." Burton pointed out, "It's no coincidence that on the very day newspapers reported that John McCain's campaign manager was paid $2 million to lobby against tighter regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the McCain campaign would launch this false, gratuitous attack."

The New York Times reported on Sunday that McCain campaign manager Rick Davis received $30,000 a month for five years as president of a group advocating for less regulation for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's two largest mortgage companies that the government had to take over last month.