Redstate

Posted at 8:39am on Apr. 11, 2008 Obama: Philly not worth the cash.

It's the best reference to Henri IV that I can come up with on only one cup of coffee, sorry.

By Moe Lane

Like Ed Morrissey, I'll grant this right off the bat: Senator Obama's taking the high ground on this one. While what he's refusing to do is actually legal, it's not particularly ethical*, either, and doing it would clash horribly with his perceived campaign style. Not doing it is a risk for him, so if it works out, he's going to reap considerable political benefits from it.

If it doesn't work out, he doesn't just lose PA. He loses PA filthy.

Barack Obama may lose support in Philadelphia over 'street money'
By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Fourteen months into a campaign that has the feel of a movement, Sen. Barack Obama has collided with the gritty political traditions of Philadelphia, where ward bosses love their candidates, but also expect them to pay up.

The dispute centers on the dispensing of "street money," a long-standing Philadelphia ritual in which candidates deliver cash to the city's Democratic operatives in return for getting out the vote.

Flush with payments from well-funded campaigns, the ward leaders and Democratic Party bosses typically spread out the cash in the days before the election, handing $10, $20 and $50 bills to the foot soldiers and loyalists who make up the party's workforce.

It is all legal -- but Obama's people are telling the local bosses he won't pay.

Read on.

Posted in 2008 | Obamafiles | Show Me the Money | The Best Democratic Primary EVER — Comments (10)/ Email this page » / Read More »