Friends of Obama at BarackBook.com

NY Times:

Here’s an entry you would not expect to see on Barack Obama’s official profile on the social networking site Facebook: “Barack Obama is now friends with Antonin ‘Tony’ Rezko.”

But that’s the first item on Mr. Obama’s “FriendFeed” on BarackBook.com, a Facebook parody site created by the Republican National Committee that it says will go live on Tuesday. According to the R.N.C, the site is intended to showcase some of Mr. Obama’s “notable associations.”

And highlighting Mr. Obama’s relationship with Mr. Rezko, the Chicago real estate developer who was recently convicted in federal court of corruption and money laundering, is just the beginning. Mr. Rezko was an early political backer of Mr. Obama and donated large sums to his campaigns. (Mr. Obama has since severed ties with Mr. Rezko and given much of the money he raised to charity.)

An early glance at the R.N.C. mockup shows Mr. Rezko with his own profile page that lists links to Mr. Obama and other “friends” of the Illinois senator. Other “BarackBook” friends include, Eric Holder, a Washington lawyer and member of Mr. Obama’s vice presidential selection team, and William Ayers, one of the founders of the radical group Weather Underground.

Each profile is set to include videos, news articles and sections like “Facts About Me and Barack,” “My Donations and Bundling for Barack” and “What Barack Says About Me.” The R.N.C. says it plans to continue updating BarackBook between now and the election. (Notably, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Mr. Obama’s controversial former pastor, does not yet have a profile.)

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I believe the right reverend rant needs his own page. Rev. Wright demonstrates one of the fraudulent aspects of the Obama campaign. If he cannot persuade his long time friends and associates how can he expect to persuade his political opponents. When he is afraid to challenge his friends nutty statements about the AIDS virus until it becomes a political problem, what does it say about his moral courage?

I think this a clever idea with a lot of potential. I expect the Rezko page may have some offshoots such as his Iraqi sugar daddy Auchi who apparently was the source of funds to Rezco used to help Obama buy his house. Then there is the Obama time line of supporting US strategy in Iraq after he was elected in 2004 right up until the time Rezko lost out on a deal in the Kurdish area. At that point Obama pivoted to the MoveOn position as a means of getting the nomination.

I think the Republicans have found themselves in a target rich environment and should take advantage of it.