Bombshell: Obama had 20-year-old unpaid parking tickets
posted at 9:48 am on March 8, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Paid in full on January 26th, 10 days after he announced the formation of his presidential exploratory committee. I question the timing. I also question the sanity of people who think this is newsworthy. Is this dude really so squeaky clean, to borrow a Biden-ism, that this qualifies as “dirt”? “Obama parks on expired meters” is not the stuff of which winning attacks are made, my friends, unless those meters are located next to a Wahhabist madrassa.
Honetly, this smacks of something he’d play up himself just to show how petty his personal transgressions have been. But six different people have sent us the link in the past 18 hours, so I relent. Here you go. Read all about it: Obama’s got a lead foot. No more e-mails!
Besides, there actually is better dirt on him. Exit question: How many points behind would Hillary have to fall before she starts referring to him as “Senator Cokehead”?
Update: A winning idea, per commenter NPP: “I’m not looking forward to another year-and-a-half of useless political crap like this. We really need a constitutional amendment that campaigns can’t begin prior to 6 months before an election.”
Update: Reader Eddie G. e-mails:
After twenty years, was an arrest warrant ever issued for him? Here in Texas, any unanswered government issued penalties, such as a parking ticket, routinely call for law enforcement to have “round-ups” by arrest of anyone who has such unsettled business. As a matter of fact, the state of Texas began arresting people in every city for any outstanding matters.
I would think that the state of Illinois, more specifically the city of Chicago, would also take such action. Was he given special treatment, or are the clerks so incompetent that they never followed up on it? But that raises another question – how come he settled the matter AFTER announcing his run for ruler of the world?
Update: Slow news day at CNN.
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Allah, how about the fact that he has questionable business dealings?
amerpundit on March 8, 2007 at 9:50 AM
The MSM does not look in Dem’s closets,under their beds, in their sunken cars.
bbz123 on March 8, 2007 at 9:52 AM
I’m not looking forward to another year-and-a-half of useless political crap like this. We really need a constitutional amendment that campaigns can’t begin prior to 6 months before an election.
NPP on March 8, 2007 at 9:54 AM
Don’t worry, Hillary! will be able to dig up things that are much more worthy of the tag of “dirt”.
dalewalt on March 8, 2007 at 9:54 AM
AP- I agree that parking tickets don’t rise to the ocassion of a scandal, any more than drunk driving 20 years ago by an admitted recovering alcoholic do. I do question why you don’t seem to think the stock deal doesn’t rise to the occasion though. Are we so immune to ethics violations that we just don’t care anymore?
Pam on March 8, 2007 at 10:03 AM
You guys know I blogged the stock story on Tuesday night, right? I agree that it smells fishy, but he took a net loss from the purchases and there doesn’t seem to be hard evidence (yet) that he told his broker which stocks to pick.
Allahpundit on March 8, 2007 at 10:04 AM
And then there’s the library books…….
EricPWJohnson on March 8, 2007 at 10:05 AM
AP, you nailed it. This is being leaked by his own campaign for 2 reasons:
1. As an attempt to portray it as petty attacks from opponents; and
2. To make him look like this is the worst he’s done.
It’s actually a pretty good strategy, if you consider who he’s up against in the primary. How long before we see a story about him admitting to jaywalking 20 years ago, or that he pulled a tag off of a mattress?
TexasRainmaker on March 8, 2007 at 10:08 AM
Elitism. “You think you didn’t have to stop for the stop sign Sir? Oh excuse me! (sarcastically) We must have diplomatic plates! You have diplomatic plates sir?” -Reno 911 doing a promo in Dalas and a much ignored stop sign.
Drtuddle on March 8, 2007 at 10:12 AM
look, I disagree with Obama but the list of misses against him is getting longer
the Madrassa story
The Land Deal Story
The Stock Story
Now, the parking tickets
Soon, we will have evidence he wet his bed as a child or cried for his mommy on a scout campout
Lets just not vote for him, he deserves the dignity of having his positions torn apart and dissected not his integrity
EricPWJohnson on March 8, 2007 at 10:14 AM
Allah,
Just because he didn’t make money on it, doesn’t mean he didn’t try to.
amerpundit on March 8, 2007 at 10:18 AM
I’m shocked and
overunderwhelmed! This shall not stand!Please, think of the meter maids!
James on March 8, 2007 at 10:21 AM
I spent a few years in Massachusetts, not far from the scene of Obama’s crimes, and I say this as someone who’s driven in Manhattan and actually enjoys it:
The drivers in Mass. are totally nuts. Their driving can only be characterized as civil disobedience to the traffic laws.
So a guy who violates some piddling local traffic law, feh! That’s where we really need jury nullification.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on March 8, 2007 at 10:23 AM
According to John Edwards, not paying parking tickets makes Jesus cry.
Enrique on March 8, 2007 at 10:45 AM
But then there’d be no one left to run the government.
Pablo on March 8, 2007 at 10:48 AM
I don’t care in the least if he got parking tickets. I’ve certainly had a few. I’m extremely curious, though, how he got away with not paying them for 20 years. The last time I got a parking ticket, I stuck it in with my bills, and wrote a check the next time I paid bills. Within a couple of days, I received a new bill, stating that the original fine had doubled because I hadn’t paid it within SEVEN DAYS! Like an idiot, I thought “That’s ridiculous! I’m not paying that!” Next thing I know, I get a letter that they’re initiating a garnishment on my wages. You better believe I ran down & paid that thing in person.
BeachBaby on March 8, 2007 at 10:50 AM
Yea, like that’s going to happen, NPP: “Of course I not running for President, Tim. We can’t start that for another year. I’m just talking about issues important to the American people…”
Even worse, in 2004, Jeb’s son, George P., was being heralded as a “rock star”. P. vowed that - due to Bush fatigue - he would not run for office for another 10 years. A depressing way of looking at that is that, in 2004, people were already talking about the 2016 elections.
eeyore on March 8, 2007 at 10:50 AM
I heard that he also ripped the tags off his mattresses. This is lame.
Matticus Finch on March 8, 2007 at 10:50 AM
Niice.
Labamigo on March 8, 2007 at 10:51 AM
Amen Allah!!
If this is all Hillary’s henchmen can dig up ole’ Osama yo’ mama has nothing to worry about.
What he should be worrying about with this Clinton bunch is himself having to be dug up - if you get my drift.
OBX Pete on March 8, 2007 at 10:52 AM
Did his white half, of his black half, get the tickets?
It matters you know.
JackM on March 8, 2007 at 10:55 AM
I’ve still got unpaid parking tickets left over from college in PA. I’ve never seen anyone get tracked down and arrested over outstanding fines, especially if you’re from out of state. The worst that could happen is you get the boot. And really, if police departments are using their resources to track down people who didn’t have the change to feed a meter we’ve got bigger problems on our hands.
JaHerer22 on March 8, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Another George Bush as President? Gah!!
aengus on March 8, 2007 at 10:57 AM
Allah- I know you posted it, and obviouly there is no hard evidence, but the question that the reporters asked is valid: What are the chances of this broker randomly chosing investments with 2 different backers to Obama, and not having any knowledge of the relationship?
The net loss is a mute point. He earned on one and lost on the other. No one likes to lose on a stock, but that loss more than likely offset his gains in the portfolio. (taxwise)
Obama made ethics his cause.
Pam on March 8, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Fully agreed with Pam.
amerpundit on March 8, 2007 at 11:02 AM
You forgot to mention those notorious incidents where the public payphones and candy vending machines malfunctioned and jettisoned coins that did not belong to BO — and that larcenous nimnul kept the money.
What would Dana Carvey’s church lady say?
CyberCipher on March 8, 2007 at 11:11 AM
Am I the only one who immediately thought of the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry gets tracked down by the New York Public Library’s “book cop” Bookman, for having not returned a copy of Tropic of Cancer 20 years earlier?
RightWinged on March 8, 2007 at 11:12 AM
What I want to know if if he is guilty of ‘Parking While Black’…where is Jesse, where is Al…………
DoctorDentons on March 8, 2007 at 11:19 AM
“Obama had 20-year-old unpaid parking tickets”
So do I.
Kevin M on March 8, 2007 at 11:19 AM
Remind me never to play golf with you
tomas on March 8, 2007 at 11:23 AM
I question the… whatever…
Pay your tickest. You are not special.
Mazztek on March 8, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Tickets, too.
First cup of coffee.
Mazztek on March 8, 2007 at 11:29 AM
This sort of wanton recklessness does not a steady President make. I guess this daredevil also doesn’t close cover before striking. What a maniac! The audacity (of hope) of this guy knows no bounds. What’s next? Cat juggling?
pistolero on March 8, 2007 at 11:29 AM
YES it’s newsworthy! It speaks to his character and it yells “I flaunted the law and if it wasn’t important that I cover my ass I wouldn’t have paid up now!”
Besides, I want to know:
1. What happened to the summons for “Failure to Appear!” Don’t 20 unpaid parking tickets qualify as a scofflaw violation?
2. Was there a general amnesty declared in that jurisdiction, or was a deal worked out between the his staff and the local bureaucrats!
Allah, you forget about that one little DUI summons of W’s a few years back? Was that big enough to quality as “dirt”?
For crying out loud, what does a DEM have to do to quality as “dirt” in your book?
Kill someone?
Oh yeah! Teddy already did that, so I suppose nothing counts and everything they do is clean.
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on March 8, 2007 at 11:30 AM
I think he’s being encouraged to go by “Prescott”.
eeyore on March 8, 2007 at 11:30 AM
No, the last thing we need is more laws regarding elections. If you don’t want to hear about useless political crap like this, then:
- don’t post anything about it.
- if this comes on the TV, turn it off.
- if you get a phone survey, refuse it (and tell them why).
The reason we have this kind of crap (and I agree, it’s crap) is that the sheeple keep *demanding* it.
dalewalt on March 8, 2007 at 11:35 AM
I don’t think the point is the fact that he got a parking ticket. I think the point is that he left it unpaid for 20 years. I believe it says a lot about his character. I wonder, if Obama wasn’t running for President, would he have paid the fine? Where do we draw the line at what is considered acceptable “unlawful” activity? If it is not paying a parking ticket in the prescribed time then let’s get rid of the parking statues. Parking at Wally World would be a treat. Handicap placards for everyone.
SPIFF1669 on March 8, 2007 at 11:36 AM
Hey guys, did you know his middle name is Hussein?
spmat on March 8, 2007 at 11:46 AM
When Saint Barak agrues that he is indeed “black enough”, is he saying he’s not “white enough”?
JackM on March 8, 2007 at 11:53 AM
The humor is in the details- about 2/3 of the tickets were for parking in bus-only loading zones. This explains why politicians favor public transportation. It creates more “elites only” parking spaces for them and their staff.
Scotsman on March 8, 2007 at 11:55 AM
From the Howie Carr story in the Boston Herald:
ALLAH! SEE A PATTERN HERE? STILL THINK THE STORY’S IRRELEVANT? I’ll bet Hillary doesn’t!!!
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on March 8, 2007 at 11:59 AM
I’m surprised the city of Cambridge accepted Saint Barak’s money. That was kinda, sorta racist of them, I mean putting the squeeze on the half black man, and all.
JackM on March 8, 2007 at 12:08 PM
I can just see the “Clinton War Room”,….
littered with take-out Chinese, the smell of BO, everyone has coffee breath, shades drawn, and yes, they even smoke cigarettes….. papers rustling, computers whirrling, phones ringing….. 24/7, they never rest, they never tire……….
Then someone finds this “clap trap”…….
The “Red Button” is pressed, sirens go off……..
“We’ve found it!”
……. and the direct link to the AP is accessed….
(more to follow)….
PinkyBigglesworth on March 8, 2007 at 12:18 PM
To me, this is more like the episode where Newman doesn’t pay his parking tickets.
For some odd reason, that is.
James on March 8, 2007 at 12:41 PM
Wasn’t this guy the editor of the Harvard Law Review when he was accumulating all of these citations that he refused to pay? Maybe he just didn’t get around to reviewing that law.
Perchant on March 8, 2007 at 12:44 PM
Touche.
Lol, “The White Whale”
RightWinged on March 8, 2007 at 12:46 PM
Chicago has/had been fairly, uh, liberal, in their use of the boot. I guess he didn’t park his own car at O’Hare. I used to love coming out the airport, trudging out to remote parking and seeing the boot on some big, guady Cadillac. Heh, good times.
major john on March 8, 2007 at 12:50 PM
Good grief.
I got my electric bill yesterday and it’s impossibly low. I think I’d better call and get it straightened out so that it doesn’t hurt my childrens’ chances of becoming president some day.
I can just see the headlines now: “Candidate’s mom didn’t report incorrect electric bill”.
MamaAJ on March 8, 2007 at 1:22 PM
Obama Tabula Rasa starts to get filled in from the edges with little stuff like this, at first.
Eventually the press will have to look into his voting record, political stances, particularaffiliations (the “Black” only church he belongs too), etc.
He’s too much of a nothing to deserve any votes at this meager point in an undistinguished career.
But that didn’t stop Howard Dizzy Dean.
And look how far he got.
What will Obama’s “Yee-hah!” moment be?
profitsbeard on March 8, 2007 at 1:35 PM
The Muslim Messiah did not pay his tickets earlier because “the man” did not follow the “Black Value System” of his church.
faraway on March 8, 2007 at 1:56 PM
Who cares if the guy has parking tickets. Parking tickets are just another way government tries to steal our money.
I say don’t pay them! That’s a +1 for Obama on my list.
(He’s still negative 1 million though). =)
msipes on March 8, 2007 at 2:22 PM
I bet he also has overdue library books!Damn!
vcferlita on March 8, 2007 at 3:19 PM
Well, BillyJeff accepted disbarment from Alabama for perjury, and the US Supreme Court disbared him from practicing before them as well.
If B. Hussein Osama, er, Obama lied and did not appraise the Illinois ARDC of his outstanding parking tickets, he has committed perjury, because the application for a law license is a SWORN affidavit. The Illinois ARDC could begin disbarment proceedings and refer him for prosecution for perjury. In Illinois, people have had their law licenses suspended for less.
One more thing.
We mustn’t forget this: Perjury is a criminal offense that warranted impeachment of a President and conviction of Scooter Libby.
Obama is not above the law, either.
You can bet that Hillary’s operatives are searching the Illinois ARDC to see if Obama committed perjury. Don’t laugh, this could cloud Obama’s claim to the nomination.
georgej on March 8, 2007 at 3:28 PM
Although I don’t think this is a huge deal, I am bemused by the fact that some people thinks its really okay just to ignore the law, as long as its just a “petty” law.
It somehow reminds me of the “it was just a BJ for crying out loud” kind of reasoning.
Fatal on March 8, 2007 at 4:29 PM
Did he have to pay a fine as well? After all, they were 20 years old.
RedinBlueCounty on March 8, 2007 at 6:13 PM