Coffee time!

Baron is more than just a fundraiser — he was Silky’s campaign finance chair in ‘04, before co-chairing the Kerry Victory ‘04 Committee.

Alex_SF on August 11, 2008 at 6:24 PM

I was naively skeptical about the significance of this Baron+Obama connection until I learned today that David Axelrod was Edwards Presidential Campaign Manager in 2004, a fact that somehow eluded me. Thanks to another commenter, I also learned that Baron was Edwards Finance Chair in 2004.

There is speculation that Edwards was nothing but a stalking horse for Obama to knock Hillary out of the race. See here where Obama’s plagiarism of Edwards words brings it all into focus.

With the all this in mind it I now think Ed Morrissey is absolutely right to ask:

Did Obama and his team know about Baron’s arrangement with Hunter, too? And if Baron knew about the affair, did he let his new boss in on the old boss’ secret, especially when Edwards vied for the second slot on the national ticket, or when Obama and Edwards appeared together?

It is highly probable that the answer is: HELL YES!

Uhh, the world is full of “oops” babies born to older mothers and fathers who thought that birth control was something they needn’t worry about. My best friend has two children, conceived while in her 40’s. It’s not so rare. Rielle need not have “prepped’ her fertility.

Was she reckless or scheming? We may never know.

For these two people the chances of conception were vanishingly small. How, then, did this happen? Well, not by accident I’m sure. I’m not a conspiracy theorist and I don’t think Ms. Hunter’s personal history has demonstrated a talent for long range planning. I think at some point in their affair, perhaps quite early, Hunter had a ‘Cleopatra moment’ and realized that the only a child could bind her to Edwards forever. But of course she’s not stupid; she knows the odds of a 40 year-old mistress getting pregnant by her 50+ lover ain’t good. Bioscience to the rescue. She visits a fertility clinic and procures a variety of medications to increase the number of eggs she releases and the ’stickiness’ of her uterus. Needless to say, John never knew and indeed had every statistical reason to think their meetings could not result in a child. (In his lawyerly, hedging little brain that may have been one of the reasons he did it.) Another triumph of medical science.

In this scenario Hunter is not a femme fatal but rather the heroine of her own private soap opera, sacrificing for love, justifying her deceptions with sentimentality. And it worked. If Edwards is the father then they are indeed bound together.

If I’m right then the truth will be revealed when the inevitable tell-all book hits the shelves. This is America. The kind of people who do this want to tell their story and need the big pay day that only publicity can provide. It’s only a matter of time.

Character, after all, is destiny.

Look up “Baron and Budd Asbestos Memo” (see discussion here, starting at page 85) to see how his firm coached asbestos plaintiffs to lie about product identification during depositions.

Alex_SF on August 11, 2008 at 6:24 PM

I wonder if that’s the same firm whose commercials urging potential patients to call has the chest xray backward.

Also, if The Mighty Fred Baron is involved, then I wonder which characters are represented by other Dems. I’m thinking:

Lucy = Hillary
Schroeder = Bill Clinton (musician oblivious to Lucy’s rants)
Franklin = Barack
Charlie Brown = Richardson
Pigpen = ?
Linus = ?

It also assumes that Baron is more than what is in evidence (a fundraiser, of which there are probably thousands).

Baron is more than just a fundraiser — he was Silky’s campaign finance chair in ‘04, before co-chairing the Kerry Victory ‘04 Committee.

He’s also, as part of his day job, a poster boy for the systemic corruption of the asbestos plaintiffs’ lawyers’ bar. Look up “Baron and Budd Asbestos Memo” (see discussion here, starting at page 85) to see how his firm coached asbestos plaintiffs to lie about product identification during depositions.

Tapper asked the Obama campaign for some clarification on Baron and his status on Team Obama. Unsurprisingly, the campaign seems a little slow to respond.

He should be asking the Clinton camp. I’ll bet they wouldn’t be slow to respond.

I’ve always wanted to say that…well, type at least.

This is stretching… Obama certainly can’t know all of the affairs of each of his fundraisers. Maybe revisit the story if there is every any real indication of something shady.

DaveS on August 11, 2008 at 5:35 PM

It’s seems unlikely that Obama didn’t know about Reille Hunter. Even without the MSM coverage, surely he heard the rumors which have been out there for a year. Wouldn’t he have been vetting Edwards as a potential veep candidate or cabinet member?

That being said, I don’t see anything unusual about the fact that Baron if fund raising for Obama, and indeed I’d be surprised if he hadn’t been doing his part to get him elected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEULVyg1O_8

Can Obama get over Edwards, uh er endorsement :)

This assumes that Baron does not suffer from a feeling that he is invincible (the incredible Hubris of Democrats).

It also assumes that Baron is more than what is in evidence (a fundraiser, of which there are probably thousands).

It seems unlikely that Baron would have let Obama pick Edwards knowing that this explosive situation was ripe for exposure.

This assumes that Baron does not suffer from a feeling that he is invincible (the incredible Hubris of Democrats).