Right Voices

Hope or Change?

Dan Riehl notes, via Amanda Carpenter, that in the list of earmarks he requested, $1 Million was requested for the construction of a new hospital pavilion at the University Of Chicago. The request was put in in 2006.

You know who works for the University of Chicago Hospital?

Michelle Obama. She’s vice president of community affairs.

As Byron noted, “In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he took office.”

Looks like that raise was worth it.

Oh wait, now comes the Obama’s version of the events:

Kelly M. Sullivan, the medical center’s vice president for communications and marketing, noted that Mr. Obama had also requested money for a number of other hospitals in Illinois, and she said any lobbying for the money had been handled by the hospital’s government-affairs officials.
“I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that Michelle Obama was not part of our lobbying over the request, not in any way,” Ms. Sullivan said. She said the hospital’s lobbyists often seek help on their own from both of the state’s senators.
In other cases, Mr. Obama’s requests benefited political supporters.

Allahpundit:

Follow the link for details about those political supporters, to whom hope, change, and buckets of premium grade D.C. pork were duly delivered emblazoned with the “new type of politics” seal of quality. Exit question: Why would a guy burned by the appearance of impropriety in his dealings with Tony Rezko, to the point where he felt obliged to apologize for them, think earmarking money for his wife’s school was a swift idea?