Obama says he has no Illinois records

[rodeodance]

Source: ap

Obama says he has no Illinois records


By MIKE BAKER and CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press Writers
42 minutes ago



RALEIGH, N.C. - Barack Obama, who's been scolding Hillary Rodham Clinton for not hastening the release of records from her time as first lady, says he can't step up and produce his own records from his days in the Illinois state Senate. He says he hasn't got any.



"I don't have — I don't maintain — a file of eight years of work in the state Senate because I didn't have the resources available to maintain those kinds of records," he said at a recent campaign stop in Iowa. He said he wasn't sure where any cache of records might have gone, adding, "It could have been thrown out. I haven't been in the state Senate now for quite some time."

Obama's statement that he has no papers from his time in the Illinois statehouse — he left in 2004 — stands in stark contrast to the massive Clinton file stored at the National Archives: an estimated 78 million pages of documents, plus 20 million e-mail messages, packed into 36,000 boxes. While any file from Obama's time in the state Senate would be far smaller, the idea that no papers exist at all is questioned by one historian.

"Most of those guys do keep this stuff, especially the favorable stuff. They've all got egos," said Taylor Pensoneau, a historian who has written about Illinois legislators and governors and worked with them as a lobbyist for the coal industry. "It goes in scrapbooks or maybe boxes. I don't think it's normal practice to say it's all discarded."


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071114/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_records;_ylt=Apq406dv8TErHwlTNG73Y1.s0NUE

[TwilightZone]

1. That seems a bit...unlikely.

I'm surprised that there isn't some kind of state requirement to retain those documents for a period of time.

He's also a writer, of course. One would think that he would have hung onto them for source material.

[William769]

2. It's called covering your tracks.

You know that thing he's accusing anther candidate of doing. He's got some lobbyists in his closet he's trying to hide and theres plenty of room in there since he threw the Homosexuals out.

[MNDemNY]

3. Chicago-land politics.....A paper trail is a bad thing.

[global1]

4. I'm Sure The State Has Maintained Records During His Tenure On The Job......

it might not be personal papers (letters and such) but I'm sure they have records of how he voted, speeches he gave, etc.

I'm not so sure that this isn't that uncommon in state legislatures - that those who serve maintain their papers. There doesn't seem to be as much concern - archivally speaking - to maintain that sort of stuff in the states.

When you think on a national basis - Presidents, VP's, First Lady's, etc - they seem to go overboard with maintaining every shred of paper. I'm wondering if there are laws that require those who serve in Washington at this level to maintain their papers. I don't know if those same laws are present in the individual states.

Unfortunately, when Obama becomes President in '08 and serves out his 2 terms - his presidential library will not be able to document his time spent in the Illinois legislature and that is unfortunate.

But - really folks - lets make a big deal about this - because we need something to take Barack down a notch or two so Hillary can walk away with the nomination. God knows we don't have much to work with to catch him on - and this issue is as good as any.

[pnwmom]

5. How clever of him to have dumped them.

But too bad his campaign people didn't remember this earlier, when they complained that to comply with a limited request for records, they would have to do "an exhaustive search."

How hard is it to do an exhaustive search of nothing?

[shain from kane]

6. Sold on E-Bay. They're out there somewhere. n/t

[Tab]

7. I don't know

I can't keep track of my own crap. I know I have it, but goodness knows where it might be.

[Raejeanowl]

8. It's Starting to Smell Like There's Something to Hide

This story was threaded here just last week, I think. And as a longtime legislative staff professional, I'll say the same thing I said then:

TOTAL B.S.

Pensoneau is absolutely correct. They keep the stuff. They keep the stuff until it rots. Not only for ego, but because it's a treasure trove of work, position papers/speeches they can reuse, chock full of resources and contacts and ideas.

To say that eight years of work has been casually and mysteriously discarded would be to say you're a poor manager, not in control of your papers, your career, or your office. Is that how he wants it in preference to disclosing them?

He also tried to float his lack of staff as the reason he couldn't keep them, but that is also a ruse; state legislators will include or exclude temporaries, part-timers, and interns from their staff counts as it suits them or the circumstances.

Then (in another reporting of the story) he said it was so very, very long ago. Hmmm...all of three years? Ancient history.

Finally, the Illinois state legislative archives will have his general voting and attendance records, committee papers and voting records, and bill testimony IN (virtual) PERPETUITY.

[sandrakae]

9. The little things are starting to add up against him.

1. He won't wear an American flag on his lapel. (Claims he won't do it because he doesn't think 911 should cause you to show patriotism. Why doesn't he just wear one because he is a United States Senator.)
2. Won't put his hand over his heart during the National Anthem.(Go to damn football game and look at everyone else.)
3. Makes some smart comment about "if I was muslim, I would tell you."(Just a stupid thing to say.)
4. Claims he has no records from when he served in the state senate. (This one is to Bushesque)

[Bluebear]

11. 5. Condones homophobic spokespeople at his campaign events.

[LiberalFighter]

19. Response

I don't wear an American flag on my lapel when I wear a suit. I rather wear my union button. I show my patriotism by voting for those I support. I show my patriotism by voicing my opinion. I show my patriotism by trying to make America a better country.

I will hold my hand in the appropriate spot when pledging the flag but will only speak the original pledge.

I will hold my hand in the appropriate spot during the National Anthem or at least at a form of attention.

************

Hmmm interesting.. "he has no records" not "there are no records"

[Nihil]

20. No great fan of Obama but your list sucks

> 1. He won't wear an American flag on his lapel.

Maybe he doesn't want to look like some right-wing dork who dresses
in the flag but doesn't do anything for the country it represents?

> 2. Won't put his hand over his heart during the National Anthem.

As long as he sings the Anthem then he's doing the right thing.

>(Go to damn football game and look at everyone else.)

Yeah ... he should be mumbling a few words through a mouthful of hotdog
whilst posing like his fellow sheep ...

> 3. Makes some smart comment about "if I was muslim, I would tell you."
> (Just a stupid thing to say.)

Did he tell you? What does that lead you to infer about his religion?

Again, I prefer that a candidate keeps his religion to himself as it
avoids that tacky HFCS-sweet taint of fakery that surrounds most
politicians when they pretend to be pious.

> 4. Claims he has no records from when he served in the state senate.
> (This one is to Bushesque)

I think it unlikely. Still, *he* might well not have the records but I bet
that any important ones will have been retained by *someone*.

As I said earlier, I don't care for Obama (for a whole host of reasons)
but the four that you listed don't strike me as particularly relevent.
:-)

[Bluebear]

10. "I haven't been in the state Senate now for quite some time."

2004 is three years, not three decades, Senator.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. I still have all my records from three years ago.

However, then I have a business so it's required.

This strikes me as odd on first glance, but then that could be due to the fact that my life revolves around keeping accurate records.

[balantz]

12. Whatever the reason

we still need to know more about this. After all we've gone through with the current bosses we deserve to know more.

[journalist3072]

13. K&R for Obama's hypocrisy. As the old saying goes, Obama, don't write a check that

your a&s can't cash.

[desi]

14. K&R

for the empty suit...

[ellisonz]

15. The headline is misleading.

[guruoo]

17. Sun-Times: Successor got key Obama files

Successor got key Obama files
'We did not keep' other records from 8 years in state Senate, he says

November 12, 2007
BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Columnist

WASHINGTON -- After White House hopeful Barack Obama was elected to the
U.S. Senate in 2004, he turned over "pertinent" files from his state
Senate office to his successor and did not keep other office records.

Senior strategist David Axelrod said Sunday night, "Files pertinent to
ongoing casework were passed to Kwame Raoul, his successor."
...
Obama said that every "single piece of information, every document
related to state government was kept by the state of Illinois and
has been disclosed and is available and has been gone through with
a fine-toothed comb by news outlets in Illinois."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/645635,CST-NWS-sweet12.article

[Kokonoe]

18. All we need to see is his Kroger card purchases.

Why doesn't he release them.