ALL TAKEN TOGETHER, BURKLE’S political baggage looks awfully hefty, and is not something Obama would want to hang around his neck, especially with the campaign slogan “Change We Can Believe In.” Still, Darry Sragow, the Democratic political strategist, says, “Ron Burkle brings invaluable resources to the table that any political candidate will want to take advantage of.” And Dan Schnur, a Republican consultant, notes, “Obama needs to bring the party together, and Ron Burkle is a pretty good place to start.”
The Obama camp, though, remains cautious. “On the immediate side of things, (Burkle) certainly won’t have the relationship he’s had with Clinton,” says Jeremy Bernard, the Obama camp’s fund-raiser. “It could be that he builds the relationship, but if he comes aboard, he won’t suddenly be the main host, holding fund-raisers at his home.”
Regardless, Burkle has been reaching out. “I talked to (the Obama campaign) two months ago,” says the billionaire, “and I told them I was tired of all this partisan shit.”
Asked if he could deliver labor unions to Obama as some kind of olive branch, Burkle says, “That’s not what I do ... I don’t deliver my friends.”
Maybe not, but it seems the billionaire forgot to tell his labor-boss pals about his supposed firewall. Two days before Burkle spoke to the Weekly, Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary/treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, rang the Weekly, apropos of nothing, and touted Burkle as an “exemplary employer.” When questioned about who asked her to make the unsolicited phone call, Durazo said she was asked by Burkle’s people.
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