In a dirty city, Obama blazed a cleaner trail

CHICAGO -- On the campaign trail, Barack Obama liked to boast that he was a tough survivor of the bare-knuckled world of Chicago politics. But the president-elect has also steered clear of most of its scandals, navigating a careful middle ground that has left him relatively unscathed in a city synonymous with corruption.

Obama's awkward link to the seamier side of Chicago politics was thrust into the spotlight Tuesday when federal prosecutors charged Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich with trying to auction off the president-elect's vacant Senate seat.

There was nothing in the 76-page FBI affidavit to suggest that Obama did anything wrong, and on Wednesday, he called for Blagojevich to resign. But this latest in a series of Illinois political scandals also raised questions about whether it's possible to avoid completely the taint of patronage and payoffs that are so common in Chicago.

Obama has managed to remain mostly -- but not entirely -- untarnished by local political corruption. Some analysts and former legislative colleagues cite his path to power, which did not involve climbing through the ranks of the Chicago Democratic Machine.

"Rather than being above the fray, I think he has sidestepped the fray," said Don Rose, a longtime political strategist. "It's a tightrope-walking skill."

A lone wolf

In Chicago politics, the traditional route to political success has gone through the office of a ward committeeman, whose clout makes or breaks careers. But when Obama first ran, he was a lone wolf -- a Harvard-educated, former community organizer beholden to no one.

Throughout his political career in Illinois, Obama has racked up wins without big-name endorsements. He won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in 2004 without the support of many party power brokers. And he didn't get help from Mayor Richard Daley when he won his first election -- his state Senate seat in 1996.

As a state lawmaker, Obama managed a careful balancing act between machine pols and the high-minded idealists who were his base.

"He was able to do what few legislators are able to -- and that's to really cut a middle ground," said Cindi Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

Some of the choices Obama made as a state lawmaker also made him less susceptible to taking a wrong turn, said Kent Redfield, a University of Illinois-Springfield political science professor and former legislative staff member. He worked with Obama on ethics and campaign-finance reform.

"He didn't want to be Senate president," he said. "He didn't want to be mayor. You can make fewer compromises and accommodations when you have those kind of goals."

The Rezko stain

But others point out that Obama's career has not been unblemished when it comes to corruption.

State Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Republican and Obama friend, points to Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the real estate developer who provided financial support to Obama and Blagojevich. Rezko is awaiting sentencing after being convicted in June on charges of using clout with Blagojevich's administration to help launch a $7 million kickback scheme. Obama was not accused of any wrongdoing in that case.

Rezko and his family donated at least $21,457 to Obama and helped raise over $200,000 more, though not for his presidential race. He also advised Obama on the purchase of a new Chicago home and, in his wife's name, purchased a vacant lot next door when the seller wanted to dispose of both properties at the same time. Rezko then sold a slice of the property to Obama.

Obama has donated Rezko's contributions to charity and said it was a mistake to work with Rezko on buying the house.

Rezko "will continue to dog him, and Blagojevich's troubles muck up Barack's image somewhat," Dillard said. "I think it's more incumbent on the president-elect now to show that he's different from our beleaguered governor and remind people that he came up through a different route than Rod."