This May Be Nothing But ...

Let's see, he has run in the same circles with an avowed domestic terrorist, was the member of controversial church until he threw under the proverbial bus along with the pastor who is claimed to a friend/mentor of his and now an old buddy Rezko whom he bought property through has been convicted in 16 of 24 counts.
Let the ethics lessons begin be-yotch!

Rezko has known Obama since he entered politics and was involved in a 2005 real estate deal with the Democratic presidential candidate, although testimony barely touched on their relationship. Most of the focus was on shakedowns prosecutors said Rezko arranged when he was a top adviser to Blagojevich.

I can't wait to meet more of the Junior Senator from the birth state of Obob friends.

Here's an interesting little snippet from Salon.com on the Rezko/Obama relationship:
It's clear that Rezko was always on the lookout for "a clout," Chicagoese for a political patron -- in Rezko's case, a patron who could give a Syrian immigrant the same opportunity to work the system as an Irish lawyer who'd gone to Catholic school with the mayor. In Obama's case, though, Rezko has asked for very little. He's only received one political favor, and it didn't benefit him financially: On Rezko's recommendation, the son of a campaign contributor served an internship in Obama's Senate office. It could be that Rezko was saving his chits until the senator achieved the one office unattainable to a machine pol.

there is good detail on the purchase and then a little more:

James L. Merriner, an Illinois political expert who has conducted the only interview with Rezko since his indictment, says Obama has done "nothing illegal. It's just unsavory."

Obama knew about Rezko's legal problems, but Merriner believes he didn't think they would taint his Senator Galahad image.

"It goes back to when Obama's in the state Senate," Merriner says. "He had a real sense of personal mission. I think he thought he was just above it. He seemed to think he was on a plane above that."

If you've been to Chicago, you know it's a pretty flat place. And if you follow Chicago politics, you know that even the noblest politician can't remain chaste.

"The national media, they tend to overlook that Obama is a regular Cook County Democrat," Merriner says. "Maybe he's a cut above, but he's still an Illinois politician."

As long as Rezko was only under investigation, Obama was willing to do business with him. But then Rezko committed the fixer's biggest sin: He got indicted and got his name in the papers. After that, the friendship cooled. Obama has donated $157,835 in Rezko-linked contributions to charity and has called the real estate deal "boneheaded." But he still lives in the house. And he still has the power Rezko helped him attain.

So in the end boys and girls, it's not about change, it's about power. What a class act.