Obama Earmark List Includes Controversial Hospital Request

March 14, 2008

Obama Earmark List Includes Controversial Hospital Request

While the Senate debated a bill to ban spending earmarked for home-state projects for one year — a measure that was defeated on Thursday — Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign voluntarily released the details of the $740 million in earmarked spending requests that he has made over the past three years.

The International Herald Tribune reports that although Senator Obama was able to secure only about $3 out of every $10 he requested, the list of requests included $1 million for an expansion of the University of Chicago Medical Center in 2006, where his wife, Michelle Obama, is a vice president.

The request was denied.

Senator Obama’s aides as well as officials at the hospital said his wife had nothing to do with the request.

Kelly M. Sullivan, the medical center’s vice president for communications and marketing, noted that Senator Obama had also requested money for a number of other hospitals in Illinois, and stated that, “I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that Michelle Obama was not part of our lobbying over the request, not in any way.”

Comments

There are a lot of things about Obama’s candidicy that trouble me greatly, but a request for funding a meritorious project, whether or not his wife was on the Board, isn’t one of them.

— Jeff Steele Mar 14, 02:28 PM #
The implication is that if the medical center needed funds that Sen. Obama could help them get from the federal government, they should have fired his wife before they asked—right?

— Philanthro Joe Mar 14, 02:40 PM #
Obama should not have requested the funding for a place where his wife works. Usually, Codes of Ethics say one should not only refrain from wrongdoing, but they should also refrain from the Appearance of wrongdoing. However, whether or not he did something improper does not sway me one way or the other. I’m still not going to vote for him, because I haven’t heard him say anything that convinces me I should.

— lindarae Mar 14, 03:27 PM #
Senator Obama should not request funds for the place his wife is employed.It may be on the up and up but it’s the perception that it might not be that is troubling.

— Brent Mar 14, 04:28 PM #
It is highly inappropriate,rises to the level of “Appearance” of conflict, and calls into question (disappointedly), the Senator’s judgement. I find it hard to believe that this allocation would never have been discussed between the Senator and his wife.

— Diana Mar 14, 04:42 PM #
If you think this is even close to innapropriate, wait until you see how other candidates records appear. Conflicts of interest at the highest level…hmmm? I wonder why these records are being withheld????

— Myles Mar 16, 04:56 PM #

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