Bump and Update: The Judge revoked Rezko's bail and ordered him jailed.

In a court hearing in Chicago, prosecutors detailed a $3.5 million wire transfer from a bank in Beirut, Lebanon that they said was moved through a series of accounts until it reached Rezko or some of his relatives who had posted property for his bond. Under the terms of his agreement, prosecutors said in a filing with the court, Rezko was obligated to disclose any change in his financial status.

More....

With the start of primary season, the amount of time spent blogging, live-blogging, number-crunching, researching, graphics hunting and more has really escalated.

On top of that, it's moving week for me -- always a dreaded experience both in terms of cost and anxiety.

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Famed pathologist Cyril Wecht goes on trial today in federal court in Pittsburgh on charges he illegally profited from his tenure as coroner. The charges are mail and wire fraud and theft of honest services.

In a case Congressional Democrats say is a politically motivated prosecution by a Republican administration, Dr. Wecht, a Democrat, is in federal court here facing 41 criminal counts.

....The upshot of the government’s case is that Dr. Wecht, who was the Allegheny County medical examiner until he resigned after his indictment in January 2006, used his office to benefit himself. The accusations include using county equipment, vehicles and employees in his private forensic pathology business.

In the most notorious charge, Dr. Wecht is accused of trading unclaimed cadavers to Carlow College in Pittsburgh for use of space to conduct his private autopsies.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has complete details of the case.

The Wall St. Journal has an extensive article on where the candidates now stand in the states voting Feb. 5.

Shorter version: Despite Barack Obama's South Carolina win, Hillary is still significantly ahead in the major states.

Mr. Obama heads into the 22-state showdown as the underdog. The Illinois senator trails Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York by large margins in polls in most of the big states voting Feb. 5. And he lacks the time or resources to campaign intensively in many of those far-flung races to close the gaps.....for all of the attention Mr. Obama has garnered since his Iowa caucus victory at the beginning of the month, Mrs. Clinton has maintained her big lead in national polls -- and in polls in the big states with delegate prizes far greater than any state that has voted so far.

More...

The Kennedy family is not united in its support for Barack Obama. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend issued a statement today:

"I respect Caroline and Teddy's decision but I have made a different choice. While I admire Senator Obama greatly, I have known Hillary Clinton for over 25 years and have seen first hand how she gets results. As a woman, leader, and person of deep convictions, I believe Hillary Clinton would make the best possible choice for president.

She shares so many of the concerns of my father. Hillary has spent a lifetime speaking out on behalf of the powerless and working to alleviate poverty, in our country and around the world. I have seen her work up close and know she will be a great President. At this moment when so much is at stake at home and overseas, I urge our fellow Americans to support Hillary Clinton. That is why my brother Bobby, my sister Kerry, and I are supporting Hillary Clinton."

Update: Ted Kennedy and his son Patrick Kennedy say they will campaign around the country for Barack Obama.

Speaking for me only

Since I rail against Obama's unity schtick all the time and find he and Hillary pretty much the same on the issues, it is fair to ask why I tepidly support him. Why not Hillary, who clearly has experience fighting the GOP.

Here's why. Obama has more political talent than Hillary. The upside for Obama is clearly higher. If he can learn to fight partisan battles, he can be the best politician we have ever seen. Hillary is a better politician than I expected and her strong support among women is not to be discounted. In some ways, Clinton has turned out to be better than I expected and Obama worse than I expected. But that is relative because I consider and considered Obama much the superior political talent.

More . . .

President Bush cares more about the Telecoms than protecting the country from terrorists. Glenn Greenwald explains:

As a result of these GOP-caused delays, Congressional Democrats are seeking a 30-day extension of the PAA to give them time to pass a new law in a calm and deliberate manner. But after claiming that the PAA is oh-so-vital to our ability to remain alive, the President this weekend threatened that he would veto any such extension, thus allowing this Extremely Critical Law to expire, as reported by The Politico's Mike Allen:

The White House told Democratic congressional leaders Saturday that President Bush opposes a 30-day extension of an expiring eavesdropping law and instead wants an expanded version to be passed by Friday. "The president would veto a 30-day extension," a senior administration official said.

Here is a chance for the Democratic Presidential candidates to show their mettle. Not just by showing up to vote against cloture today on the FISA bill. But by calling President Bush OUT and stating what is obviously true - President Bush will put the security of the Nation at risk (according to his own construct) rather than work with the Congress to fashion an acceptable FISA bill. Immunity for the telecoms matters more to Bush and the Republicans than protecting the Nation. Will our candidates say this? Not holding my breath.

This is interesting:

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison -- who famously declared Bill Clinton to be the nation's "first black president" -- is endorsing Barack Obama for president today, an Obama campaign source tells ABC News.

In an October 1998 essay in The New Yorker, Morrison wrote: "Years ago, in the middle of the Whitewater investigation, one heard the first murmurs: white skin notwithstanding, this is our first black president. Blacker than any actual person who could ever be elected in our children's lifetime."

This is a double edged sword for Obama imo. The Media will love it as they will see it as a rebuke to the Clintons. It will get a lot of play.

The downside is EVERY story will focus on Morrison's "first Black President" remark. NOT exactly the focus Obama would want it seems to me. If I was on Obama's team, I wonder if they might have wanted to not have this one AT THIS TIME. But what do I know?

It is sad that it is even necessary. But Krugman provides it:

Whatever hopes people might have had that Mr. Clinton would usher in a new era of national unity were quickly dashed. Within just a few months the country was wracked by the bitter partisanship Mr. Obama has decried. This bitter partisanship wasn’t the result of anything the Clintons did. Instead, from Day 1 they faced an all-out assault from conservatives determined to use any means at hand to discredit a Democratic president. For those who are reaching for their smelling salts because Democratic candidates are saying slightly critical things about each other, it’s worth revisiting those years, simply to get a sense of what dirty politics really looks like.

Ezra Klein yesterday wrote:

Via Christy at Firedoglake:

Hillary Clinton will be in the Senate tomorrow to vote "no" on cloture on the Intel version of the FISA bill. The vote is scheduled to take place at 4:30 pm tomorrow.

Will Obama show? Christy is waiting to hear from his campaign -- He has a 4:00 pm fundraiser scheduled in D.C.

Update from Jane at FDL: The Obama campaign confirms that Senator Obama will also be in the Senate tomorrow to vote "no" on cloture. I've added his name to the title of this post.

Remember when the Media and Dem Party leaders were wringing their hands over how the Democratic primary battles were creating unbridgeable divides in the Party? Either the GOP is made a sterner stuff (a very distinct possibility) or the Media is demonstrating yet another double standard as they seem unconcerned about this, via HuffPo:

Romney was asked about the criticism, launched by McCain, that he has a timeline for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

"I don't have one, never had," Romney said.

"[McCain] says you do," chimed a reporter.

"Well, he's lying," replied the former governor. . .

How can the GOP survive this vicious fighting? Will the Media take notice and wonder when the Party Elders are going to step in? Do not hold your breath.

Publius of ObiWi seems to think it is possible:

Here’s the point (and I'd welcome conservatives' thoughts on this) – Obama seems to be steadily gaining likeability points on the other side just because he happens to be fighting the Clintons. Any enemy of the Clintons can’t be that bad, the argument seems to go. . . . All that said, whatever likeability points he’s gaining now may not matter as people fall back into party lines for the election. But then again, it doesn’t take all that much peeling off of modern coalitions to create a landslide win.

Actually, it will take a significant amout of peeling off, say 5-10% at least. More than that there are two problems with Publius' argument. More . . .