* Alexi Giannoulias has apparently never heard the phrase “Go to ground.” Granted, the Democratic US Senate candidate did the right thing by holding a press conference yesterday to discuss his family bank’s troubles, but he wasn’t prepared for at least one line of questioning and the AP got him but good…
Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias refused to provide details Thursday about whether his decisions contributed to his family bank’s financial problems, saying five days before the election that those questions can wait for another time.
“If I’m fortunate enough to make it out of the primary, we can have that conversation,” the Chicago Democrat told reporters.
His campaign tried some damage control after the fact…
After the news conference, a spokeswoman clarified that Giannoulias doesn’t know which loans may have contributed to the bank’s problems because he hasn’t been involved in the bank’s day-to-day operations since he left.
He could’ve said that during the event. Why he didn’t is anyone’s guess.
David Hoffman is doing his best to tie the news into his campaign theme….
“The reason that this Broadway Bank story and revelation is of such significance now is because it goes to the heart of matters of job performance and character,” Senate candidate David Hoffman said at a news conference.
Actually, tying it to his theme isn’t hard at all. The big question about Hoffman is whether he is spending enough money to get himself over the top. Right now, I’m not so sure.
And while certainly true, this line of reasoning at the Chicago Sun-Times was more than a little silly…
“If you go to a large bank like the Bank of America or the Northern Trust, you will find not hundreds but thousands of people with felonies or misdemeanors in their past but who make their loan payments on time,” Giannoulias earlier told the Sun-Times editorial board. Those banks also gave loans to convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko, he said.
Giannoulias also wouldn’t say whether his family would put money back into the bank to help recapitalize the institution. Sheesh.
* Meanwhile, the Tribune editorial board restates its endorsement of David Hoffman…
Partial headlines are superimposed over images of one of Giannoulias’ opponents as a narrator clucks about negative campaigning. The Tribune masthead flashes once, then again, and again and again. That’s fair game. The campaign is citing Tribune news stories.
But just in case you saw the ad and thought it meant the Tribune editorial board was in love with this guy and frowning on his opponent, let’s be clear: The Tribune has endorsed David Hoffman in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.