Maybe, just maybe, there's a correlation between high crime rates and sending a bunch of your cops to work perimeter at the Democrat National Convention?"

If you can't use your own police force any way you want to, then what's the point of being the mayor of Chicago?

Despite Chicago crime waive, 50 Chicago cops sent to work perimeter at DNC in Charlotte:

Only days after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked for federal agents and U.S. Marshals to help combat the city's wave of violence, about 50 Chicago police officers have arrived in Charlotte to work perimeter security details for a week at the Democratic National Convention.

The Chicago officers, in their distinctive uniforms and checkerboard-brimmed hats, said they had been instructed not to talk with reporters about their out-of-town assignment.

The Chicago Way.

So, is anyone really surprised that a Chicago pol runs a pay for play White House?

Most donors, including Dr. Mohlenbrock and Mr. Kiani, declined to talk about their motivations for giving. But Patrick J. Kennedy, the former representative from Rhode Island, who donated $35,800 to an Obama re-election fund last fall while seeking administration support for a nonprofit venture, said contributions were simply a part of “how this business works.”

“If you want to call it ‘quid pro quo,’ fine,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want to make sure I do my part.”

Mr. Kennedy visited the White House several times to win support for One Mind for Research, his initiative to help develop new treatments for brain disorders. While his family name and connections are clearly influential, he said, he knows White House officials are busy. And as a former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, he said he was keenly aware of the political realities they face.

“I know that they look at the reports,” he said, referring to records of campaign donations. “They’re my friends anyway, but it won’t hurt when I ask them for a favor if they don’t see me as a slouch.”

The entire New York Times story is interesting. Its essential takeaway is that Obama is running a pay-for-play White House despite his promises to keep lobbyists out and clean things up. “Drain the swamp” is how Nancy Pelosi phrased it. But all the Democrats have really done is make sure the swamp is under their management.

The Times account of all this is also conveniently run in April, when it would certainly matter more to the election if it ran in October.

The Chicago Way - Solyndra Edition.

Hmm....a slush pile of public money, a loan guarantee to a donor, a totally foreseeable bankruptcy, and a bunch of politicians from Chicago.  What could possibly connect the dots:

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden got a nice photo op. They got to make speeches about being "green." But then Solyndra went bankrupt. Americans lost jobs. Taxpayers got stuck with the bill. And members of Congress are now in high dudgeon and making speeches.

Federal investigators want to know what role political fundraising played in the guarantee of the questionable loan. Washington bureaucrats warned the deal was lousy. And White House spokesmen flail desperately, like weakened victims in a cheesy vampire movie.

So forget optics. What about smell? It smells bad, and it's going to smell worse.

Or, did you really believe it when the White House mouthpieces — who are also Chicago City Hall mouthpieces — promised they were bringing a new kind of politics to Washington?

This is not a new kind of politics. It's the old kind. The Chicago kind.