The ties that bind. Remember Rahm Emanuel's rent-free DC apartment? The owner: A BP adviser

Forget about Obama's promise to "kick someone's ass". Obama's ass-kicking is much more experienced at kissing ass, as long as a fat campaign contribution is involved. According to the Los Angeles Times of June 7, 201o, BP and its folks were "significant" contributors to the record $750 million war chest of Barack Obama's 2007-08 campaign. Now, we learn the gory details of a connection of Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago mayoral wannabe, currently Obama's chief of staff, ex-representative, ex-Clinton money man and ex-Windy City political machine go-fer. Shortly after Obama's happy inaugural, eyebrows rose slightly upon word that, as a House member, Emanuel had lived the last five years rent-free in a DC apartment of Democratic colleague Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and her husband, Stanley Greenberg. For an "ordinary" American, that would raise some obvious tax liability questions, but like Emanuel, the guy overseeing the Internal Revenue Service now is another Obama insider, Tim Geithner, who had his own outstanding tax problems, but skated through confirmation anyway by the Democratic-controlled Congress. Remember this was all before the letters BP stood for Huge Mess, and even before the Obama administration gave BP a safety award.