BHOO’s Parking Ticket ‘Investment’
There was somewhat interesting and awfully quiet news about the unpaid parking tickets of Barack Husseian Obambi Obama (who I call “BHOO” for short, with “Obambi” being the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd’s favorite nickname for the Illinois senator) in Cambridge, MA from the late 1980s.
Here is what the Somerville (MA) News reported:
….. Records from the Cambridge Traffic, Parking and Transportation office show that between Oct. 5, 1988 and Jan. 12, 1990 Obama was cited for 17 traffic violations, sometimes committing two in the same day. The abuses included parking in a resident permit area, parking in a bus stop and failing to pay the meter. Twelve of Obama’s 17 tickets were given to him on Massachusetts Avenue.
In one eight day stretch in 1988, Obama was cited seven times for parking violations and was fined $45. Thirteen of the 17 violations occurred within one month in 1988.
Obama’s disobedience of the rules of the road earned him $140 in fines from the City of Cambridge. The tickets went unpaid for over 17 years and $260 in late fees were added to the tab. On Jan. 26, the fines and late fees were paid in full. The final tally for Obama’s parking breaches was $400, according to Cambridge Traffic, Parking and Transportation.
The paper also reports that “Obama settled all his outstanding debts with Cambridge’s Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department Jan. 26.”
Here’s an interesting point made by a Lucianne commenter last week (link no longer available):
There would have been a warrant out for my arrest a long time ago if I had ignored parking tickets. Why didn’t they go after him?
Good question (it could be that Obama experienced some unpleasantness related to these tickets, but since they were unpaid, that appears doubtful). It has been a few years, but I recall stories of acquaintances being pulled out of university classrooms by cops because they were delinquent on parking tickets. I believe that a few readers could regale me with personal or acquaintance-related stories of nastiness they faced as a result of unpaid parking tickets.
BHOO’s parking booboos prompted a brief bit of investment and inflation research, which makes the case that the Democratic presidential contender has perhaps benefited substantially, even after considering the penalties, by waiting to pay off his tickets for so long:
- The base fine amounts of $140, if invested in the 18 years between 1989 and 2006 in the S&P 500, would have grown to at least $1,000 — $600 more than BHOO owed and paid, WITH penalties.
- If the penalties also go back 18 years and you could somehow show that BHOO invested $400 in the S&P 500 instead, it would be reasonable to contend that he’s several thousand dollars better off today for having been a parking scofflaw in the late 1980s. Who says
crimesparking violations (okay, okay) don’t pay? - The point is that a smart guy like BHOO should know that by only paying $400 for parking tickets that go back nearly two decandes, he’s getting one heck of a gift — and he should have paid at least some, uh, token amount more in acknowledgment of that.
Finally — You would at least think something that in the big picture seems relatively unimportant (though undeniably a bit revealing) would get a quick “I was wrong; I am sorry” out of the BHOO’s campaign. You would be incorrect. Again from the Somerville News:
Obama spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said the presidential candidate’s parking violations were not relevant.
Thanks to that reaction, Jennifer, I hope that you are wrong. But given the “Obamessiah” treatment he has received thus far, it’s probably a pretty good political calculation on BHOO’s part.
Of course, the “if this were a Republican or conservative presidential candidate …..” question about parallel treatment applies here, as it does in so many other areas.
Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.
I’m not getting it. What is this relevant to?
Comment by Kevin — March 14, 2007 @ 11:34 am
#1, of course it’s not a big deal, but the fact that someone can’t even say “I was wrong, I am sorry†about something as simple as this, that anyone would cut him a break on, but instead puts up the old, tired, campaign defenses, is sad. I probably wouldn’t have blogged it except for the immature reax by the campaign.
Comment by TBlumer — March 14, 2007 @ 11:40 am
It’s a parking violation. Everyone here has tons of them piled up. One of the facts of life in a congested area is that you are sometimes required to break parking regulations because quite honestly, you have no other choice. I wouldn’t expect an apology for either the infraction or the late payment.
Comment by Kevin — March 14, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
#3,
A - I must not be part of everyone.
B - I betcha if he showed up in Cambridge and got cuffed (legally possible), he’d have apologized. It was just so easy and obvious a thing to say (and IMO, it would have helped his cause) — why not just say it?
Comment by TBlumer — March 14, 2007 @ 2:04 pm
There is no point in “getting out in front of the story” by paying the tickets if he wasn’t willing to go the Full Monty and say that he was sorry about the situation… Politics 101…if you did something stupid, get the story out yourself and apologize… I think that was among the first lessons taught at the Bill Clinton School of Politics and Lechery…
Comment by Matt Hurley — March 14, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
My point is that having unpaid parking tickets is not stupid. It’s not anything to really get in front of. Paying them is one thing, but apologizing for them is a waste of time. You guys are just nitpicking.
Cambridge cops would not have cuffed people for unpaid tickets. They have better things to do.
Tom no knock on Mason, but last time I checked it wasn’t as congested as Boston.
Comment by Kevin — March 14, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
#6, you haven’t been here at 5:30 pm. Different kind of congestion.
I agree that it’s nitpicking but the “no longer relevant” has a distinct “I’m above, you, the rules don’t apply to me, so leave me alone” ring to it, and is what set me off.
Mason has no meters. Cincy does, and it is NOT a good idea to not pay them, or you could very well get pulled out of a classroom and put in the pokey overnight, which could also happen if you are caught on a moving violation.
Inquiring minds want to know if a bench warrant was ever issued for Obama, because that does happen around here….
Comment by TBlumer — March 14, 2007 @ 4:06 pm
Kevin,
If it isn’t “stupid”, why did he pay them “now”?
Comment by Matt Hurley — March 15, 2007 @ 9:20 am