As is tradition, Barack Obama will be taking the train into D.C. for the inauguration. He’s making a few stops along the way, including one on Saturday in neighboring Baltimore where he’s scheduled to appear on just outside city hall with Baltimore’s mayor, Shelia Dixon.
One minor hitch, however. Dixon was was just indicted by a Baltimore grand jury on “12 criminal counts, including theft and perjury, for alleged official misconduct beginning when she was a councilwoman.” The charges go back years, and include stealing from a city program for the needy to give gifts to her staff and buy herself clothes and electronics. Dixon has handled questions surrounding her conduct with her typical aplomb, by flipping off the press.
So the question is, how will Obama handle this? Standing next to city hall beside a politician under indictment for stealing from the poor isn’t exactly “hope and change.”
P.S. For you fans of The Wire out there, Baltimore resident Jesse Walker notes that Dixon is said to be the model for Nerese Campbell, the corrupt city council president on the show.
(h/t The Moderate Voice)