Black Chicago Mayoral Candidates Tell First Black President to Mind His Own Business

I just love a good Democrat food fight over racial politics.

Chicago Mayoral hopeful former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.) added her voice to a warning issued by mayoral rival Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.): Don't come to Chicago to campaign for Rahm Emanuel or risk his relationship with African Americans.

On Tuesday, Davis got this ball rolling when he issued a statement telling Clinton to stay away from the mayoral election. Emanuel is the front-runner and Davis and Braun--both African American--need a big black vote if they have any chance of coming in second. The Feb. 22 contest is non-partisan and if no one gets 50 percent, a run-off between the top two finishers will be held April 5. Davis told me in an interview he also wanted President Obama--who has been helpful to Emanuel's campaign--to stay out of the mayoral contest. My column on this is here.

Here's what is new: Though Clinton appointed Braun as ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa after she lost her Senate re-election bid, a statement from her campaign issued Wednesday morning was strongly worded:

Said Braun, "Bill Clinton is an outsider parachuting in to support another outsider. Rahm's residency status continues to be challenged in court. It's not yet clear that he will be on the ballot. At the same time former president Clinton risks his legacy and the great respect that he has enjoyed among African Americans by coming to Chicago to endorse Rahm Emanuel who is running for mayor against two black candidates.

Saddam's Democrat 'Spy' Fit to Stand Trial

A former Democrat Senate and Congressional staffer has been ruled mentally fit to stand trial for spying for Saddam Hussein.

An ex-congressional staffer busted for allegedly acting as a spy for Saddam Hussein might be a bit paranoid, but that doesn't mean she's not fit to stand trial, a shrink testified yesterday.

Psychiatrist Richard Ratner told a Manhattan federal judge that he examined Susan Lindauer several times at her request despite her previously being declared mentally incompetent by other mental-health experts.

"I concluded that she was mentally competent," Ratner said.

Lindauer, 45, is fighting to have her day in court, claiming she wants to prove that everything she did was under the supervision of US authorities.

Shocking, isn't it, that a Democrat would aid and abet the enemy?

In case you're unaware of Lindauer, here's the complaint against her from back in 2004.

A former Democratic congressional aide was arrested today on charges that she worked as an Iraqi spy. Susan Lindauer, 41, has been charged with conspiring to work with the Iraqi Intelligence Service and engaging in prohibited financial transactions with Saddam Hussein's government, according to the below indictment unsealed today by federal prosecutors in New York. Lindauer, arrested this morning at her Maryland home, allegedly met with Iraqi agents during several visits to the country's U.N. mission, where she "accepted various payments" in return "for services provided to the IIS in the course of her ongoing intelligence relationship with them." Lindauer, who also allegedly traveled to Iraq in early-2002 to meet with IIS agents, has previously worked as a press spokesperson for several elected officials, including former Senator Carol Moseley-Braun and congressmen Ron Wyden and Peter DeFazio.

The Wikipedia page for this alleged spy claims she's an anti-war activist and journalist.

Lindauer faces up to 10 years in prison on the most serious charge and five years on the lesser charge if she is convicted. Her case is currently active. At the time of this writing, after a very long period with almost no news coverage, her case may be going to court if it is determined that she is competent to stand trial.

She's also a second cousing to former Bush chief of staff Andy Card.

This NY Times article describes her as "committed yet erratic."