Sarah Palin: When Palin became governor in 2006, her sister was in a messy custody battle with her ex-husband, Michael Wooten. Palin put herself into the middle of the divorce and tried to have her sister's ex-husband fired from his job as a state trooper in Alaska. According to allegations, Palin pressured Walter Monegan, the Public Safety Commissioner she appointed, to fire Wooten. Monegan refused, and was promptly fired by Palin. It's turned into a scandal in Alaska, and Palin is under investigation by the state for potentially abusing her power.
John McCain: It all started in March 1987. Charles H Keating Jr., the flamboyant developer and anti-porn crusader, needed help. The government was poised to seize Lincoln Savings and Loan, a freewheeling subsidiary of Keating's American Continental Corp. As federal auditors examined Lincoln, Keating was not content to wait and hope for the best. He had spread a lot of money around Washington, and it was time to call in his chits. Charlie Keating always took care of his friends, especially those in politics. McCain was no exception. Keating assembled five Senators, including John McCain, to assist him and bring their considerable power upon the feds on behalf of his beleaguered bank. McCain, along with the four other senators complied. McCain stated publically that he was merely coming to the defense of a constituent, but records showed he was an investor as well. McCain's wife and her father had invested $359,100 in a Keating shopping center in April 1986, a year before McCain met with the regulators. McCain had also taken many vacations and private jet trips, which were un-reimbursed. Of the Keating five, McCain was found less culpable, and was only given a mild rebuke by the ethics committee. This was principally accomplished by what the committee called "numerous leaks by McCain, which aided them in their case against the other four."
Barack Obama: In 1995, Obama began campaigning for a seat in the Illinois Senate. Among his earliest supporters: Tony Rezko. Obama was elected in 1996 -- representing a district that included 11 of Rezko's 30 low-income housing projects. Rezko also held numerous lavish fund raisers for Obama's national senate race. The two became very close friends. In June 2005, Obama and Rezko purchased adjoining parcels in Kenwood. The state's junior senator paid $1.65 million for a Georgian revival mansion, while Rezko paid $625,000 for the adjacent, undeveloped lot. Both closed on their properties on the same day. In June 2005, Obama and Rezko purchased adjoining parcels in Kenwood. The state's junior senator paid $1.65 million for a Georgian revival mansion ($300,00 below market value), while Rezko paid $625,000 for the adjacent, undeveloped lot (at full market value). Both closed on their properties on the same day. Last January, aiming to increase the size of his side yard, Obama paid Rezko $104,500 for a strip of his land. The transaction occurred at a time when it was widely known Tony Rezko was under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and as other Illinois politicians befriended by Rezko distanced themselves from him. In the Sun-Times interview, Obama acknowledged approaching Rezko about the two properties being up for sale and that Rezko developed an immediate interest. Obama did not explain why he reached out to Rezko given the developer's growing problems. Rezko has since been found guilty of multiple felony counts involving influence peddling and bribery and is awaiting an appeal.
Joe Biden: As a freshman in law school back in 1965, he got an "F" in a class for writing a paper entirely based on one law review article. (He described the incident as "something very stupid 23 years ago." Biden repeated the class later and got a good grade.) He also used parts of old speeches by Robert Kennedy in his 1988 campaign (which he blamed on a speechwriter). Back in 1988, Biden ran for president but was forced to quit for a unique reason: he simply copied parts of a speech by a British politician, Neil Kinnock, and changed some parts to make it sound like it was about him.
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