Crossover Appeal: Former Bush Pioneer and other Republicans are Supporting Democratic Candidate

I find it amazing the crossover appeal of Barack Obama. His attracting republicans and independents is important to winning the Presidency. It shows he would be very strong as our nominee.
I have lurked over at the freepers to see how they feel about our candidates and they really do not want Barack to win the nomination. Many say if he is chosen they are pretty much going to lose the White House. As an Obama supporter I find this amusing but, surprising. I would think the other two would be who they worry over. But, after reading this article, I can see why.

Obama Wins Over Chicago Fed's Canning, a Top Bush Fundraiser

By Jay Newton-Small

April 25 (Bloomberg) -- John Canning has impeccable Republican credentials: He was a Pioneer, one of President George W. Bush's top fundraisers. He's the head of a leveraged- buyout firm. He's the deputy board chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Now he has given the maximum campaign contribution, $4,600, to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Canning says he's fed up with the Republican Party. ``It's become a party that's taken Neanderthal positions on things like stem-cell research and global warming,'' Canning, who was appointed to the Fed post in 2004, said in an interview. ``I no longer find myself on the same page.''

To Canning, 62, the party once represented individual rights. Then in 2005, the Republican-led Congress intervened in an effort to keep Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman, alive against her husband's wishes. The move was symbolic of Republican positions on social issues that Canning says he found increasingly frustrating.

Canning is one of a number of prominent Republicans who have turned against the party. At least two other Bush Pioneers are contributing to Obama this time, and Bush's chief 2004 campaign strategist, Matthew Dowd, assailed the president's second-term performance in an April 1 New York Times interview.

Canning said he likes Obama's approach to reducing greenhouse gases, his opposition to the Iraq war and the fact that he's spent so little time in Washington.

`Strongest Candidate'

``You know when they say someone's experienced, if that means they've spent a long time in Washington, I don't know if that's a pretty good deal,'' he said. ``He's the strongest candidate in the entire field from both parties.''

``I've probably veered away from the conservative, Republican agenda significantly,'' said Canning, chairman of Chicago-based Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, one of the 20 biggest U.S. private-equity firms.

Because of his role at the Chicago Fed, Canning said he can't raise money for Obama, 45. ``He has my emotional support,'' he said.

Before co-founding Madison Dearborn in 1992, Canning spent 24 years at First Chicago Corp. and was executive vice president of First National Bank of Chicago, according to a biography on his firm's Web site. Madison Dearborn is named after two streets that intersect near the firm's headquarters.

Canning also contributed to Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. ``I gave, I think, $1,000 to Mitt Romney as a favor to a friend,'' he said. ``I don't have anything to do with him.''

Other Bush Pioneers

One Bush Pioneer who contributed to Obama, Framingham, Massachusetts-based Staples Inc. founder Thomas Stemberg, also gave to Romney, a former governor of the state. He didn't return phone calls seeking comment. Another, Chicago publicist Jayne Carr Thompson, declined to discuss her contribution to Obama except to say, ``He is a great representative of Illinois.''

for the rest of the article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a57JFM1OfYvY&refer=home

Taking money from a Bush Pioneer? Some people would question the wisdom of that. And they would also point to it to disprove Obama's claim of wanting *change* in american politics.

Doesn't make sense from an ideological POV but, hell, it works for me.

One more indication that Obama's bought by the corporatists, same as Hillary.