FIVE DAYS OF THE OBAMA ACORN CONNECTION

Day 1: Deep Roots

ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, McCain-Palin 2008 campaign spokesman Ben Porritt released the following statement:

"While serving as the director of Project Vote, Barack Obama formed the roots of his political career alongside ACORN, which is currently under investigation in thirteen states for election fraud and is also under investigation by the FBI. As more information becomes clear about Obama's associations, Americans are realizing his decisions are made using a combination of poor judgment and blind ambition. It is imperative that Barack Obama fully disclose the specifics of his relationship with ACORN, allowing the American people to determine its merit in this contest."

The Facts

· Obama Started Working With ACORN In 1992, And Earlier This Year Said He Had Been Fighting Alongside ACORN His Entire Career

· Obama Worked As An Organizer For Project Vote, An ACORN Offshoot

· ACORN'S Website Lists Project Vote As An Allied Organization

As A Community Organizer, Obama Worked With ACORN

Obama: "I've been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career. Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciate your work." (Barack Obama 2008 Website, Accessed 10/8/08)

Obama Started Working With ACORN In 1992. "What's more, Obama worked as executive director of ACORN's voter-registration arm, Project Vote, in 1992. Joined by two other community organizers on Chicago's South Side, Obama conducted the voter-registration drive that helped elect Carol Moseley-Braun to the Senate that year." (Editorial, "Is ACORN Stealing The Election?" Investor's Business Daily, 10/8/08)

"Obama Worked As An Organizer For Project Vote, An Acorn Offshoot." "Early in his career, Obama worked as an organizer for Project Vote, an ACORN offshoot, and represented ACORN in legal actions, according to various published reports, including Associated Press articles. ACORN's political action committee endorsed Obama in the primary." (David M. Brown, "Obama To Amend Report On $800,000 In Spending," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 8/22/08)

Time Magazine Described Project Vote As A "Non-Partisan Arm" Of ACORN. "David Leland [is] national director of Project Vote, a nonpartisan arm of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which claims it has registered more than 50,000 voters in the Columbus area." (Karen Tumulty and Perry Bacon, "Fighting For Every Last Vote," Time Magazine, 10/18/04)

To This Very Day, ACORN'S Website Lists Project Vote As An Allied Organization. (ACORN Website, Accessed 10/14/08)