Obama's political mentor pork filled politician.

Politics: If this was a Republican, all hell would break loose. But now he is considered an important ally who got things done.

Emil Jones Jr. helped Obama master the intricacies of the Legislature. When Democrats took control of the state Senate, Jones, though he risked offending colleagues who had toiled futilely on key issues under Republican rule, tapped Obama to take the lead on high-profile legislative initiatives that he now boasts about in his presidential campaign. And when Obama wanted a promotion to the U.S. Senate, Jones provided critical support that gave the little-known legislator legitimacy, keeping him from being instantly trampled by the front-runners. "He's been indispensable to Barack's career. He wants to see a black president before he gets called home," said fellow state Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Democrat. While Obama got vital help from Jones, the two men have sharply different political styles, and Jones may not be a political asset in a White House campaign. Jones, 72, is an unabashedly old-school politician. A former sewer inspector for the city of Chicago, Jones has relatives on the state payroll, steers state grants to favorite organizations and uses his clout to punish enemies and bury GOP legislation. Obama supporters see the alliance as an example of Obama's ability to get things done by working with all kinds of people. Critics see it as hypocrisy -- Obama refusing to speak out against the kinds of abuse he claims to oppose.

How come getting things done seem to be little more than you scratch my back and I will return the favor.

As Senate president, Jones assigned Obama to handle major, headline-grabbing legislation. At a time when flaws in the state's death penalty system had created a furor, Obama was picked to negotiate a bill requiring police to record their interrogations in murder cases. He was also put in charge of long-discussed legislation to curb racial profiling in traffic stops and was a key player in a new ethics overhaul. These were complicated issues and Obama's Senate hopes could have been damaged if he had failed. But he passed them all with overwhelming support and still cites them as evidence of his ability to find common ground among groups with sharp differences. State Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, laughingly accuses Jones of a little "bill-jacking" -- taking issues that other senators had been working on and giving them to Obama. Trotter, for instance, said he had hoped to be named chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee but the job went to Obama instead. In an e-mail, Obama described Jones "a powerful advocate for those who need a voice" and someone with "passion for public service." Critics offer a different picture. When Jones married a state employee, she suddenly got a 60 percent raise. His son got a state job that wasn't advertised to the public. A nephew and stepson got computer consulting jobs from a college that received a $4.5 million grant for computing needs. He has blocked bills sponsored by legislators who challenge him, and dug up an obscure Senate rule to reverse the passage of a consumer-friendly measure opposed by electric companies that had donated to his campaign. Abner Mikva, a longtime Obama friend and former legal counsel to President Bill Clinton, rejects the idea that Obama should shun Jones and other similar politicians. He argues Obama was smart to learn from Jones and pass important laws with him, while keeping a distance from Jones' ethical problems. "Purists usually end up dying pure but without many accomplishments," he said. "True reformers learn how to build coalitions."

Even when those coalitions are nothing more than pigs at the taxpayers trough making themselves fat.