As a state senator, Obama wrote letters endorsing government support of a Rezko housing project for senior citizens. Obama aides say he was simply supporting a project that would help residents of his district, not doing a favor for a friend.

— John Singlaub: A retired Army general, Singlaub founded the U.S. Council for World Freedom, which aided rebels trying to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua. That landed the group in the middle of the Iran-Contra affair and in legal trouble with the Internal Revenue Service.

The council was connected to the World Anti-Communist League, an organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America.

McCain served on the council’s advisory board in the early 1980s. McCain says he resigned in 1984 and asked to have his name taken off the group’s letterhead in 1986.

Singlaub says he doesn’t recall McCain resigning, but also says McCain was never active in the organization and instead just let the group use his name for public relations purposes.

— Rick Davis: McCain’s campaign manager had financial ties to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac almost up to the time the government took them over last month and the nation’s financial system went into a tailspin.

Meanwhile, McCain repeatedly has accused Obama of taking advice from former executives of Fannie and Freddie and failing to see that they were heading for a meltdown.

Davis or his lobbying firm have taken more than $2 million directly or indirectly from the mortgage companies dating to 2000. In 2005, the lobbying firm began getting $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac, although sources told The New York Times the firm did little work for the money.

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On the Net:

Obama: http://www.barackobama.com

McCain: http://johnmccain.com