In The News- Or I'm so embarrassed by my state...

Barack Obama cited for codes violation in Memphis MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - While he prepares for his January inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama has a problem to deal with: he's been cited by Shelby County Code Enforcement, after a supporter put a campaign sign too close to a street. Attorney Jay Bailey said he thought it was a joke as he was sitting in Environmental Court on an unrelated case, when he heard the judge call out Barack Obama's name. When he realized it wasn't a joke, he agreed to take the case on behalf of Obama, to keep the judge from putting out a bench warrant on the President-elect. Bailey signed the docket on Obama's behalf, and immediately contacted the Secret Service for their guidance. Court documents show a Memphis City Code Enforcement officer cited Obama for illegal posting of signs on election day. Bailey said campaign workers told him the code enforcement officer had more than 100 Obama signs in his truck when he served the citation election day on Park Avenue. "I've seen some pretty wild things occur here in Memphis politics, but nothing as bizarre as a code enforcement agent citing a soon to be President of the United States for putting out illegal campaign signs," he said. Bailey, who is in contact with Obama's transition team in Chicago, pointed out that Obama did not have an official campaign presence in Memphis, where the Democratic Party campaigned on his behalf.