The nature of Barack Obama's relationship with Tony Rezko is complicated business. Even local reporters sometimes have a hard time keeping the facts straight, particularly regarding the details of Obama's Hyde Park house (and Rezko's purchase of an adjoining lot).

So it's not surprising that McCain surrogates such as Sen. Lindsey Graham are already distorting the facts on this topic. Appearing on ABC's This Week yesterday, he falsely asserted that Obama "borrow[ed] money from a guy going to jail to build his house." As Media Matters notes, host George Stephanopolous didn't challenge Graham's bogus claim.

I don't anticipate much discussion of Rezko on the national stage in the lead-up to the general election. But it wouldn't hurt for media figures like Stephanopolous to learn the underlying facts so they can rebut these types of lies when they surface.

(The Rezko claim wasn't Graham's only fib during his This Week appearance. Rob at Illinois Reason has the details.)