Commentary might seem overwrought in this case. The facts speak for themselves.
From President Obama’s State of the Union Address last week (clearing throat):
That’s what I came to Washington to do. That’s why -– for the first time in history –- my administration posts on our White House visitors online. That’s why we’ve excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs, or seats on federal boards and commissions.
But we can’t stop there. It’s time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or with Congress. It’s time to put strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates for federal office.
I am “borrowing” from multiple sources when I lay out the follow list of individuals with lobbying ties, lobbying habits, lobbying paychecks, etc. — all welcomed with open arms into lobbyist-free zone that is the White House. Perhaps when lobbyists walk through the pearly gates at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they are absolved of their past sins.
From The New York Times on the day after the Presidential inauguration:
Mr. Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of defense, William Lynn, has been a lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon, and his nominee for deputy secretary of health and human services, William V. Corr, lobbied for stricter tobacco regulations as an official with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Continue reading ‘Obama to lobbyists: Come, and sin no more’








Remember John Edwards?