discuss

10/24/2008 7:12:48 PM

oh, this thread will get very long in the next few years.

I'm gonna preemptively post his "tax cuts for the middle class" in here. Because that will be the first to go.

10/24/2008 7:13:30 PM

10/24/2008 7:16:18 PM

???

10/24/2008 7:18:15 PM

10/24/2008 8:06:46 PM

middle class ftw.

10/24/2008 8:07:55 PM

I wonder if he reads his own books (like The Audacity of Hope on the table there) and thinks, "Did I really say that? Or was when Bill Ayers was ghost-writing?"

10/26/2008 7:55:12 PM

^

Quote :

"Senator Obama was doing press interviews by telephone in a holding room between events. Sometime later as he was getting ready to begin his event, he asked me if I was photographing his shoes. When I said yes, he told me that he had already had them resoled once since he entered the race a year earlier. Providence, R.I., 3/1/2008."

Note the photo was taken in March.

There are tons more very interesting Obama photos and a short quip about them here: http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0810/callie-bp.html Note: You have to click the "Show more images" button to keep seeing the rest of the pics in the set.

It's weird, and maybe because his kids are so young, but they actually seem to be a close-knit and happy family, which is strange for politicians on this level. http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0810/images/callie/20.jpg
http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0810/images/callie/21.jpg
http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0810/images/callie/22.jpg



[Edited on October 26, 2008 at 8:06 PM. Reason : ]

10/26/2008 8:02:36 PM

Remember, its only flip flopping when its for a politician you don't like. Its "pragmatism" and "flexibility" for politicians you support.

10/26/2008 8:05:12 PM

Obama ethics code limits lobbyists

Quote :

"WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Obama, who campaigned against lobbyists' influence, on Tuesday opened the door for them to work for him if they sign an ethics code that restricts their role in and out of government."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGTYocUxXc5448mOvsqLKQgBV9iQD94D1CI00

If McCain had done something like this, some of you would be foaming out of your gourds. "LOBBYISTS?!!1 IN THE ADMINISTRATION? INFLUENCE-PEDDLING!!!1 FLAP! FOAM!!!1"

11/12/2008 2:04:34 AM

Actually the article you posted seems like he's put some pretty strict limits on them from working with him. Sounds like a step forward, not a step back.

11/12/2008 8:22:55 AM

Quote :

"Remember, its only flip flopping when its for a politician you don't like. Its "pragmatism" and "flexibility" for politicians you support."

ill agree

11/12/2008 8:31:27 AM

^^
Its a step foward from current practice but it is a step back from Obama's promise to keep lobbyist out entirely.

The problem with Obama's position from the begining is that Washington cannot function without lobbyists. Lobbyists are the only people who actually understand whats going on.

Just to be honest about it, the vast majority of smart, can do people do not accept careers on the civil service payscale. There are some to be sure, but most high demand people want to get paid.

[Edited on November 12, 2008 at 8:34 AM. Reason : .]

11/12/2008 8:32:09 AM

The article in question is only in regards to his transition team (which is only going to be working until January), not his white house appointee's. As far as the article is concerned there have been no announcements in regards to white house appointee's yet.

11/12/2008 8:49:57 AM

Did he ever say outright "No Lobbyists in Washington"? Someone find a link. I'll be surprised if he did.

After the way things have worked for the past 8 years, you'd be hard pressed to not find this encouraging

Quote :

"Lobbyists cannot make donations to the transition project and are prohibited from any lobbying work while part of the transition team. In addition, no one can work in a policy area they have lobbied on in the past 12 months, and no transition team member can lobby the future Obama administration for 12 months in the policy areas they worked on during the transition. “President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to change the way Washington works and curb the influence of lobbyists. During the campaign, federal lobbyists could not contribute to or raise money for the campaign,” said John Podesta, a former Clinton White House chief of staff and head of Obama’s transition team, in a statement. “Today, the President-elect is taking those commitments even further by announcing the strictest and most far-reaching ethics rules of any transition team in history.”"

11/12/2008 8:53:00 AM

haha, look at the backpedaling taking place already. Obama railed against lobbyists, plain and simple. Now, he's gonna invite them in.

It's akin to saying "TERRORISTS ARE BAAAAAD AND HAVE CAUSED ALL THESE PROBLEMS!!!" and then inviting them in for tea in exchange for a promise not to be terrorists while they are having tea

But yes, Obama is going to "curb the influence of lobbyists"... by letting them influence him at the very least on his transition team. wat?

11/12/2008 7:17:12 PM

What has he been flip flopping on?

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/index.php

Seems like his stance is the same now as it ever was.

11/12/2008 7:58:42 PM

what, his stance that lobbyists were bad?

11/12/2008 8:00:33 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljVB-tim2Rw

Quote :

"Did he ever say outright "No Lobbyists in Washington"? Someone find a link."

Um, I'm pretty sure this is just one of the many examples where he is going after lobbyists. He doesn't say "we're going to CURB THEIR INFLUENCE"

[Edited on November 12, 2008 at 8:06 PM. Reason : .]

11/12/2008 8:05:46 PM

Quote :

" Um, I'm pretty sure this is just one of the many examples where he is going after lobbyists"

Did you link the wrong video or something? What he said in that clip virtually echos what he outlined in the link I posted above. Please, would you stop proving over and over again that you're a hack?

He said on that clip he supported a bill McCain was in favor of 10 years ago which said lobbyists couldn't be paid and put on the staff of a candidate. Look at what he says on ethics for his platform

Quote :

"No political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration."

I mean, I don't even have to make this stuff up, it's just copy and paste. Not that hard.

11/12/2008 10:38:08 PM

The lobbyists in Obama's transition team (yes, it is only the transition team) have essentially had their balls cut off. I'm not seeing how this is a reversal or contradiction from anything he has said, or how it is a bad thing.

What I see here are partisans trying to jump on something.

11/13/2008 12:34:14 AM

so, would he allow Osama bin Laden to be on his transition team as long as bin Laden promised not to attack any Americans for two years after he left the team?

11/13/2008 5:48:10 PM

TSB's collective IQ dropped 20 points thanks to that logical black hole.

[Edited on November 13, 2008 at 6:30 PM. Reason : .]

11/13/2008 6:14:56 PM

So, why allow these people on the transition team at all? If they are so bad, and have such a terrible influence in Washington and on politics, why allow them on the transition team at all? That isn't being partisan, that is just asking a simple question to a questionable decision.

[Edited on November 13, 2008 at 9:04 PM. Reason : .]

11/13/2008 9:03:48 PM

I don't hardly see how we can have the discussion when you preface it with "if they are so bad".

Not all lobbyists are bad, and when you've limited their powers then it will be hard for them to be bad. So why not let them on the team?

11/13/2008 9:16:52 PM

Yea, sure man. You are probably the biggest hack in the Soap Box. You can justify it however you wish, but let's face it, this isn't "Change" this is politics as usual.

11/13/2008 10:18:12 PM

I sure hope Obama starts flip flopping. His socialist proposals will send our economy even further in the tank, not to mention his proposed draconian restrictions on second amendment rights.

11/14/2008 3:58:43 PM

Quote :

"Not all lobbyists are bad, and when you've limited their powers then it will be hard for them to be bad. So why not let them on the team?"

Ummm, mainly because he railed against them so hard during his campaign, that's why! How bout this: Obama wants a change from the Republican policies, right? So, would you have no problem if he put a bunch of Bush-Republicans in his cabinet on their promise not to be Republicans any more? The whole point is that he said "these people are bad and they are a problem." Implicit in that statement is the notion that said people shouldn't be involved in the decision-making process, ie, his cabinet or team members. And yet, those very people are now, surprise surprise, playing ball with him. Sounds less like change and, to borrow a phrase, more of the same.

11/19/2008 11:33:31 PM