Obama is not unique in his lobbyist ties, but he is unique in absolute hypocrisy.

This is why I support Edwards and Clinton but not Obama.

If Obama stated where he -actually- stood - and did not berate others for his own stances and positions - then I might give him support as well. It might be an interesting debate: Edwards, Clinton, and Obama do represent subtly distinct approaches (with Obama the farthest right - but maybe there are many who would like that about him).

The Democratic voters should get to make this choice, but Obama's duplicity is not giving them the chance. When revelations of this duplicity come out it's showing him to be a real ambitious opportunist and true to his cynical Chicago-machine-politics background, and that trumps any policy of his I might agree with.

I submit much more serious than the lobbyist issue is the total hypocrisy involved in attacking others on a point you yourself are vulnerable on. We know he kept his PAC active, that his bundlers mine money from big corporate donors, and now that he has lobbyists on his staff - how long will people foolishly go on calling him the candidate of hope?

I suppose this is better than Hillary Clinton being on the *board* of Walmart for a long time - and of course changing her tune when running for election:

http://www.nysun.com/article/27089

(I thought it was a joke when someone said Hillary was on Walmart's executive board - but surprisingly, it's actually true.)

Notably absent from the Obama lobbyist list is Moses Mercado.

Mercado is as bloody as a lobbyist could be with an awful list of clients......

The NRA.
The Carlyle Group with Bush's BinLaden's, and billions ($$) in military holdings.
The Blackstone Group, more scum.

So if anyone knows that Mercado is NOT part of Obama's team, please set the record straight.
These two links make it clear that Mercado is on the team. If true, this is one hell of an omission by huffpo....

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/28/385600.aspx

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/09/28/mercado_mosk.html

How about you write an article about one very important member of the Clinton campaign who used to be on the Wal-Mart Board of Directors?

That's right: Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton was for several years one of the most powerful people in the world of Wal-Mart... but she was 'strangely silent on labor issues.'

the problem is when lobbyists pay politicians, not the other way around.

Barack G-money....do I hear 18 trillion in
red ink, anyone? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

PS to my comment a few minutes ago:

1. Actually, very early in the article the author says "actually Obama is not alone" and then goes on to discuss other similiar situations.

2. The chart that accompanies the article indicates the top number per campaign are: Romney(10), Obama(9) and Clinton (8) Due to HP comment size restriction, I provided information only on those three. "Year" reflects the last year the individual was a register lobbyist:

CURRENT AND FORMER LOBBYISTS WORKING FOR PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-N.Y.)
LOBBYIST EMPLOYER REGISTERED FORM OF PAYMENT
Irene Bueno Nueva Vista Group 2006 Travel payment
Harold Ickes Ickes & Enright 2005 Travel, telephone payment
Rachel Kelly Blank Rome 2007 Salary
Thomas Kerr Florida Bankers Assn. 2006 Per diem , travel payment
Jonathan Mantz Podesta Group 2005 Salary
Michael Monroe International Union 2006 Salary
of Painters and Allied Trades
Dana Singiser Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld 2004 Salary, travel payments
Neera Tanden Center for American Progress 2006 Salary, travel payments

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-ILL.)
LOBBYIST EMPLOYER REGISTERED FORM OF PAYMENT
Teal Baker Podesta Group 2007 Salary
Emmett Beliveau Patton Boggs 2007 Salary
Ertharin Cousin Polk Street Group 2006 Salary
Stephen Geer Center for American Progress 2006 Salary
Steven Hildebrand Hildebrand Tewes Consulting 2006 Salary
Brandon Hurlbut B&D Consulting 2007 Salary
Michael Lake National Foreign Trade Council 2005 Travel, lodging payment
Hans Riemer Save Our Security Coalition 1996 Salary
Buffy Wicks United Food & Commercial Workers 2006 Salary

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R)
LOBBYIST EMPLOYER REGISTERED FORM OF PAYMENT
Lanhee Chen ERISA Industry Committee 2003 Salary
Ron Christie DC Navigators 2007 Salary
Barbara Comstock Corallo Comstock 2007 Salary
Cesar Conda DC Navigators 2007 Travel reimbursement
Marc Elcock Brown Winick Graves Gross, et al 2002 GOTV consulting payment
Cindy Gillespie R/V Moynihan Station Development 2007 GOTV consulting payment
Doug Gross Brown Winick Graves Gross et al 2007 Travel reimbursement
Phil Musser Dutko Worldwide 2006 Finance consulting payment
Victoria Napier R&R Partners 2007 Catering payment
Jared Young People Advancing Christian Education 2001 GOTV consulting payment

This is another instance of where the headline and the summary distort the content of the referenced article.

While Obama was included in the body of the article, many other candidates were mentioned and the linked data summary sheet shows Obama and Hillary have the same number of previous lobbyists working for them with different types of remuneration agreements. Romney has more than either Obama or Clinton.

I am getting very tired of the ways HuffPost summarizes and headlines their posts and articles.
Do the public a favor and get a grip on better journalist standards or loose increasing numbers of readers who can't take you work seriously.

This doesn't surprise me about Obama. He doesn't bring about a new kind of politics in Washington. He does bring about phony behavior though.

did they work for Blackwater like Mark Penn did?

wasted ink

.
Here's the rest of the "case" for O-BOMBA:

1. He is the most ignorant, inexperienced and lest-capable Dem politician running for president.

2. He is a total hypocrite on lobbyists. His efforts in support of Illinois lobbyists have cost US taxpayers $12 million (so far). (Documented by Brian Ross on July 16 - see ABC NEWS website) Michael Bauer, part of BO's National LGBT Leadership Council, is registered as a lobbyist with ResPubica Group, a Chicago based firm that serves corporate and noncorporate clients.

3. His shady real-estate dealings with his partner-in-crime Rezko stink!

4. Bomb Pakistan.

5. O-BOMBA is so devoid of creative thought, he has to steal the campaign ideas of John Edwards on healthcare, poverty and nuclear proliferation and try to pass them off as his own.

6. What's that white powder around his nostrils? (Must have had a powdered sugar donut, right?)

7. Note carefully this exchange to understand how dangerous it would be to have such an IGNORAMUS in charge of nuclear weapons:

2007-08-02 19:00:39 -

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday he would not use nuclear weapons "in any circumstance".
"I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance," Obama said, with a pause, "involving civilians." Then he quickly added, "Let me scratch that. There's been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That's not on the table."

Eight years of having bumbling morons in charge is enough. America can, and MUST, do better than O-BOMBA.
.

As an Obama supporter I've got to say DOH!

You see the word were tells you a lot.

Who else is going to advise him on policy?

Further, who do you think writes an astonishingly large amount of the legislation offered in Congress?

Wake Up America...And Kill the Lobbyist Cancer!