"Transparency for thee but not for me" didn't seem to go over as well as Obama thought. Tell me, Lynn, since you've covered Obama for a pretty long time, is this splitting of ethical hairs typical? It seems to suggest a pattern of behavior that gives Obama some plausible deniability, e.g., "I won't do business with federal lobbyists but state lobbyists are ok."

Our next President will either be a woman or a half black man. Either one will be a first. We haters must be united in November. Give up the hatred of either Obama or Clinton. Any of our Democratic candidates will be a fine President or Vice President. Most of the posters on this site are working towards a united Democratic administration. Or members of the hate mongers, and secrecy mongers that are working for more division and hatred in our country. Use you head, if you are smart enough to read this site and post here, you are working towards a United States of America! We should not be spreading the fear, as our current admionistration has and continues to do. End the Rove-itics!

So the Obama idea of no lobbyists is to have Tom Daschle as a campaign advisor

every member of the Daschle family is a lobbyist

The Obama campaign is full of humorless gits. (and weaklings Daschle and Kerry)

To take our country back we first have to take it back from the media.

Edwards/Dodd2008

Good to hear and about time! Half of Obama's criticisms are about to melt away as he reveals what's going on.

This country is truly in a sorry state when so many people are so disillusioned and cynical about any and every effort to turn things around - I wish all the nit-picking posters would turn that intelligence toward suggestions for solution-how does one campaign without money? where should that money come from? It seems that those candidates who are trying to find ways to increase participation by small donations from huge numbers of people, rather than big donations from a few, would be subject to kudos instead of brickbats.

This story is actually hilarious, and if anyone took the time to actually read it before putting on their tinfoil hats, they'd realize that it's the same kind of fundraising that Bill Clinton used to base the majority of his fundraising on. If Obama were doing something wrong, then Bill Clinton would have been doing something wrong for the last 20 years.

The only reason for this is because some folks want more transparency to check who is donating what. One of the main reasons that candidates will not report an event or two (and everyone who has run in this election has done so) is because the turnout sucked and they don't want that to get out and possibly hurt the campaign.

This is just the beginning of the vetting of Obama's, 'record.'

There will be no-free-passes in this election for ANY candidate.

Are you surprised by this? When are people going to stop drinking the Obama Kool-aid? His campaign manager is a lobbyist. Ask his campaign why he does not address the issue.

http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/blio.asp?display=Total&Cycle=2000
Business donated $1,228,476,385 of which Democrats got $513,445,271 and Republicans got $705,068,823 Labor gave $90,187,531
The Grand Total donated for 2000 elections was$1,633,534,367 Democrates spent $722,594,512 Republicans spent $895,338,890

http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/blio.asp?display=Total&Cycle=2004

Business Corporations donations $1,510,293,157 Democrats received $672,278,568 and Republicans received $832,497,466
Labor gave $61,702,483
$Grand Total spent for 2004 elections $2,031,675,877 of which Democrats spent $968,131,070 Republicans spent $1,055,173,534

http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/blio.asp?display=Total&Cycle=2006
2006 Election:
Business donations total $1,133,433,773 of which Democrats got $491,114,294 Republicans got $625,787,189
Labor $66,670,698
Grand Total spent in 2006: $1,580,110,253 Democrats spent $737,487,617 Republicans spent $818,599,117

Bottom line: 2004 Election cost $2billion to elect a President. Most of that money raised went to the Main Stream Media - They have turned our elections into a major business in which money changes hand from one pocket to the next.

Democracy is a commodity, bought and sold on the free market with our tax dollars and our votes.

Can we have a graph illustrating the takes of Obama, Hilary and Edwards?

What about the fundraisers in non-public places?

It amazes me just how much corporate special interest money he has already acepted.

Is this how he is going to get everyone to
get along"?