Dozens Of Former Lobbyists Serving On Obama's Transition Team

New York Times:

President-elect Barack Obama has imposed stricter conflict-of-interest restrictions on his White House transition team than any president before him. But a list of transition team members that his office made public on Friday includes a complicated tangle of ties to private influence-seekers.

Among the full roster of about 150 staff members being assigned to government agencies between now and Inauguration Day are dozens of former lobbyists and some who were registered as recently as this year. Many more are executives and partners at firms that pay lobbyists, and former government officials who work as consultants or advisers to those seeking influence.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[MikePow]

Valerie Jarrett explains the restrictions of serving on Obama's transition team on the change.gov blog. At about 1:16 into the video she explains that the transition team is making the process as transparent as they can possibly make it, and what the restrictions are for those members who have lobbied.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYJzg5IJN8o

http://www.change.gov/newsroom/blog/

[rmetz74]

This is as silly as the Ayers attack. You can't become a successful politician without meeting some people with sketch things in their past, and you can't hire large numbers of experienced people in Washington without getting some former lobbyists.

The question is, will he be susceptible to their influence. I am as confident as I have ever been that the answer is no.

[lthuedk 1]

Before Obama goes the Clinton/DLC route, he should know there are many, many of us who will resist and work toward a one-term presidency if that continues. We want change-not compromises. There is no grey area in the Constitution-or the intent of the founders: Ours is a country designed for and by individuals-not abusive fascistic corporations. So, stop bringing corporatists with a stake in the Bushist plan on-board.

There were specific reasons why I didn't support HRC. Those reasons still exist. What is new is Obama's roll-over to lobbyists and the corporation, DLCer's and his placation and forgiveness of Republican extremists who committed subversion and support torture, murder and theft through preemption.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/Freedom_of_Choice.html

It's time to give those who got Obama elected exactly what they wanted: Change. Hiring and coddling corporatists is not the way the begin the trek down the highway of change. Obama owes the people much more than that. He owes us the promise of change, and definitely not a change towards some diluted state of representative government. We want our country back, every bit of it, with interest.

Stick to the script.

[bygollymissmolly]

It would be impossible to hire the number of experienced people Obama will need to clean up this Republican mess without hiring people who have at some time been a lobbyist. That's a fact. But I trust the safeguards Obama has put in place will work. Besides, the thing that people miss is that the buck stops at Obama's desk. People can plead their case all they want, but in the end the decisions will be made by him. I trust that he will make the right decisions and will not criticize him until such time as he does something to disappoint me.

[Damaven]

If only all could think as clearly as you. Thank you.

[Independent voter]

It is most definately NOT a fact.

There are many good people in our country who are willing and able to serve in the government who are not lobbied up w_h_o_r_e_s.

[C IH8U2]

Wow, the tro//s sure have jumped on this article.
Have they even really read the whole thing or did they just read the title.

If a person is a lobbyist working on the "Transition Team", they can not work on the same area for which they lobbied. And they can't lobby for matters for which they worked on the "Transition Team" afterwards. And the "The Transistion Team is ONLY helping to advise the picks for the "Presidential Cabinet". That means they are not truely part of the Obama Administration.

So everyone just relax and take a deep breath. ........... ........... Feel better yet :-)

Now, if Obama hires people to "Cabinet" positions for which they have lobbied, then that's when a problem occurs. I'm sure though that if he finds out someone is or has lobbied as such, which WE will be paying attention, that person would be removed.
So just chill and let the man work his magic.

[Independent voter]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/us/politics/15transition.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&oref=slogin

[Daisy1111]

It doesn't matter that they're "former" lobbyists. When they leave the new jobs they go back to being lobbyists because now they have contacts in the BO administration.

And I have news for you -- he did accept lobbyist money. He made the distinction o "federal" lobbysits.

But he took state lobbyists money.

[evgolightly]

When you have millions of individual donors you take all kinds of people's money. There's nothing wrong with that. The point is not to have one particular group tilt the $$ scales in favor of their agenda, which happens all the time in campaigns.

[GoVeg]

It's a transition team, not a cabinet position. Chill out.

[TLV]

What is lobbying really? For some it is a life-long career. For others, it is a way to guarantee a temporary but generous boost to their bank accounts. Fred Thompson, a former presidential candidate for the Republican party, was once a lobbyist for a pro-abortion group.

[partyofone]

Obama is a wise person who certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt so soon after the election. It would be wise for him, however, to send some signal of encouragement to those he promised CHANGE. It is not evident in so many former Clinton staffers, and by reports that he will bring in Hillary herself, and his embrace of Lieberman, and, by this report, a fleet of Washington ifluence peddlers.

For those who want and expect the Washington status quo to conitnue, there are many signs of hope. What about for those who expect CHANGE... Some bread crumb, please. :)

[bygollymissmolly]

This government is in a complete and total meltdown thanks to the Bush Crime Family and the Republicans. Something needs to be done quickly to stop the decline and give Obama a chance to start changing things for the better. For this kind of an operation Obama needs EXPERIENCED people, people who know the government and how it runs. Since all the experienced people in Washington worked for one administration or another, or have at some time been a lobbyist, it would be impossible for Obama to hire an experienced team without hiring former Clinton people or someone who has at some time been a lobbyist. I would much rather see him draw on this well of experience than to have him bring in nothing but newbies to try to unravel the mess Bush has left us.

If he starts showing signs that he is being influenced by these people, then and only then will you have the right to complain. Until then, you all need to take a deep breath and give Obama the help he needs to start bringing this country back to the great nation it once was.

[Independent voter]

You need to stop telling other people what to do and how to think.

If you want to take a deep breath, go right ahead, but I prefer to make my own breathing decisions.

Many people voted for change and hiring the same old K street people is not change. Bringing in the people from the Clinton Corruption Club is not change.

Cheney had experience; Rumsfeld had experience; Rice had experience; McCain had experience. I am not willing to sacrifice principles for some phantom experience.

Get it?

[chuk98death]

We DID not elect an idealouge. We elected a pragmatist. We elected a man that is ready to take the shot to get what is needed done and tell us the American people why he is doing it. We did not elect a liberal, a center right-left (hybrid) or any other mixture of a labels that has been thrown out there. This is a guy who looks for how to get things done and goes striaght at it. I am not falling for this nonsense where people yell from the top of their voice of Clintonites. It is silly! We need change and experience at the same time. This is the same nonsense we were subjected to when he choose Biden as VP. This is not a laughing matter we are in, any srew up and we could fall into a depression! So people chill out and stop falling for this media narrative of former clinton folk or the like. Wait and see the policies he gets through and what he does as a president then if it is clintonian launch you critics then.

[lobear00]

Well I guess having "Competent people running the different agencies now! will make a big difference from the "Fools,Degenerates, incompetent jackals that are there now. I guess "We the People have seen first hand what an incompetent fool and his incompetent choices can do to a "Nation.

Thank God this group will be gone soon.

[tavote08]

Is there not a difference between transition team and White House Administration, I would think so; and unless I missed something in the past few days Obama only has three (count them 1, 2, 3) appointments to his "Administration" Emmanuel, Jarrett, and the VP's Chief of Staff. Are any of them "Lobbyist"???

I realize the election is over and some are hungry to have a tale to tell but lets not confuse facts with fictious tales based on half a$$ information. When P.E. Obama has something to tell us I'm sure he will and we will all approve if for no other reason than his choices will reflect the professionalism, intellect, competency, and capabilities displayed in his campaign and under his leadership...

[XME]

It seems that Obama is making efforts to keep things as clean as possible. It's just sad that if you eliminated everyone in DC who had any ties to lobbying, we'd be left with amature hour, which would be a bigger disaster than having people with lesser ties to lobbyists, who at least know what they're doing, how Washington works, and how to get things done.

If only there were lobbyists for the American people...hopefully Obama will live up to trying to be that person. Fortunately, he and Michelle have two small children who I believe they are doing this for more than anyone else. Letting us down would be letting them down. I take comfort in believing he gets this.

[bygollymissmolly]

The sad thing is there are lobbyists for the "american people". There have always been lobbyists in our government advocating things like taking care of the environment, family planning, unions, etc. It was the advent of K-Street and all the high powered and highly paid lobbyists for corporations that have given lobbying a bad name.

What we need to do now, and I believe it is what Obama is trying to do, is to limit the influence of the corporate lobbyists on Washington. I would love to see us return to the United States of America from the United Corporations of American we have somehow become.

[StephenDedalus82]

Lobbying is acting on free speech rights. It's not lobbyists per se who are the problem, it's who they are and what they believe and what their motives are. My question is whether Obama will do as he says and respect the interests of the people who elected him and not the interests of the corporations who've had their hand in the national piggy bank for decades.

[canucklivinginUSA]

Since he ran a campaign without the help of big donors, I highly doubt he is going to start going against his principles now

[rasit]

These are former lobbyists and are part of the TRANSITION team, so I don't see how that affects President-elect Obama's promise to change the ways Washington operates.

If they are involved in policy development in the future, that is a different story. I think the media needs to wait at least Jan 20, 09 before starting their critique..

[vert952]

This is ridiculous, politics as usual. And I cant believe they let this person even have a job

"One name on the transition list comes unencumbered by potential conflicts but instead by bad luck. Jami Miscik, leading a review of American intelligence agencies, was the head of intelligence analysis at the Central Intelligence Agency during its biggest embarrassment: the botched assessments about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. Then she moved on to become a senior official managing risks in emerging markets for the investment bank Lehman Brothers, until its collapse this fall."

She must be terrible, we should ban her from anything other than fastfood. Total bullsh*t.