When There Is No More Ammo, Load Blanks

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 11:56 pm

President Obama is proving the differing standards of African-Americans in our American society, no matter his Democratic standpoint. Sure, we had Kerry being attacked for his war record, Gore for the way he spoke (which Republicans claimed was rhetoric and talked down to citizens), but those were specific hand picked items. It wasn’t a daily tour de force. And if they happened to be voted in office, such attacks would have subsided and the opposition would simply sigh, grumble, and continue on, planning their next election, planning how to work their agendas into the current administration.

Not so much with Obama. Every decision, down to whom he chooses for his electable positions, will come under fire. This is understandable. This is government we speak of, which means this will affect our livelihood. But the precision and vigor is outstanding.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

“It’s the hypocrisy and the double-talk that makes so many of us so cynical. Do what you think is best for the country. Just be straight with us about how you’re going to do it… Just don’t hold a big news conference first to tell us how your administration is going to be so different from previous administrations in that you won’t be hiring lobbyists.”* – Campbell Brown, CNN

President Obama must hold such a news conference due to the invested eye of the people on capitol hill (and face it, the world, more immediately all citizens) into his every move. More than any president in our history.

It’s not hypocrisy to hire former lobbyists.

There are current lobbyists with selfish motivations. There are lobbyists with clean intentions. If Obama’s administration, in some positions, wishes to hire former lobbyists it could possibly mean they are abandoning their lobbyist ways to move into Obama’s more honest Washington politics.

This is Obama keeping with his oath, “No lobbyists”. I have enough faith in his administration to believe he will chose former lobbyists aligned with his ideas of change and bipartisanship.

Is it not possible that these lobbyists became lobbyists (for better or for worse) because it was the only feasible way to induce change, not only at the quickest rate, but most effectively within the established system of politics?

Can’t people change?

______________________________________________________________________________________________
*Campbell Brown anchors CNN’s “Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull” at 8 p.m. ET Mondays through Fridays. She delivered this commentary during the “Cutting through the Bull” segment of Wednesday night’s broadcast. (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/28/campbell.brown.ethics/index.html?iref=newssearch#cnnSTCText)

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association