So let’s see if I have this story right….
In November, while still merely PEBO, President Obama’s transition chair, John Podesta
promised the “strictest, most far-reaching” ethics rules “ever applied” to a presidential transition.
Less than a week later it was noted that dozens of former lobbyists were working for the transition team.
In his campaign missive titled “Taking Back Our Government,” PEBO made a promise to:
restore integrity and competence to the executive branch.
He then went on to nominate Timothy Geithner an admitted tax cheat, who finally paid his taxes only because he had a chance at the big time! Geithner failed on both accounts.
We finally get to the inauguration and President Obama. The day following he issues new ethics rules for his administration. Amongst the new rules, a reiteration of his “NO LOBBYISTS DAMMIT” policy:
lobbyists who become members of Obama administration will not be able to work on matters they lobbied on for two years, or in the agencies they lobbied during the previous two years. Anyone who leaves the Obama administration will not be able to lobby his administration. The orders also instituted a ban on gifts by lobbyists to members of the administration.
This rule, unlike the previous ones, was broken even before it was pronounced with the nomination of William Lynn. Oh, but not to worry, it was just one tiny exception in an otherwise untainted first 100, 60, 30, 10 well, who’s counting days without in infraction anyway?
Yesterday, Timothy Geithner nominated Mark Patterson, an ex lobbyist from Goldman Sachs no less, to be Geithner’s Chief of Staff.
I don’t know if President Obama is familiar with the phrase “fish rotting from the head.” If he isn’t, he ought to become so. An organization where the leader establishes rules but winks at them on a whim is an organization that will not abide by said rules. Of course, I’m pretty sure President Obama is already aware of this. After all, aren’t we seeing that exact same thing play out right now in his political birth place, Chicago?
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