Obama the Frontrunner
by Jerome Armstrong, Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:35:54 PM EST
I've long held out to not supporting a candidate, because I'd like to see a spirited contest that scrutinizes the candidate. Now that Obama is the perceived frontrunner, every move of his is game. On that front, it looks like Obama has a problem with having a lobbyist as his co-chair in New Hampshire. After Clinton mentioned it in the debate, and Obama denied it:
According to the AP, the Obama campaign has responded with saying they've drawn the line in the sand that doesn't mean state lobbyist, only federal lobbyist:
Obama communications director Robert Gibbs said Demers is a state lobbyist and does not do business involving federal legislation or regulation. He said the campaign has drawn a distinction between lobbyists who are registered to work at the state level and those who lobby the federal government.
"A ban on lobbying money and PACs is far from perfect," Gibbs said. "There is a difference between a college football player and professional football player," he added.
During the debate, while Clinton referred to Demers, the camera caught Obama shaking his head, saying "not so."
"He was shaking his head because her implication was that it violated our lobbyist pledge and his role quite clearly does not," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.
But then there's the problem in South Carolina, where Obama's co-chair, Jim Hodges, is also a lobbyist, with this interesting update:
Tags: 2008, Barack Obama (all tags)










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