Aggressive Ethics Reform: Obama's Plan To Restore Trust In Government

Aggressive Ethics Reform: Obama's Plan To Restore Trust In Government

The New York Sun did an article today on Obama entitled Obama Unveils Government Ethics Plan. This article serves as another example of Obama not just talking the talk but actually walking the walk. By putting in writing his intent to marginalize special interest influence in Washington, he is signaling to the American people that ethics is not just something he talks about during an election year but the "cause of his life."

The Sun article notes that his plan is broadening the differences between a Clinton presidency and an Obama presidency.

Senator Obama of Illinois is seeking to sharpen the contrast with one of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Clinton, by unveiling an ethics-in-government plan with provisions that appear to target alleged ethics lapses under President Clinton.

Mr. Obama's "Plan to Restore Trust in Government" calls for mandatory registration of lobbyists seeking presidential pardons and requires disclosure of all donations to presidential libraries. Both are requirements that were widely discussed after the last-minute pardon of a fugitive financier, Marc Rich, as Mr. Clinton left office in 2001.

President Bill Clinton was no doubt one of the better presidents in the last twenty seven years, however, his presidency was far from being free of corrupt influences. Since the Reagan years, the partisan divide continues to grow larger and the influence of special interest continues to grow stronger. Obama is one of the few presidential candidates with a consistent record of closing the partisan divide without compromising his values and core beliefs while also working hard to ensure that government is accountable to the people. That is why, as you have probably heard in his stump speeches, that he worked with Republicans in the Illinois state legislature to introduce the first ethics bill in twenty five years. That is why in less than two weeks into the 110th Congress he immediately went to work to help pass the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act.

Obama has shown that he has the best judgment as exemplified by his 2002 opposition to the Iraq war. He has as many plans as John Edwards and offers the specifics, unlike Hillary Clinton, to point the country back in the right direction. He has introduce the most aggressive approach to ethics for the office of the presidency because he wants to restore the American people's trust in their government. He has shown a better grasp of foreign policy than many of his opponents who were critical of his length of experience in Congress. He has cleverly use the debates to unravel the media frames of experience and their rampant criticism of him being "naive." He also never gets caught off guard with credibility questions during TV interviews. He has shown the resolve and the right amount "steel" that is necessary for our next president and that is why Obama supporters' are optimistic about his chances for the democratic nomination.

You just know when you made the right choice and I am confident about mine.


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Tags: Barack Obama (all tags)

Comments

13 Comments

Great Work !

Recommended and shared on other Blogs.

Thank you.

by BlueDiamond 2007-09-05 02:49PM | 0 recs
so he is running as the Anti -Clinton?

IS the the republican in the race now?
Why is is when Clinton works with Republicans it is triangulating and when Obama works with republicans it is healing the divisiveness?
Can't he find a better example of corruption than Bill Clinton and the Marc Rich pardon? Frankly the guy seems to get more and more pathetic in my book.

Rich was pardoned because he was unfairly prosecuted by an ambitious DA in NY.  He was not doing anything differently that a lot of CEOs at the time who created subsidiaries to do business with Iraq, including Cheney.  But the DA in Question wanted to be mayor of NY and needed a high profile case to get his name in the news.  That was Rudy BTW.

Obama embraces Reagan, says nothing about bush1, but makes an attack against Clinton for the purpose of beating his wife in the primaries.  To me this is scumbag behavior. That's not a democrat I want to vote for.

by TeresaINPennsylvania 2007-09-05 02:53PM | 0 recs
Re: so he is running as the Anti -Clinton?

There's a difference.

Obama has the ability to promote Progressive values while attracting moderate Republicans over to our side.

Clinton touts a polarizing and divisive rhetoric that is not only a turnoff to many , but contradicts her "Bipartisan Rhetoric" claims.

by BlueDiamond 2007-09-05 03:16PM | 0 recs
Spot on!
I've known I made the right decision from day 1..and it just gets reinforced more and more every day.

 

"It's not just enough to change the players. We've gotta change the game." ~ Barack Obama
by bklynsam 2007-09-05 02:58PM | 0 recs
You should post this on e pluribus media

by iamready 2007-09-05 03:25PM | 0 recs
What is that site about?

Is it a progressive site?  I have never been there before that is why I am asking.

Thanks.

by lovingj 2007-09-05 03:29PM | 0 recs
No Comparison Clintons versus Barack / Ophra helps

There is a major difference!

There is the PAST that scares the hell out of me.

The clinton years weren't very good unless your were building new private prisons. Or investing in overseas countries establishing plants and companies.
Those who went from welfare to work never got funding to get educated. Their children ended up with moms who had to work two full time jobs at MCDonalds. The kids got in trouble.

AMY GOODMAN from DEMOCRACYNOW.ORG SPEAKS TO MARIAN EDLEMAN ON --> The clintons on Children welfare reform

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?s id=07/07/24/1431211

7/24/07
Children's Defense Fund's Marian Edelman

The 1994 clinton crime bill took away pell grants to educate and rehabilitate prisoners. They ended up in a revolving door of going to those new jails that are privatized.
The influx of HB1 visas have brought in an influx of students from overseas who are not keeping or lowering the middle class. Many many military bases closed and this hurt so many who needed them for survival.

Yes the clintons saved billions at the expense of the poor and middle class. While the rich got richer and the country went full steam into privitization.

Then GW came in and spent it all on Iraq plus some.

I do not want to see our people in the USA suffer any more loss at the sake of another clinton savings plan. I want a president who has a health care plan that will pass with both republicans and democrats. I am tired of being offered pie in the sky.

I want a candidate who will work across party lines. I want a candidate who passes transparency bills like senator Obama and Coburn cosponsored.

I want reform not more of the same.

I want a UNITED  states of america. Not a left and right or blue and red USA!

I want Barack Obama ! ! !

"OPHRA, I trust your judgement totally, thanks for being open and honest." See ya at the swearing in, Danielle!

Oprah mulls `broader' Obama campaign role

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/20 07/09/05/oprah_mulls_broader_obama_campa ign_role/8737/

Published: Sept. 5, 2007 at 8:02 PM
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey is reportedly in talks about taking a "broader role" in the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Winfrey, whose daily TV show is produced in Chicago, endorsed Obama in May for the Democratic presidential nomination. She is in discussions with his advisers on the possibility of acting as a surrogate on the campaign trail, The Washington post reported Wednesday.

Winfrey -- the wealthiest African-American in the United States -- will play host Saturday to her first-ever presidential fundraiser at her 42-acre estate in Montecito, Calif. The event is expected to raise more than $3 million for Obama's campaign, the newspaper said.

Neither the Winfrey nor the Obama camp has spoken publicly about the talks over her possible role in the campaign, but the idea of her appearing in commercials for Obama is "very much in play," the Post reported.

Speaking recently with Larry King on CNN, Winfrey suggested her celebrity would be a more valuable commodity than money to the campaign.

"My money isn't going to make any difference," said Winfrey. "My value to him -- my support of him -- is probably worth more than any other check that I could write."

by DANIELLECLARKE 2007-09-05 05:46PM | 0 recs
For the hillary supporters

For the Hillary supporters. Here is what the other side is thinking and planning on for future attacks during presidential debates.

This is not intended to be an attack. This is a reality you all need to plan on if hillary gets the nod.

Danielle  

NewsMax Magazine

http://www.newsmax.com/morris/hillary_hi pocrisy/2007/09/05/30077.html

Hillary's Hypocrisy
The Winner of the Hypocrite of the Year Award Goes to . . . Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton

Wednesday, September 5, 2007 4:02 PM

Author: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann  Article Font Size  

Even though the year is far from over and is likely to have its fair share of hypocrisy, Mrs. Clinton's comment on the need to compromise to achieve political and social progress has to outclass any other current or future entrant for the Hypocrite of the Year award.

This woman, who refused to change a comma or a word of her thousand-page-plus healthcare reform bill and, as a result of her intractable stubbornness, sent the bill down to defeat along with the Democratic Congress and almost her husband's presidency, is daring to show herself now as the apostle of compromise.

Unbelievable.

Here's what she recently said:

"Ultimately, to bring change, you have to know when to stand your ground, and when to find common ground. You need to know when to stick to principles and fight, and know when to make principled compromises. You can't always demand everything your own way, or you'll never get anything done."

For Hillary to give a sermon on compromise in politics is a bit like the Ayatollah preaching religious tolerance. This is the same woman who:

Refused to release the Whitewater documents, triggering the appointment of a special prosecutor;

Wouldn't settle the Paula Jones suit -- with no apology, admission, or damages required -- out of simple stubbornness;

Insisted on the secrecy of her healthcare reform task force's deliberations until a federal court ruled her position invalid and who still won't release her first lady healthcare reform documents until after the election;

Insisted on the travel office firings even when they became a total political embarrassment;

Will still not apologize for her vote for the Iraq war.

And, in the Senate, where she pretends to have developed her penchant for compromise, she still has not succeeded in passing a single major piece of legislation.

Compromise was not, to put it mildly, uppermost in her thinking in 1993 and 1994. After it was clear that her healthcare package was doomed to defeat, I suggested that she adopt a fallback position and support the bill first introduced by Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan. The Dole bill provided for portability of healthcare benefits as workers migrated from job to job. Dole had filed it in the heady days of 1993, when healthcare reform was still popular. Needing a Republican alternative to Hillary's program, he proposed this important reform.

Knowing that Dole would have to let it pass because it was his bill, I urged Hillary to push the Dole bill, arguing that she could take the achievement to the nation in 1996 as evidence of progress on healthcare.

She rejected the idea out of hand, as she did all healthcare compromises, insisting that "unless we fix the whole system, we'll just make things worse." She said that "if we tinker with this change or that change, it will be like squeezing a balloon. One end will be smaller but the other will just get larger." She worried that insurance companies would raise their rates if the bill passed.

Now she is the bearer of the torch of compromise. If we could believe her conversion was sincere, it would make her less dangerous as a possible president. But it clearly is not. Her newfound desire for compromise is driven by her need to appeal simultaneously to the Democratic base and general electorate. She has to explain to the partisans of the left why she must adopt positions tailored to win the November election on the Iraq war and other issues.

Her advocacy of compromise is just one part of her Labor Day repositioning. She has also changed her campaign slogan from "Experience" to "Change + Experience," because she feels uncomfortable ceding the ground of change in a Democratic primary to Obama. Of course, the only change that her candidacy seems to offer is a different first name in the perennial Bush/Clinton dichotomy that has gripped the nation for the past 20 years.

In reality, Hillary's focus on compromise and the need for change takes place against the backdrop of an increasingly successful war in Iraq. With Bush now admitting that some troop withdrawals will be necessary and the Democrats conceding that all the troops cannot be withdrawn, Hillary and the Democratic candidates face the prospect of losing their best issue -- the failed war.

So, if your position is increasingly untenable, prepare your voters for compromise.

© 2007 Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
........................................ ..........

Is Hillary Your New Best Friend?

http://w3.newsmax.com/a/jan07/

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Those were the shrill words of New York senator, former first lady, and current Democratic front-runner for the 2008 presidential nomination Hillary Rodham Clinton, on the night her party reveled in a landslide midterm election victory.

Almost before her victory speech had ended, the Democratic faithful began swooning at the possibility of "President Clinton, The Sequel."

Given the current mood in the country as expressed on that Nov. 2006 election night, Democrats do indeed have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the chances of a Clinton redux in 2008.

But all is not lost for Republicans.

In fact, Hillary could turn out to be the GOP's new best friend.

In NewsMax Magazine's new special report, "She Can Save the GOP," you'll discover why Mrs. Clinton could be the ideal Democratic candidate . . . IF Republicans hope to retain control of the White House.

In this blockbuster special report, you'll find out why some of the smartest political minds in the business are predicting a GOP resurgence if Hillary becomes the Democratic nominee in 2008.

And why some of the top Democrats know it -- and desperately want to dump Hillary from the '08 ticket.

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Just look at some of what the pros are saying about a Hillary run for the White House:

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"Yes, she will galvanize the base . . . that's for sure."

-- GOP strategist and political guru extraordinaire Mary Matalin
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George H.W. Bush speechwriter.
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Can a woman really win the nation's highest office?
How likely is it that Hillary could actually be elected president?
How Mrs. Clinton has "evolved" on gay marriage.
The Obama factor; is he a threat to Hillary's Democratic Party dominance?
A complete scorecard on Hillary's potential GOP rivals.
A review of the leading VP contenders on both sides of the political aisle.
Hillary vs. Pelosi: the inside story about how Sen. Clinton isn't happy about another powerful Democratic woman in Washington.
Why former House Speaker Newt Gingrich thinks Hillary is fully capable of sewing up the Democratic nomination in 2008.
Who really wears the pants in the Clinton political household, and why Hillary has always been the more important part of "two-for-one" deal.
And much, much more...
You'll also get a litany of Hillary's all-time greatest gaffes, including her unbelievable dig at her potential GOP presidential rival Rudy Giuliani.

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In NewsMax Magazine's special report, "She Can Save the GOP," you'll get an in-depth analysis of the ambitious woman who wants to move back into her old house -- the big white one at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Find out why Hillary could come dangerously close to grasping the brass ring in 2008.

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Rush Limbaugh has praised this new book, saying "Hillary's Scheme" reveals, "There's no question Hillary Clinton wants to be president. . . . "Hillary's Scheme" makes that prospect amply clear."

Dick Morris has also read "Hillary's Scheme" and praised it, saying it is "the first book I've seen that really examines Hillary's plans in any detail."

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Hillary's Antics Help the GOP

http://www.newsmax.com/morris/?s=al& promo_code=3982-1

As Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton barnstorms across the nation in her quest for the White House, is she doing the Democratic Party more harm than good, and in fact, really helping the GOP?

NewsMax Magazine's special report "She Can Save the GOP" reveals why Clinton could be the ideal Democratic candidate -- IF Republicans hope to retain control of the White House. The report also reveals why some top Democrats desperately want to dump her from the '08 ticket.

Dick Morris has some astonishing insights gleaned from knowing Hillary for almost 30 years -- many of which he served as her chief adviser and confidante. Morris explains Hillary's "fatal flaw" -- one Republicans must exploit to defeat her.

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by DANIELLECLARKE 2007-09-05 06:55PM | 0 recs
Re: For the hillary supporters

Your comments here seem more like diaries than mere responses to another diarist. They are simply too long and simply whole articles from another source. This is not troll territory, but it's highly inappropriate in my book. It's propaganda. (Though, of course, that's almost the purpose of this site. Even so, this stuff goes far beyond.)

by blackmahn 2007-09-05 07:09PM | 0 recs
I hate

when Obama or Edwards say something that is right - and because the Clintons were wrong it is called an attack.

by CardBoard 2007-09-05 08:18PM | 0 recs
Re: Aggressive Ethics Reform: Obama's Plan To Rest

I'll say it straight: the attempt to paint this as an attack by Obama on Bill Clinton is straight-up bullshit.

Obama's ethics plan is long and detailed.  You can read it for yourself.  Much of it is modeled on various ethics proposals he's made in the Senate, some of which I thought highly enough of to diary over at DKos back before he was even a candidate.

Buried somewhere in there, yes, are a couple of ideas related to presidential libraries and the process of lobbying for pardons.  But in no way are they a focal point of the plan, nor are they particularly significant.  If you were reading through the plan, you'd probably gloss right over that part.

But the media loves a catfight.  And in this case, the NY Sun - the flagship paper of the neocons, if you didn't know, and no friend to anyone here - is trying to focus attention on a made-up flap so that people won't focus on the fact that Obama made a serious policy proposal that ought to be considered on the merits.

They do this all the time.  Remember how Drudge tried to gin up a controversy around Michelle Obama, supposedly taking a shot at Hillary when in fact she wasn't?

It's not just the partisan media, either.  Most reporters hate writing about boring old policy and lawmaking and would much rather dish some gossip about who called whom a name the other day in the schoolyard.  Just because they don't feel it's important to talk about the merits, doesn't mean you have to play their game.

Agree with Obama's proposals or disagree with them - or decide that ethics isn't an important enough issue for you to focus on, which is fine too - but don't get caught up in debating whether Obama attacked Clinton and whether it was fair or unfair or whatever.  That's what they're trying to sucker you into.  Don't be their rube.

by Steve M 2007-09-05 10:31PM | 0 recs
Thanks For Pointing Out

That Clinton was a great President.

If I have to make a choice between effective and pure, I'll chose effective.

If people think Obama can be both effective and pure, then making that case and giving people a real confidence that Obama can be effective is, or should be considered the goal of his Campaign.

Personally, I don't think you can be effective and pure at the same time.  Maybe that's the kind of cynicism Obama doesn't like, I do know Obama likes other kinds of Cynicism.

by Edgar08 2007-09-06 02:37AM | 0 recs
Re: MISSING veterans appr. funding is UNETHICAL

if you cannot do your current job on this, why should anybody think they are ethical....

This is disgraceful!.....not even showing up for work!

by pate 2007-09-06 08:49AM | 0 recs

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