Cronyism in the Obama White House
The Washington Times says Obama hasn't ended presidential perks for party donors
The White House as seen on a twenty-dollar bill.
(Corbis/Randall Fung)
Top Democratic donors received VIP access to the White House during President Obama's first six months in office, according to a Washington Times investigation. Some particularly prolific financial backers have received ambassadorships. Do Obama's supporters get special perks, or does every White House do this? (Watch Robert Gibbs defend Democratic perks at a press briefing)
Every White House does this: "The White House has always been for sale to the highest bidders," says Earl Ofari Hutchinson in American Chronicle. Everyone knows President Obama's predecessor "nakedly waved the White House for sale sign to corporate cronies." It's distasteful, but the reality is that "politics is a hard, dirty, cash soaked game, and those with the most cash will always have the president´s ear, no matter the president."
"Obama´s White House is for sale just like all the others"
This is "influence peddling": Sure, Clinton did it, and Bush did it, says Michelle Malkin in RealClearPolitics. But during the campaign Obama called rewarding donors with "lavish receptions, golf outings, bowling dates, and movie nights" at the White House what it really is -- influence peddling. Just goes to show, "it's business as usual in the era of Hope and Change."
"The Obama White House: Bundlers' paradise"
All presidents promise to end donor perks: "It's a requirement that any candidate for the presidency vow to banish the wicked special interests in Washington, D.C.," says Jacob Heilbrunn in The Huffington Post. And it's a ritual for the media to pounce and show that the new president "is slipping into nefarious old Washington practices." Now poor White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has to offer "contorted defenses," instead of just telling the truth: "handing out a few perks to donors is really no big deal."
"In defense of Obama's bowling for dollars"
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11 Comments
Posted by I'm just sayin'..., Friday, October 30, 2009, 1:03 pm I'm shocked, SHOCKED to find that there's been no real change after all...
Posted by Emily, Friday, October 30, 2009, 3:28 pm I bet the donkey brayers who voted for BHO are claiming that these paybacks are justified. Idiot voters. You really believed him when he said HOPE, CHANGE and TRANSPARENCY? More naive than he is. The White House is for sale. The senate and house are for sale. Governors. Mayors. The way to get rich is to start a religion, or become a politician. Grow up and open your eyes. These guys are ripping us off.
Posted by PPLS, Saturday, October 31, 2009, 12:54 am I have once again been hung out to dry by believing a canidate for out highest office. We need to do away with all donations. Your party picks you and local or national tv has 10 debates with all persons wanting to be elected. Have the election and the elected owe only the public. They have always have put theircronies in positions and perks to donors. The bad part of that is these people have trouble finding their own ass, let alone know as much about one of those positions as top 100 people in any of these cabinet positions.
Posted by Diane Marks, Saturday, October 31, 2009, 11:40 am Grow up people! Don't pretend we didn't all know that some compromises need to be made in Washinton or any other government in order to get business done. It's called Politics.When someone comes up with a better way to do things I certainly want to hear about it!
Posted by Missed the Marks, Sunday, November 1, 2009, 10:39 am The point is that Obama promised change and broke all his promises. That is not compromise, that is outright lies. No lobbyists in the cabinet? Yeah right. Transparency? Ha! Foreign relations? China Russia N Korea and Iran made more advances to America's detriment in the last 8 months than the last 80 years. Economic recovery? WH declared Mission Accomplished already, but we all know that ain't true. Gays in the military? Just don't ask. We have more American citizens on the FBI watch list today than Bush had in total. I'm sure they all watch F
Posted by Missed the Marks, Sunday, November 1, 2009, 10:44 am We have more American citizens on the FBI watch list today than Bush had in total. I'm sure they all watch Fox news and go to tea parties and that is cause to tap their phones, Obama considers them the biggest threats around. The Patriot Act is alive and kicking. Enemy lists are being made if not in the exact same way Nixon did. This WH has enacted more censorship of dissenting opinions than any WH in American history. Meanwhile American soldiers die every day as Obama plays golf and ignores the Generals.
Posted by Douglas, Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 5:13 pm The most open, transparent and ethical federal government evvverrrr!Now, where is the toilet, I'm feeling noxious, after reading this report.
Posted by Brett, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 8:59 am In spite of continuing some of the practices that all presidents have engaged in during our nation's history, Obama's administration is the most open, transparent, and ethical administration that we have had in a long time. Just because he isn't perfect does not mean he isn't a whole lot better than what we've had. What did you expect? It seems that the neocons are expecting more from Obama than anyone else! If you put most private citizens in the WH, they would probably do the same and a lot worse.
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