I have been talking about this with friends for awhile now. Finally someone in Washington that seems to really get it and not just white wash it.
Obama promises sweeping government reform
By Holly Ramer, Associated Press Writer | June 22, 2007
MANCHESTER, N.H. --Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Friday he will clean up Washington on his first day in office with a government reform package aimed at reducing the growing power of lobbyists.
"It's time to renew a people's politics in this country -- to ensure that the hopes and concerns of average Americans speak louder in Washington than the hallway whispers of high-priced lobbyists," he said.
The Illinois senator said he will ban political appointees who leave their jobs during his administration from lobbying the executive branch for the remainder of his time in office. Those who join his administration will not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to their former employers for two years.
"When I am president, I will make it absolutely clear that working in an Obama administration is not about serving your former employer, your future employer or your bank account -- it's about serving your country, and that's what comes first," he said at New Hampshire Community Technical College.
Under the current administration, Washington lobbyists have turned government "into a game only they can afford to play," Obama said. "A game played on a field that's no longer level, but rigged to always favor their own narrow agendas."
"In our democracy, the price of access and influence should be nothing more than your voice and your vote," he said. "That should be enough for health care reform. That should be enough for a real energy policy."
Obama's plan also calls for ending the abuse of no-bid contracts, restoring objectivity to the executive branch and increasing public access to information.
He promised to post any non-emergency bill on the Internet for five days before signing it to give the public a chance to review and comment. Videos of agency meetings also would be available online, and communications about regulatory policy-making between White House staff and people outside government would be made public.
New Hampshire speech, Obama quoted President Teddy Roosevelt, who said, "The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us."
He said American again needs the kind of leadership Roosevelt provided when he broke up the trusts and monopolies that ruled during the Gilded Age.
"We need a president who sees government not as a tool to enrich well-connected friends and high-priced lobbyists, but as the defender of fairness and opportunity for every American," he said.
Obama acknowledged that such promises are common but said he has the experience and will to follow through.
"It's easy to be cynical -- to believe that change isn't possible; that the odds are too great; that this year is bound to be no different from the last. But I also know what I've seen and what I've done," he said. "I know that for me, reform isn't just the rhetoric of a campaign; it's been a cause of my career."
From NBC's Mark Murray
On the eve of his speech on good government in New Hampshire, Obama today has put up a list on his Senate Web site of all the proposed earmarks (more than a hundred by our count) he has requested for this year's appropriations as a way to inject more transparency in government. As the Chicago Tribune wrote earlier this morning, Obama is the first presidential candidate to do this.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Obama's campaign is now challenging the other presidential candidates to also list their earmarks. "As a matter of transparency and good government, Obama thinks it's important that voters know who their candidates are, what their sources of income are, and whether they have any potential conflicts," spokesman Bill Burton says. "We would hope that other candidates follow suit in disclosing their earmarks as well."
This isn't the first time that earmark challenges have come up in the presidential contest. Last week, McCain held a press conference to lambaste Hillary Clinton for larding a defense appropriations bill with pork. "We can't do this earmarking and pork-barreling if we ever are going to be careful and serious stewards of the taxpayers' dollars," McCain said.
I really like Obama alot. The speech in New Hampshire was great! If you would like to watch it, it is on his website. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/corruption/ Hopefully nothing horrible will happen to Obama. Anyone who talks real change in Washington under goes a smear campaign or worse. He can talk the talk lets see if he can walk the walk.



On the eve of his speech on good government in New Hampshire, Obama today has put up a list on his

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child."
"I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix." 
Bookmarks