Hope and Change

I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on the lobbyists—and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not fund my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am President.

                                                                                       Barack Obama (2007)

Four years ago, President Obama talked about changing business as usual in Washington. Consistent with this pledge, he banned corporate and union contributions to his inauguration. He also published the names of individual donors and the amounts of their contributions. Individual gifts were limited to $50,000.

Change has come to the Obama administration. This year, the fundraising goal was $50 million, and the ban on corporate and union contributions was lifted. The upper limits for "sponsorship" are $250,000 for individuals and $1 million for institutions.  Corporations such as Exxon-Mobil, Microsoft, AT&T, Bank of America, and unions such as the American Federation of Government Employees, are paying to play. Many of them are federal contractors, or have immediate business pending with government agencies, i.e., United Therapeutics, which has a new drug awaiting FDA approval "within the next four years.". How much are they paying?  This year the donors are listed, but not the amounts of their gifts. 

Now there's a change you can believe in!