The Lobbyist Myth

Today's Boston Globe has another hit piece on Obama obviously planted by the Clinton opposition research center. It's another example of the media bias against Obama: because he is the most public voice against corruption in Washington, the press retaliates by holding him to a higher standard than any other candidate. In this case, it's Obama's hard work in 2003-04 on the Health Care Justice Act in Illinois. Up against the resistance of the powerful insurance industry, Obama listened to their complaints and crafted a compromise bill that could get passed. This should be a tremendous credit to Obama (unlike Hillary Clinton and any other Democrat running for president, Obama has actually helped to pass health care legislation). That stands in sharp contrast to Hillary Clinton, who had her clock cleaned by the insurance lobbyists in the 1990s, and then filled it with their donations when she became senator.

The Globe gives this story the headline: "In Illinois, Obama dealt with lobbyists." Gasp! Are they somehow unaware that every effective politician who ever got a bill passed has dealt with lobbyists? The complaint about Clinton is that she deals with lobbyists, but that she's devoted to placating them. True, Obama talks with lobbyists. True, he used to take money from lobbyists because he's not from a wealthy background and couldn't survive without the funding. Yet when he decided to run for president against the Clinton dynasty, he chose not to take lobbyist money; Clinton, who has the fundraising power not to need lobbyist money, nevertheless decided to take that funding. That says a lot about the difference in character between the two.