Obama Hits McCain on Campaign’s Lobbyist Ties
EmailABC News’ Sunlen Miller reports: Sen. Barack Obama criticized Sen. John McCain for his campaign’s ties to lobbyists, spurred from the recent resignation of five campaign staffers.
Today McCain’s national finance co-chair, Tom Loeffler, resigned because of his lobbyist ties — following four others on the campaign. The purging came after McCain campaign manager Rick Davis resolved last week to remove all registered lobbyists from the campaign.
At a press availability in Milwaukie, Ore., Obama responded to questions about what the rash of recent resignations shows about McCain, "It appears that John McCain is very much a creature of Washington."
The Illinois senator said by comparison that his campaign doesn’t take PAC money or money from federal lobbyists.
At a rally later in the day in Portland, Obama’s new criticism of McCain found a place in his stump speech.
"John McCain now has had to get rid of five of his top advisors because it turns out they’re all lobbying, many of them for foreign governments. That’s because he practices the same kind of politics that we’ve grown accustomed to in Washington," he said. "When I decided to run this campaign the first thing we said was we’re not gonna to take money from PACs, we’re not gonna to take money from federally registered lobbyists, because we want to be accountable to the American people."
The McCain campaign was quick to respond, calling Obama’s comment a character assasination on the resigned staffers.
"Many fine people may have a conflict that is not reconcilable. Barack Obama’s dragging the names of good people through the mud publicly is the worst type of character assassination," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement.
The McCain campaign turned the tables, saying that Obama himself has not released the names of his advisors.
Bounds also brought up Obama’s relationship with Willam Ayers, a member of the terrorist organization, the Weather Underground.
"Just a few years ago when Barack Obama was beginning his career in politics he was launching it at the home of William Ayers, an unrepentant domestic terrorist who his chief strategist said Senator Obama was certainly friendly with. If Barack Obama is going to make associations the issue, we look forward to the debate about Senator Obama’s associations and what they say about his judgment and readiness to be commander in chief," Bounds wrote.
The criticism of McCain on lobbying follows a weekend chock full of instances of Obama highlighting his differences with McCain — over national security, health care and social security.
ABC’s Bret Hovell contributed to this report.
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Those resignations have been embarrassing for McCain, but I suspect this will be old news in a month.
Obama is going to need McCain to keep making gaffes when talking about Iraq and Iran.
Posted by: Paul | May 18, 2008, 9:39 pm 9:39 pm
McCain whole entourage, and McNasty himself as well, is knee deep in the whole lobbyist sh*t.
Keep that mafioso away from the White House, please.
Posted by: Hank | May 18, 2008, 9:45 pm 9:45 pm
McCain must not know what everyone else knows, his campaign is completely run and funded by lobbyist.
http://mediamattersaction.org/freeride/lobbyists/
Posted by: Deward Bowles | May 18, 2008, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm
Oh no, someone is criticizing McCain’s corrupt lobbyists, what will the world do. These people have monetary influences on some of the most corrupt governments in the world and McCain is worried about Obama insulting their integrity? Let’s highlight the comparison in the story, McCain has a campaign full of corrupt lobbyists that have to be forced out vs. Obama being on the board of a non-profit organization and briefly meeting a man that 40 years ago (when Obama was eight years old living thousands of miles away) participated in anti-war protests that included planting bombs in EMPTY buildings. Remembering, of course, that he was never tried or convicted of a crime and is now a distinguished professor, author, and respected member of the community. Hmmm, which is a worse offense. I’m going to go with the corrupt lobbyists on the paid staff against the brief meeting.
Posted by: Kevin | May 18, 2008, 9:56 pm 9:56 pm
The fact that McCain has asked all lobby connected members of his campaign come forward lessens the damage. Obama will be able to get some mileage out of McCains’ gaffs and his steadfast stances on the economy and Iraq, but Obama is going to have to get more detailed in what he is planning on doing and not just try to hope McCain really goofs up.
Posted by: LeeAz | May 18, 2008, 9:58 pm 9:58 pm
Former Texas Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, one of McCain’s key fundraisers, resigned after the campaign last week instructed staff to disclose all lobbying ties and to make certain they are no
longer registered as lobbyists or foreign agents.
McCain’s campaign on Sunday confirmed Loeffler’s resignation.
Loeffler lobbies for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., which with Northrop Grumman Corp. won a lucrative contract to provide air refueling tankers for the Air Force. McCain helped
scuttle an earlier contract that would have gone to a competitor, Boeing Co.
It is shocking that McCain’s finance chair was lobbying for the eads..european aircraft that took away the huge refueling contract from Boeing and with it american jobs. and it is shocking that McCain used his influence to get this done
Posted by: Jerry | May 18, 2008, 10:06 pm 10:06 pm
McCain is the reason why Jack Abramoff is in jail. McCain lead the investigation against Abramoff which McCain knew would hurt his party. McCain showed great courage. His campaign went broke because big business hates him.
McCain has called drug companies evil and gone after tabacco companies.
I hate how McCain has been smeared by the liberal media. Not once do they bring up the fact the big business hates McCain.
McCain passed his lobbyist test. He lead the investigation against Jack Abramoff even though it sent many members of his party to jail. K Street hates McCain. McCain went broke after the Abramoff scandal.
This is the worst election of my lifetime. It has become all about distortions.
Posted by: david | May 18, 2008, 10:08 pm 10:08 pm
The head of Obama’s new hampshire campaign was a lobbyist.
McCain lead the investigation against Jack Abramoff.
I hate this election. It sucks.
Posted by: david | May 18, 2008, 10:08 pm 10:08 pm
Obama gets millions from 38 of the biggest lawfirms. These lawfirms also have the largest lobbying operations in the country. Obama is a hypocrit.
Posted by: Russ | May 18, 2008, 10:09 pm 10:09 pm
Harold Ickes, Mark Penn, Bill Clinton giving speeches in Dubai and Colubmia.
Obama won’t release the names of staffers with lobbyist ties.
McCain should quit this race because the media will tarnish this good man’s name.
Only in our liberal press the man who lead the investigation against Abramoff could be smearemd by being too close to lobbyists.
K Street hates McCain. McCain is getting the least amount of money from big business. They don’t like McCain for wanting to import prescriptions drugs from canada.
McCain has gone after big business his whole career.
This election is all about lies.
It makes me sick to see characters like Dean who skied saying he had a back back to dodge the draft smear McCain.
What has happened to this country when people like Dean and Obama are allowed to smear a great man like McCain.
This country has been taken over by the far left.
Posted by: david | May 18, 2008, 10:12 pm 10:12 pm
I’m going to start going to all of Obama’s townhall meetings and call him out on his lies.
Enough is enough.
Posted by: david | May 18, 2008, 10:13 pm 10:13 pm
Obama bring it on.
I am going to go to every town hall meeting you have.
I am going to ask you who was it that lead the investigation against Jack Abramoff.
I am tired and sick of the liberal media.
Posted by: david | May 18, 2008, 10:14 pm 10:14 pm
Barack has the most small donors of any candidate, no debate there. Therefore he is the least influenced by big business. Simple fact.
Oh when you call Barack out on his lies, I hope you can yell louder than 75000 people. Good luck heckling in that crowd, you’ll get stampeded.
Posted by: deZ | May 18, 2008, 10:32 pm 10:32 pm
David,
You pretty sad. You clearly have too much time on your hands.
Posted by: Vanessa | May 18, 2008, 10:34 pm 10:34 pm
“McCain has gone after big business his whole career.”
Ha.
Haha.
Hahaha.
Haha.
Hahahahahahaha.
Hoho.
Ha.
Hihihihi.
David, are you talking about the same John “Keating” Five, the same John “Vicki” Anderson, the same John “Charlie” Black, the John Lobbydobby McCain as we are?
He lead the investigation against Jack Abramoff? Berlusconi tactics!
John McCain is a lobbyist maffia boss.
Posted by: davidoff | May 18, 2008, 10:39 pm 10:39 pm
I’m leaving the democratic party
for good.
I don’t trust Obama.He is an opportunist.He wants to seige the power
in U.S to impose the left wing liberal
agenda.
I will vote for McCain,a war hero,very patriotic ready to be a commander
in chief.
Posted by: Nicholas | May 18, 2008, 10:39 pm 10:39 pm
Hey Nicholas, while you’re leaving the Democratic party, stop on your way out at a recruiting office and sign up to serve. We’re going to need more bodies on the ground so McCain can continue with the Bush policies of invading any country that we disagree with.
Posted by: Kevin | May 18, 2008, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
“McCain has gone after big business his whole career.”
Hmmm… I thought McCain left his poor first wife to get MARRIED to big business, after CHEATING his poor first wife with big business, and before DEALING with big business via an incredible network of lobbyists…
Posted by: shirlie | May 18, 2008, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
I’m embarrassed for McCain, his campaign is making McGovern in ’72 look like a contender. This is getting too easy. I mean people don’t even buy the bin Laden BS anymore. What’s left for John and George W. to scare us with? All I can say for the GOP is “Where’s the beef?” Where are the terrorists John? Aren’t you guys overdue for another phony terrorist attack, carried out by CIA assets like bin Laden? Isn’t it time to set up some muslim morons in NYC, give them hardware, and arrest them for attempting to blow up a “dirty bomb, like with the attack on the WTC in ’93?” John, your campaign is sinking, listen to Cheney, you’ve got tto scare the American people in order for them to elect you. Get on it! These poll numbers and party unpopularity, do NOT a President make.
Posted by: blog | May 18, 2008, 10:44 pm 10:44 pm
McCain and his pastor Rod Parsley want to declare war on Islam. They have stated openly they support this. Will you help load your neighbors into the bus for the detention camps?
Launching war on Islam is more extreme than war on Islamic terrorists. It means war on 20% of the world’s population. 6.1 million Americans are Islamic. A war against a religion is war to the death.
Presumably the American detention camps which are already built, will only be used to house our Islamic neighbors until they can be re-educated like some Chinese dissident. Hopefully it will not become an extermination camp.
Don’t believe me? Google it!
These actions are in complete conflict with everything America stands for. Why are they not even being addressed in the election? Why is no one questioning McCain? Is this taboo? Is the media complicit or afraid to ask?
They brought Rev Wright up for Obama!
Where is the media for McCain?
Posted by: cyberbian | May 18, 2008, 11:16 pm 11:16 pm
mccain supporters..i hope your all able to be drafted..this guy will bomb bomb bomb iran..within his first year..if you think oil is high now wait till then..127 a barrel will look good..and we have 100,000 troops in the green zone so iran will not have far to bomb..and russia and china are allies of iran..who in the last 3 years have been spending billions to build up their military..guess what for.
Posted by: tom | May 18, 2008, 11:20 pm 11:20 pm
Ayers has NEVER been on the payroll of Obama’s candidacy for president but McCain’s lobbyists have and these lobbyists were for terrorist organizations.
McCain’s lobbyists are far WORSE than Obama’s relationship with Ayers (since there is NO relationship).
Posted by: maritza | May 18, 2008, 11:41 pm 11:41 pm
Hey David and Jerry: you want the media to report what you want and not what the reality is
You do not know what the difference between liberals and pse-conservative is. You just lost your head if you do not like free speech and democracy.
Posted by: Rachhpal S Kukreja | May 18, 2008, 11:51 pm 11:51 pm
How about Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, McCain’s financial adviser. He has made big money from lobbyists, including Enron.
Our Confusing Economy, Explained (audio)
Michael Greenberger is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and the director of the University’s Center for Health and Homeland Security.
“Gramm was the biggest of the big guns behind the 1999 repeal of the banking regulations — the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act — which was officially called The Financial Services Modernization Act.”
In this highly educational interview, Mr. Greenberger discusses how Phil Gramm led repeal of Depression-era banking regulations:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89338743
Posted by: Jim | May 19, 2008, 12:03 am 12:03 am
David or anybody else,
What is wrong with this statement about McCain?
In a 2006 Senate report concerning Jack Abramoff’s activities, which McCain spearheaded, the Arizona Republican left out information detailing how Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff’s influence peddling scheme.
Posted by: Mr. Coffee | May 19, 2008, 12:19 am 12:19 am
Whoa there! Here is the pot calling the polished kettle black (no racial meaning here)! Obama in too many lobbyists back pocket to list (just Google his lobbyist ties)! He is close friends with Weather Underground members who are proud that they bombed the Pentagon and will not disavow their past, his pastor Rev. Wright, a close confidant for more than 20 years propped up Obamas anti-white views and Obama still lives in some delusion that his father (a bigamist drunk who abandoned several wives and their children including BHO) was some kind of hero! If you support him maybe you should read his autobiography “Dreams From My Father” and just use the Internet to investigate just a little about him. You will be appalled at how naive your support of him has been!
Posted by: orgoneozone | May 19, 2008, 12:25 am 12:25 am
Di.
You’re correct.Hillary won all the big
states[blue-red-and toss-up]with the majority of the electoral votes.She has
better change to win in november.No question about that.
The problem with the democrats is the leadership.
The democratic leaders so call
superdelegates play the wrong game.
They support an un-electable candidate
Obama.
I’m not going to play the superdelegates game.I’m leaving the
party for good.I will vote for McCain
if Obama gets the nomination.
Posted by: Nicholas | May 19, 2008, 1:17 am 1:17 am
The Republicans problem is that the American people have figured out that their tactics of “divide and conquer”…of sowing dissension and fear…are all meant to distract America so that America’s middle class and poor don’t notice as the Republicans – and their puppetmasters – steal from their pocketbooks, plunder the nation’s treasury, and destroy the future of their children.
Pretty simple, the republicans do not wish to lead America – they wish to prey upon it.
Posted by: LG | May 19, 2008, 2:32 am 2:32 am
McSame’s chief adviser is a lobbyist, Charlie Black. And worse he was a lobbyists for some of the WORST regimes in the world.
Shame on you McCain. You should FIRE Charlie Black.
Posted by: maritza | May 19, 2008, 3:26 am 3:26 am
The Illinois senator said by comparison that his campaign doesn’t take PAC money or money from federal lobbyists.
THATS A LIE. Obama has lobbyists that work on his campaign . Center of responsive politics.
Posted by: really | May 19, 2008, 7:48 am 7:48 am
Wow – what a load of hysterical garbage. I think Obama’s got this election sewn up – the other side’s full of crazies.
Posted by: Mark O | May 19, 2008, 7:50 am 7:50 am
Obama can’t win the Presidency.
Posted by: David | May 19, 2008, 2:18 pm 2:18 pm
Obama whips into McCain for a relationship with a lobbyist yet he is the dear friend of Ayers and Dohr two US terrorists, free only because of folloishness by the FBI. The there is the strong friendship with Rezko of Chicago.
Okay I understand why it doe not matter, the media is in Obama’s pocket. They are his PR machine.
Posted by: mike | May 19, 2008, 4:31 pm 4:31 pm
Obama has dozens of lobbyists at his headquaters. He just calls them consultants.
Tom Daschle a key part of Obama’s campaign is a lobbyist.
Obama in his career is known for advancing the work of lobbyists.
While McCain showed great courage is nailing Jack Abramoff.
McCain goes after drug companies and tabacco companies.
McCain is despised by big business.
But lies work in this campaign and the media is 85 percent democrat so we will have a one party system with no republicans in the house senate or white house ever again.
The one sided media is bad for democracy.
Posted by: david | May 19, 2008, 10:15 pm 10:15 pm
in my opinion the press have been too soft on John McCain… Fox News is so Republican it’s pathetic.. Look, I know the guy is a war hero, but that doesn’t mean he is the guy to run our country.
Why in the heck does this ol guy who has everything need to be president.. oh yeah, I forget, when you have everything there is only one thing left… power.
I for one am tired of having a bumbling president who is proud of not being a long term thinker and who seems to lack the ability of self reflection…. 8 years is long enough.
And its pathetic that these richy rich guys, who come from families of such wealth and power (George Bush, John McCain) – are the ones that we put up to represent us??
this is not a dynasty folks.
Time to vote different.
Posted by: susa | June 8, 2008, 4:32 pm 4:32 pm