The Obama team, pledging the ''most open and transparent transition in history,'' gets an ''A'' for disclosing donors to the Jan. 20 inauguration and a ''F'' when it comes to revealing transition meetings with groups. Contrary to its own ''seat at the table transparency policy,'' meetings are not posted on a Web site.
I'm giving a ''B'' to the Obama transition report on staff contacts with Gov. Blagojevich. The report was a summary narrative released last week of an internal inquiry into Gov. Blagojevich's selling-of-a-Senate seat scandal. While the Obama team deserves credit for disclosure -- including that President-elect Barack Obama and incoming White House staffers Valerie Jarrett and Rahm Emanuel met with federal prosecutors -- offering some notes or transcripts to support the conclusions would have been helpful.
During the presidential primary campaign, then candidate Obama, still an Illinois senator, made a pledge I heard for the first time on Oct. 24, 2007. In a school gym in Dover, N.H., Obama said if president, he would post his meetings on the Internet. That was interesting to me because Obama's Senate staff had been very selective about what Obama Senate-related meetings they disclosed and seemed to be guided by a ''less is best'' policy.
A month after the election, on Dec. 5, John Podesta, a transition co-chair, issued an Obama transparency policy. When it comes to meetings, ''the date and organizations represented at official meetings in the Transition headquarters or agency offices'' would be ''posted on our Web site,'' at www.change.gov.
Indeed, the ''seat at the table'' section states ''on this page, you can track these meetings, view documents provided to the Transition and leave comments for the team,'' but the statement is only partly true.
What is posted are materials -- for example, briefing or position papers -- submitted by groups in connection with a transition meeting. There is no list of meetings on the site, with a meeting defined in the policy as having three or more participants.
Transition spokesman Nick Shapiro, asked why the meetings are not posted despite the policy, said,
''This policy is part of President-elect Obama's commitment to run the most open and transparent transition in history. The transition staff has been instructed that this is a floor and not a ceiling. No transition has ever attempted to implement such disclosure requirements, and as we continue to evaluate the policy, refinements will be made to it."
There's better disclosure news when it comes to Obama's Presidential Inauguration Committee.
The PIC is providing near real time postings of donors of $200 or more, with a user-friendly searchable database at the PICs Web site, www.pic2009.org.
Donations are posted within 48 hours and include the contributors' state and employer.
In another advance on the transparency front, inauguration bundlers -- those who tap their personal networks for money -- are disclosed with how much they have raised.
The Obama team set $50,000 per-person contribution limit for the inauguration with a $300,000-per-bundler cap; no corporate or political action committee money is accepted.
The PIC is revealing more about bundlers than did the presidential campaign.
I STILL have no idea who this new President is. Today they show clips of him saying that Israel has every right to attack (used daughters as examples). This guy seems so much more conservative than George W. Bush. I am just waiting for the liberal shoe to fall that everyone said would happen, but thus far it has not even been seen. I say thank God and hope he does continue this strange unexplainable presidency.
...His seat is probably up on EBay already.
our very own CHICAGOLADY is pondering mounting a run for rahmbo’s seat
she’s a well known local activist and she lives in the district
let’s encourage her to for it
Based on the ratio of U.S. Senators to Congresscritters, this seat should go for about 1/9 the cost of Obama’s Senate seat, right?
I may need to know this as I try to get some cash togather...
I would be MUCH happier if he wold retire from politics all together.
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QUESTION Did Rahm fillout the 63-count seven-page personnel application Obama gave to possible appointees? If so, how did Rahm outline his ties to financial institutions involved in the federal bailout? His activities on the Freddie Mac Board? Did Rahm ever email Madoff?
REFERENCE Emanuel resigned his position as an advisor to Bill Clinton, in 1998 to become a Wall Street investment banker with Wasserstein Perella, (now Dresdner Kleinwort), where he worked until 2002.
In 1999, Rahm became managing director at their Chicago office. According to Congressional disclosures, Emanuel made $16.2 million in his 2 1/2 year stint as a banker.
Amazingly, Rahm became a multi-millioniare overnight----and he was wasn't even voted "Most Likely To Succeed." (snicker).
At Wasserstein Perella, Rahm worked on eight deals, including the acquisition by Commonwealth Edison of Peco Energy and the purchase by GTCR Golder Rauner of the ecurityLink home security unit from SBC.
He then ran for Congress; luckily members of the securities and investment industry became his biggest backers, donating more than $1.5M to his campaigns dating back to 2002, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Emanuel also leaned heavily upon the industry as 2006 Dem Congressional Campaign Committee Chair. Financial industry donors contributed more than $5.8M to the Dem committee, behind only retirees.
Pres Bill Clinton in 2000 named Emanuel to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"). Rahm's position paid him $31,060 in 2000 and $231,655 in 2001. During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) later accused the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention." Emanuel resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for Congress.
Amazing career---stright-up trajectory---and he did it all by hisself (snicker).
In between Rahm's career choices, he won a coveted scholarship to the prestigious Joffrey School of Ballet.
Who are Obama’s donors and what was this guy doing in Africa?
Somehow, I don’t think they are reporting everyone.