Captive American Blog Roundup 1/23/09

It was a bit of a short work week at Captive American. But we did manage to find a website that lists 500 promises President Obama made when he was still Candidate Obama. And we picked out a couple dozen that we'll be paying particular attention to in the next four years.

Obama appeared to fulfill one of his campaign promises right away when he issued new rules that banned lobbyists from working in his administration. But a closer look showed that the new rules have some pretty big loopholes in them. Not only that, they appear to be optional, as well.

Speaking of lobbyists turned high government officials, our hopes that a senator would stand up to her party were dashed this week when Sen. Claire McCaskill said she would not oppose the confirmation of a major defense company lobbyist for the second most powerful at the Pentagon. That sound you hear is Dwight D. Eisenhower spinning in his grave. The military-industrial-congressional complex lives on!

In other news: an unapologetic corporate shill has officially been hired to run the Democratic Party; the Wall Street bailout just keeps getting sleazier and sleazier; and that delightful new classical music piece performed at the inauguration was if not lip-synched then at least cello-synched (for shame, Yo-Yo Ma!).

Finally: a new group says they want to help independent or third party candidates run in all 435 congressional districts in 2010. Why ... what a great idea! Huzzah!