Senator John McCain said in an interview with Politico:
“I would not allow anyone who worked for my administration to go back to lobbying,” McCain said. “They would have to make that pledge.”
That should make things interesting in recruiting quality public servants into the fold. Just a few weeks ago his campaign manager, Rick Davis (normal profession: a lobbyist, by the way) in an interview with Katie Couric, said:
"We don't make it a litmus test for employment at the McCain campaign."
OK. Well, then. I guess...if these people want to go back to their lucrative lobbying jobs....then they won't be working for the administration if he wins?
Josh Marshall has some great posts on McCain and lobbyists. Like the above interview. Recently, with the Georgia - Russia crisis he has several posts on Randy Scheunemann, McCain's chief foreign policy advisor, here, here and here.
I love the whole "you can never be a lobbyist again" idea, but it is rather more idealistic than anything that Barack Obama has said, on any subject. You might even call it naive.
Even if he isn't going beyond cabinet level officials, it is rather ambitious and, possibly, self defeating. That is a lot of money for these people to give up. Forever. Gives a whole new meaning to sacrifice for public service. There are going to be a lot of qualified people who aren't going to be takers in that situation. Prestige or not.
I question, more and more, who the candidate with the sweeping, unrealistic ideas is? Is it really Barack Obama? Are you guys sure this McCain guy is still living in reality? His actions and statements don't always support that he is.
Comments welcome,
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