Obama’s tough lobbyist rules: Meaningless

The embarrassing episode of Tom Daschle shaving his taxes, failing to tell Obama, and then paying up only after he's tapped to head Health and Human Services, brings to light another flaw in the former head of he U.S. Senate. Daschle highlights how meaningless President Obama's rule barring lobbyists from his administration has become.

President Obama talked big about change you can believe in. He even signed an executive order barring former lobbyists who join his administration from dealing with matters or agencies related to their lobbying work.

Daschle, at right, who took big-time money from health care companies since leaving the Senate, won't be able to live up to that lofty executive order if he is confirmed secretary of Health and Human Services.

And William J. Lynn III is Obama's pick to be the No. 2 guy at the Defense Department, despite the fact he lobbies for military contractor Raytheon. William Corr, meanwhile, was selected as deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, even though he lobbied last year for an anti-tobacco advocate. (Corr says he will take no part in tobacco matters. If you believe that, you should not be allowed to read stuff on the internet by yourself.)

Remember during the campaign when Obama said: "I don't take a dime of their money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House." Well, that was then, and this is now.

Does Obama attempt to reconcile this betrayal of one one of his basic campaign promises. So far he ain't said nothin'.

When the adoring Washington media gets around to asking a stray question about this anti-lobbyist hooey, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gives this wholly unsatisfactory answer: "Even the toughest rules require reasonable exceptions."

Well, let me suggest, that if Obama's anti-lobbyist rule were, indeed, "the toughest", there would be no exceptions, especially not at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in Health and Human Services.

Meanwhile, Daschle has becoming the poster boy for an administration falling far short of its own standards.